ILLENIUM in Dallas at Dos Equis Pavilion With Openers All Time Low, Annika Wells and Said The Sky

Written & Captured By | Jordan Mahoney

EDM and pop punk fanatics alike flooded Dos Equis Pavilion for the much anticipated Dallas date of the ILLENIUM: LIVE Tour. Between the perfect overcast weather (Texas has been HOT! the last few weeks), vibrant and sparkling costumes and smiles, and overall feeling of excitement in the air, it was easy to immerse yourself in the buzzing energy!

Illenium, a well known DJ known for his emotionally charged electronic music, is on the last half of his North American leg of his tour. He will also have shows in Europe and Australia later this fall on the tour. While each show of the tour might have different supporting acts, we were lucky enough to have Annika Wells, Said the Sky, and All Time Low set the mood as openers.

First up was Annika Wells who is a featured artist on several of Illenium’s songs. Annika is a pop artist and vocalist who has worked with several other well known bands and DJs such as BTS, The Jonas Brothers, and Steve Aoki, so she is certainly a talented woman making a huge name for herself! Her stage set up was cute and simple, sporting high pony tails, overalls, and foliage with her keyboardist, Bonnie Brooksbank. Their energy was upbeat and whimsical and playful as they played some of her most love songs such as Fuck Being Sober, Stay High, and Modern Art.

See more photos of Annika Wells HERE

Keeping the energy flowin’ next up was Said the Sky, another electronic DJ/producer. Said the Sky has a high energy and eclectic style, often mixing alternative and pop punk music, which set the scene up perfectly for All Time Low and Illenium.

See more photos of Said The Sky HERE

All Time Low opened their performance with Alex Gaskarth (lead vocalist) playing a lively piano rendition of “Tell Me I’m Alive” that packed tons of emotion. Immediately following that was Break Your Little Heart, a classic I found myself singing along to while photographing. The crowd was loving the chemistry between best friends Jack Barakat (lead guitar) and Alex Gaskarth, neither of them being able to stay in one place or not jump up and down. While they played a lot of their newer songs, they still played their classics such as Lost in Stereo, Weightless, and Dear Maria Count Me In, even including a cover (Blinding Lights, The Weeknd) mid-set. Everyone was feeling the excitement and beach balls and glow sticks starting flying around the crowd!

See more photos of All Time Low HERE

Closing out the night of course was no one other than ILLENIUM. Setting the scene for his set was a completely dark stage with one beam of red light shining down on the DJ while playing his guitar. Illenium’s intro was a mix of Luv Me A Little, Shivering, and Feel Something – and boy did we sure feel somethin’! Illenium has an elaborate stage set up with an endless amount of LED screens, laser beams, instruments/phenomenal sound systems, and even pyrotechnics and confetti canons! The size of the set up was so large that even people from the lawn could feel the heat! Illenium brought out several other musicians including a guitarist, pianist (Said the Sky), and a violinist (Bonnie Brooksbank). Of course the crowd ate up his Taylor Swift cover of Anti-Hero, and bringing Annika Wells back out to sing “Without Me.” Illenium couldn’t finish this legendary set without playing Lifeline, Pray, With All My Heart and closing out with All That Really Matters.

See more photos of ILLENIUM HERE

It’s no doubt everyone left that show a little emotional, but extremely happy. The experience given to the crowd by these musicians and artists made for an unforgettable night by all who attended!

 

Photos By | Jordan Mahoney