KALEO’S PAYBACK TOUR: ICELANDIC BLUES ROCK MUSIC TAKES OVER TORONTO’S COCA-COLA COLISEUM

Written and Captured By | Magaly Bocangel

This particular Sunday evening was not a regular one for KALEO fans of Toronto. A long line up was formed in front of Exhibition Place’s arena, Coca-Cola Coliseum, as fans were eager to get inside to experience Kaleo’s Payback Tour. VIP ticket holders are let in first, most of them rushing to get to the barricade for a perfect stage view, while others stop for some snacks before making their way into the crowd. Many fans were wearing their newly purchased Kaleo merch, while others were wearing merch from their past tours. You could feel the anticipation and excitement filling the arena as it got closer to showtime.

Folk singer, Chance Peña, opened the show and took the audience’s breath away. You could hear the crowd singing along to Peña’s song “i am not who i was,” a song with over 260 million streams on Spotify since it’s release one year ago. Peña told the crowd that his album, “Ever-Shifting, Continual Blossoming,” is out in just five days on Sept. 13th. He played the first song off the unreleased album, a song called “Suddenly”.

See more photos of Chance Peña HERE

Peña has an immense talent for story-telling in his songs. During his live performance especially, you could feel the passion and meaning behind every lyric he sung. If you can’t catch him on the Payback Tour with KALEO, you’re in luck because Peña is going on a headline tour starting Oct. 1st with his first stop in Dallas, Texas.

The Icelandic blues rock band, KALEO, started the night off strong with their powerful song “USA Today.” Released two months ago in July, this song speaks out to the epidemic of gun violence in America. Most songs the band performed were from their 2016 album, “A/B,” with global hits like “Way down We Go” with over a billion streams on Spotify and their grammy-nominated song, “No Good.” Off their 2021 album, “Surface Sounds,” the Toronto crowd went wild for their performance of “Hey Gringo,” singing the lyrics back to the band. Lead singer, JJ Julius Son, played the piano when performing “Brother Run Fast,” captivating everyone in that arena with his powerful voice—he has vocals that could never disappoint.

See more photos of Kaleo HERE

The band’s name, KALEO, means “the voice” in Hawaiian and that could not be more fitting. Fans also went crazy for the harmonicist of the band, Thorleifur Davidsson, who was playing the harmonica beautifully. He left the crowd in awe and it was surely the talk of the night. During the band’s encore, they played an unreleased song named “Backdoor” and then concluded the night with one of their latest singles, “Rock ’n’ Roller.”

KALEO might have left the stage, but their music didn’t stop playing in Toronto that night. As people exited the parking lot of the arena, you could hear the blasting of KALEO songs on car speakers. The second leg of the 2024 Payback Tour is only about halfway through, so there’s still a chance to grab some tickets—it’s a tour you will not want to miss!

Photos By | Magaly Bocangel