On Tuesday evening (11/14/23), Nightly, the alt-pop band coming out of  Nashville, TN, headlined a show at  The Underground in Charlotte, NC and if I was a betting man (which I am), I’d put money on this band doing big things in the future. The band is currently touring following the release of their sophomore album Wear your Heart Out ,which debuted at #6 on the iTunes Alt Charts. 

“Nightly’s journey has been marked by consistent success with their earlier EPs, singles and feature on ayokay’s song “Sleepless Nights,” Nightly released their debut album night, love you in 2020. 2022 marked a year of satisfying collaborations, including “About You” with NOTD, “Amnesia” with Ayokay, and “why u gotta be like that” with Vaultboy. Responding to demand from their TikTok fanbase, Nightly released hits like “hate my favorite band,” “on your sleeve,” “dirty white chucks,” and “i wish you loved me.” Exciting collaborations with Knox and Mokita are releasing in October ‘23,” a press release from the band reads. 

Nightly isn’t exactly new to the scene but they are still, at least in my opinion, new in the industry where bands with 20-years are still rocking all these years later. Nightly’s tour was a headlining event but they’ve also played as supporting acts for some major bands like as NF, Andy Grammer, The All-American Rejects, K.Flay, and The Struts

I’ll be honest with you, reviewing bands can be difficult, especially  when you aren’t very familiar with their work, but Nightly impressed me from the minute they walked on stage to the theme song of Mr. Roger’s ‘Neighborhood.’ That definitely took me by surprise, but the well-loved feel-good song quickly faded out and was replaced by heavy bass that I haven’t heard from the front row since seeing Tame Impala.

It’s hard to categorize bands these days and while I can see why Nightly has been deemed alt-pop, that doesn’t tell the full story. Sure, there are plenty off 4/4 time signatures that will get your feet tapping and head bobbing but there’s more to the music than that. With sounds reminiscent of ‘80s synths and a nice atmospheric sound the band seems to be doing things differently than some of their contemporaries. There were even some riffs from the guitars that reminded me of Perpetual Groove which again, I was not expecting. Whether bands like P-Groove inspired Nightly is something you’d have to ask them, regardless, the show was full of energy and adoring fans. 

There’s a love-hate relationship  that I have with The Underground in Charlotte, on the one hand, the venue can be difficult to photograph due to the small spaces. On the other, I think the size of the venue makes it one of my favorites to see live music. It’s just an intimate experience and you’ll be hard pressed to find venues where singers can walk off the stage and stand on the barricade with ease — which singer Jonathan Capeci did sending the crowd into a frenzy. 

Review & pix: I’m Music Magazine Photographer/Writer Michael Praats