After kicking off their 2026 tour with a set at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, Coheed and Cambria would stop in Columbia, South Carolina, for the first time in three years. The last time they came to town was largely my introduction to the Nyack, New York-based prog rockers and my first time seeing them live, albeit opening for another band. That show was the only time I have ever heard a crowd cheer for an encore from a support act, so I was looking forward to seeing them headline a show.
The opener tonight was a new band to me, but Cicada Rhythm has been making music down in Georgia for quite some time now, with their self-titled debut album dropping over a decade ago in 2015. Guitarist Dave Kirslis and his Juilliard-trained, upright bass-playing wife, Andrea DeMarcus, met back in 2011 when the freight train Dave had hopped on stopped in Athens. Quite a fitting origin story for a roots music Americana group. Tonight, the group was rounded out with a drummer and keyboard player. As the band took the stage, a fan in the crowd shouted, "That's an amazing beard!" to the keyboard player, initiating a little banter from the band as they got set to play. Cicada Rhythm's sound is hard to put into a single genre, but as a fan of folksy, bluesy music, I enjoyed their set. Andrea has a great voice, and Dave harmonizes well with her when he isn't taking over the singing duties. When you add the instruments, you end up with rich, warm tones and a sound that ranges from jazzy to jam band with a distinct Southern flair. Some songs were slow and soulful, while others were downright jaunty. If that sounds like something you'd be into, I think the track "Quick Buck" from their album "Magic State" is a great introduction to the band.
Cicada Rhythm: Website, Facebook, Instagram,
Coheed and Cambria are a band with a ton of lore behind their music. Lead singer Claudio Sanchez authored "The Amory Wars," a sci-fi graphic novel series whose storyline unifies the band's thematic albums. The band borrowed their name from the protagonists of The Amory Wars story, and their logo, the keywork, represents the energy stream between planets in The Amory Wars universe. Combine Claudio's writing talent with the band's musical talent and showmanship, and you have a recipe for a very devoted fanbase. Between sets, I overheard fans talking about the best order to listen to the albums in and saw numerous keywork tattoos.
As the lights dimmed, the capacity crowd started to chant, "COHEED, COHEED, COHEED," and erupted into cheers as the band took the stage. Opening with "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3," you could feel the crowd shaking the barricade behind me as the song ebbed and flowed between melodic playing and heavy riffs. "Devil in Jersey City" had fans and another photographer in the photo pit singing along. The next song, "The Pavilion (A Long Way Back)," would give the band a short respite from the intensity of the first two songs and was a treat for long-time fans, as it hadn't been performed live since 2019. "Here to Mars" would also make an appearance on the setlist for the first time since 2018. With this being the first stop on the tour, the crowd in Columbia also got the live debut of "Key Entity Extraction VII – Yuko the Trivial," from the most recent album "Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe," making this a special set for the fans who never miss a show.
The band and crowd were feeding off of each other's energy as the show went on. When the intensity ramped up, crowd surfers started getting shuffled to the barricade. As the first notes of one of the band's most popular songs, "A Favor House Atlantic," hit, a roar erupted from the crowd. While Claudio would give the chorus to the crowd, that song could have just as easily been played instrumentally, as the crowd sang along word for word, loud enough to start to drown out the speakers. The set would finish with another song from the most recent album, "Goodbye Sunshine." Of course, the crowd was having none of that and started cheering for an encore as soon as Coheed and Cambria left the stage. It didn't take long for the band to reappear for a two-song encore, starting with "Blind Side Sonny" and ending the night with their most popular song to date, "Welcome Home," during which Claudio would play a double-necked guitar behind his head.
All in all, it was an amazing evening. The band hasn't lost a step since the last time that I saw them. Their stage presence is as energetic as ever, and they seemed to be having just as much fun as the crowd. Drummer Josh Eppard is still an absolute animal on the kit, and bassist Zach Cooper is one of the most energetic bassists I've seen. The technical guitar work of Travis Stever and Claudio Sanchez is truly impressive, and the production has been top-notch both times I've been lucky enough to catch this band. The storyline of The Amory Wars makes for some great merch, too. You don't see many graphic novels on the merch table.
If you get a chance to catch Coheed and Cambria live, I highly recommend it!
Coheed And Cambria: Website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify
