“I thought I was just going to a show. Turns out, I walked into a generation’s heart attack.”
Words by Music City Staff • Photos by Alma Reed
Pierce the Veil is in the middle of their largest-ever global run: the “I Can’t Hear You” World Tour, named after a lyric from “Emergency Contact.” With over 40 dates across three continents, they’re riding high off the success of The Jaws of Life (2023) and its recent deluxe edition. For this North American leg, they’re joined by post-hardcore peers Sleeping With Sirens and alt-pop openers Beach Weather—and Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium was one of the first to sell out.
I couldn’t decide: should I reschedule my quadruple wisdom tooth extraction or miss Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil? I’m thrilled I chose the first.
I arrived after Beach Weather had already started. Outside, the lines were still wrapping around the building. Inside, people were already crying. Not tears of heartbreak—tears of finally. This was their night.
Sleeping With Sirens formed in Orlando, Florida in 2009 and quickly became a voice for the misunderstood. They’re now signed to Sumerian Records and still draw thousands of fans per city. Their latest album, Complete Collapse (2022), shows the band hasn’t lost an ounce of urgency.
When Sleeping With Sirens took the stage, it was like the room hit a frequency and never came down. Every single track got a full-throttle, guttural singalong from the crowd. The setlist didn’t matter—it all felt like one giant highlight reel. Kellin Quinn hit those trademark high notes and the room responded like it was 2014 again. But louder.
Songs like “Kick Me,” “Tally,” “Go Go Go,” “Bloody Knuckles,” and “If You Can’t Hang” all landed with emotional weight. And during “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn,” you could barely hear Kellin over the crowd. That moment under the glow of thousands of phones? Chills.
Pierce the Veil, originally from San Diego, has been redefining post-hardcore since 2006. From A Flair for the Dramatic to Selfish Machines, from Collide with the Sky to Misadventures, they’ve grown into headliners capable of selling out venues like Madison Square Garden—and they earned every inch of it.
By the time Pierce the Veil came out, my hearing was already hanging by a thread. Three songs in—right around “Pass the Nirvana”—I’m pretty sure I lost it completely. That song wasn’t just loud. It was chaotic, electric, rebellious. It shook the entire venue—and me with it.
The band opened with “Death of an Executioner” and powered through a stacked 20-song set including “Floral & Fading,” “Caraphernelia,” “Emergency Contact,” “Circles,” “Hold On Till May,” and “King for a Day”—which brought Kellin Quinn back out for one last scream-along. The crowd? Feral.
Jaime Preciado (bass) moved like he was fueled by lightning, jumping into the barricade, whipping his bass in wide arcs, never still for more than a second. Vic Fuentes kept his cool, guiding the ship with laser focus and just the right touch of sentiment.
There was a moment during “Wonderless” where a girl in a white dress sat cross-legged on the floor holding a handmade sign, while strangers in all directions wiped their eyes. That’s the kind of show this was—brutal and soft in the same breath.
Today, as I write this, my ears are still ringing. My head’s still spinning. Maybe I’m a little too old for this kind of night—but I wouldn’t change a second of it. Pierce the Veil is headed for even bigger stages. The Municipal was bursting at the seams, and this crowd? They’re not fading away. They’ll be back next time—and they’ll be bringing their tribe with them.
