HELLO MARY ROCK THE RITZ IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Hello Mary was a band that I was, admittedly, unfamiliar with. They were opening for Silversun Pickups when they hit The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 2. As always, we make it a habit to get to a show early to give the openers the same amount of respect that we give the headliners. I was definitely glad that I did because their set was great. The female three piece hailing from New York City is a blend of punk, indie alt/rock and grunge. A still relatively new band, they formed in 2019 and get this. Their debut album was released in 2020 when vocalist/guitarist Helena Straight and bassist Mikaela Oppenheimer were just 16 and drummer Stella Wave was 19. They’re like rock and roll crime fighters. By day their students and by night they rock the stage. The band has been getting a lot of well deserved media attention recently including Rolling Stone Magazine. Their major label self-titled debut was released in 2023 to rave reviews. With all of that being said, they had a short but very impressive set opening for Silversun Pickups in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was all business; let’s hit them as hard as we can, as quickly as we can with the time that we’re permitted. It was song after song after song, with minimal stage banter in between of their blend of grungish/punkish/alt rock and it was pretty bad-ass. It was loud, a little raw at times, a little distorted at times, but really pretty awesome. I went into looking forward to seeing/hearing what they had to offer and I left a fan.

Review & pix by I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price

The Ritz Setlist: Raleigh, NC