Sleeping With Sirens brought their Family Tree tour to Marathon Music Works and transported their fans back to their emo roots on Thursday.

I will preface this by saying if you want to attend the pop-punk show of the year, if not THE show of the year, drop everything you’re doing and get tickets to the Family Tree Tour now! If you’re not able to attend one of the dates left on the tour, don’t sleep on getting tickets to their next tour. Now that that’s out of the way on to the review itself. This may have been my first time seeing SWS live, but long-time fans showed up loud and proud to completely sell out the 14,000 sq ft venue. Though many missed out on the opening act M.A.G.S the crowd eagerly awaited Dayseeker and Sleeping With Sirens to take the stage.

Dayseeker, originally formed in 2012, has recently taken the post-hardcore and metalcore scene by storm. They released their album Dark Sun in November and it has since amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify alone. To say that this four-piece rightfully earned their place as the direct support on this tour is an understatement.

This wasn’t my first time seeing Dayseeker so I knew their set was going to leave fans in awe. As the house music fades and the stage fills with fog, purple lights illuminate each band member as they enter to thunderous applause. They open with Dreamstate and the massive crowd echos every word. As they effortlessly power through their set, vocalist Rory Rodriguez gives pause periodically to speak directly to the crowd, thanking them for their support over the years and expounding on the meaning behind several of their songs. Further explaining that Homesick was their attempt at writing a happy song and their latest album was a tribute to Rodriguez’s father who he lost just as he became a father himself. The vocalist spoke from a place of vulnerability about his father, who was a huge musical inspiration in his life. Fans looked on adoringly with tears streaming down their faces as they began holding up their hands in the shape of hearts to show their support. As they close their set with Neon Grave the Nashville crowd was left enchanted by their performance and emphatically cheered them on as they exited the stage.

By now the crowd was thoroughly warmed up and ready to be transported back to their emo roots. Hailing from Orlando, FL Sleeping With Sirens has been a staple in the pop-punk community since 2009. And there’s no doubt that this five-piece was about to prove that pop-punk is not dead. As the lights come up and the first few lines of Tally It Up: Settle the Score reverberate throughout the venue, fans become unhinged and the crowd surfing commences.

Vocalist Kellin Quinn undoubtedly has one of the most unique voices in the genre that seamlessly carries over to their live show, which is impressive given the fact that he surveyed every inch of the stage for the duration of their performance without skipping a beat. The band overall had an infectious energy that spread through the crowd like wildfire. At some points, fans were screaming the words so loudly that Quinn would extend the mic into the crowd and let them take over singing a verse or two. But the thing that made the show special for long-time fans was the band’s direct interactions with them in-between songs. Just before playing their song Better Off Dead the frontman gave a speech about checking in on your friends, going on to say if you came to the show with your best friend hug them tight for the next song. Coincidentally enough I had brought my best friend of 20 years with me, it was her first pop-punk show and that’s a special moment we will reminisce on for years to come.

Halfway through the set, the guys took a moment to slow things down and perform a few acoustic songs that included a cover of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. But as soon as the acoustic songs concluded they picked back up the tempo and the crowd surfing and circle pit commenced once again. Fans continued to give their all and their energy escalated through the rest of the show. SWS matched the crowd’s energy, even starting a circle pit of their own on stage during their first encore, Do It Now Remember It Later. But it wouldn’t be a SWS show without getting to hear If You Can’t Hang. And fans vehemently protested vacating the building until the band reappeared to perform it for their final encore.

I have to admit I have been a SWS fan since college but seeing them live was a whole new experience for me and made me a bit sad that this was my first time catching them on tour. Their performance gave us everything you could ask for from a pop-punk show. We all sang, laughed, cried, and moshed together. There’s no coincidence that the tour is called the Family Tree Tour, because even if for one night everyone in that room felt like family.