Silverstein Camp Screamo Tour
How do you hold onto a piece of your youth when one day you wake up and realize two decades have somehow slipped by?
You go see the bands that once soundtracked every heartbreak, every late-night drive, and every feeling that seemed impossible to put into words.
There are moments in adulthood when the past doesn’t feel so…long ago. Sometimes it’s the comfort of an old building, staring at a merch wall hoping they still have your size of shirt, the musk of the crowd, the hum of anticipation before the lights go down, and ringing in your ears after the first song. Suddenly, you’re not thinking about work tomorrow or the bills waiting at home.
For a few hours, you‘re replaced by the teenager who screamed every lyric like it was written just for them, the version of yourself who believed music could explain and solve all of your problems that you thought were the end of the world.
You’re right back where it all started.
Silverstein and Story of the Year delivered exactly that feeling as their co-headlining Camp Screamo Tour rolled through Fayetteville, Arkansas at the Ozark Music Hall; with support by the effervescent Origami Angel and the brooding Ally Nicholas.
Far from the so-called “glory days” of the early 2000s post-hardcore scene, the night proved that while age can catch up to you when you least expect it, you can still completely lose yourself the same way you did when you younger. Each band played with the same ferocity, passion, and never ending energy that made so many fans fall in love with them in the first place.
This type of energy made sure the crowd made it through the night, albeit very exhausted by the time the night was over.
While we mention the elder millennial and that warm and fuzzy nostalgia that washes over us, we can’t take away from the fact that the crowd was very much a mixed age audience. From the mid-teens up into the 60’s, all generations were giving it everything they had not only at the barricade, but at the back of the venue as well.
Vocalist of of Silverstein, Shane Told, even mentioned that some of the songs that were played that night were older than some of the audience in attendance.
Story of the Year was the first co-headliner to take the stage after the opening acts Origami Angel and Ally Nicholas.
For more than two decades, Story of the Year has been a defining name in the post-hardcore scene, blending emotional and thought provoking lyrics, unbreakable guitars, and a superbly memorable live energy. From their breakthrough album Page Avenue to their last album released in 2023 “Tear Me To Pieces”, the band has built a dedicated following that spans generations. On Tuesday night, longtime fans and newer listeners came together to experience the songs that have shaped the band’s legacy.
Opening the night with the standout track And the Hero Will Drown from their 2003 breakout album “Page Avenue”, it was all foot on the gas pedal for the rest of the night.
The band balanced material off their 2026 release “A.R.S.O.N” along with the fan favorites that built their legacy. Tear Me to Pieces, Gasoline, Anthem of Our Dying Day, War, Choose Your Fate, and Tear Me to Pieces all had the crowd singing back to the band.
The surprise of the night, was the band playing a medley consisting of Blind by Korn, Be Quiet and Drive by the Deftones, and All the Small Things by Blink-182, before ripping into their absolute number 1 hit, Until the Day I Die.
Dan Marsala was impossible to pin down, bouncing across the stage from corner to corner, leaping between verses, and bringing an almost unmatched level of energy that made it feel like every song was a personal performance for the entire room.
Ryan Phillips was an absolute wild man and hardly stayed in one spot the entire night.
Adam Russell was just as energetic as guitarist Ryan Phillips, keeping his bass lines going strong while interacting with the crowd when he wasn’t performing backup vocals.
Drummer Josh Wills kept his hands and feet in rhythm with machine-like precision throughout the night, and even played with a Unicorn mask on.
Story of the Year
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See our full Camp Screamo photo gallery here
Silverstein came out of the gates swinging for the fences as they opened up their set with Negative Space, the featured single off their newest album Pink Moon (2025).
With the stage lights beaming, video screens blasting, and smoke shooting up from each side of the stage, it visually complemented the band to sonically assault us in the best of ways.
From there they belted out some of their biggest hits to keep the fans excited and proudly screaming along. Smashed into Pieces, The Afterglow, My Heroine, and Bad Habits had the Ozark Music Hall crowd roaring at the top of their lungs. Ending the night with Bleeds No More was a fitting way to send the crowd home.
See our full Camp Screamo photo gallery here
Frontman Shane Told showed little sign of slowing down, alternating effortlessly between soaring clean vocals and signature screams while maintaining constant engagement with the crowd.
A cute game of Silverstein Says was played, and admittedly we here in Fayetteville were not the best at this game. Vocalist Shane Todd laughed as only a few in the crowd were able to follow his every command.
Guitar players Paul Marc Rousseau and Josh Bradford were head banging and running around for most of the set, never missing a note.
Behind the chaos and emotion of Silverstein’s performance, Billy Hamilton’s bass lines and Paul Koehler’s relentless drumming served as the engine that kept the entire set moving, never letting the energy dip.
Silverstein Social Links
Fun fact – Despite their over twenty year history as bands, neither Silverstein or Story of the year have ever played in Fayetteville, Arkansas. What makes it even more wild of a fun fact is Story of the Year’s hometown is only a short six hour drive northeast in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Camp Screamo Tour proved that while 2/4 of the bands were started twenty years ago, doesn’t mean the music isn’t as relevant today as they were back then.
Both Silverstein and Story of the year continues to release new music, along with still delivering the same energy and emotion that made them a staple of the scene two decades ago when they started.
The night proved that music, regardless of the genre or when it was released, can connect us all while finding new listeners. It helps inspires new generations and continues to mean something to everyone who tunes in.
On August 4th, nostalgia may have brought many older fans to the Ozark Music Hall, but the bands who poured their heart into the performance made sure to remind us all that we’re not just holding onto the past, we’re still creating memories in the present. We’ve all grown up but our spirit is just as young as it was when we first heard it.
There has been a Camp Screamo Tour 2 officially announced the for latter part of 2026, so if you missed your chance to see them on this run, gear up for another chance with new cities added!
