The Joy Formidable and The Front Bottoms Wrap Up their Tour in Baltimore

The Joy Formidable is back and better than ever this fall. After nearly a year since their last US appearance, this Welsh trio was back on tour bringing the same energy we’ve always loved. Wrapping up the last night of tour with The Front Bottoms at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, the band was also traveling with Cuffed Up, making two back-to-back tours this fall in North America.

The Joy Formidable’s most recent release, Into the Blue is their 5^th full length studio release, featuring breathtaking melodies paired with a diverse range of rock riffs, acoustic tracks, and the fullness of synths. It consists of a sound heavily associated with their earlier releases while also bringing something new and refreshing to their discography.

At Rams Head Live in Baltimore, the band entered the stage in front of a packed audience, immediately jumping right into “The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade”, my personal favorite release off of A Balloon Called Moaning, their first LP release from 2009. Ritzy Bryan was as energetic as the crowd, jumping back and forth between her bandmates Rhydian and Matthew. They then carried on to “Cradle”, another favorite from the same album. Ritzy then talked with the audience, a big smile on her face as she greeted the sold-out venue, “It’s so good to be back, we’ve missed you!” She then asked the crowd if it was okay for them to play “Y Bluen Eira”, a Welsh song from their album Aaarth, released in 2018. The blend of Welsh lyrics and grungy riffs had the audience in a trance.

The band continued with three songs from Into the Blue, “CSTS”, “Gotta Feed My Dog”, and “Bring It to the Front”. Ritzy then sadly addressed the crowd, explaining this would be their last song of the night. “Thank you very much, have a lovely night together, safe journeys and look after yourselves. We look forward to seeing you again!” The band began to play the beautiful intro to “Whirring”, the perfect song to close a phenomenal set.

I’ve anticipated the return of The Joy Formidable, and to finally hear some tracks from Into the Blue live was better than I could’ve imagined. If you missed them this time around, you can catch them in Philadelphia at Underground Arts on Thursday, October 27th. Click here to purchase tickets to this show!

Enjoy these photos of both The Front Bottoms and The Joy Formidable on Thursday, October 20th at Rams Head Live in Baltimore.