Concert Review: Colony House at The Eastern

Colony House return with a splash, headlining Atlanta for the first time since 2021. Out in support of their latest album, The Cannonballers, Colony House look to reinvent their anthemic rock sound with some added flair, calling upon past genres like surf rock and rockabilly to craft something new and refreshed. Pair this with the band's arena-caliber performances and you are in for a treat.

Rising indie stars Little Image came along for the ride, capturing the hearts of the audience with their high-speed and intricate set. The trio was certainly swinging above their weight, crafting some heavily layered tunes for group that often only had two members playing. Combining elements of modern indie-pop and rock, Little Image also infused the catchiness of a song you'd hear on TikTok and the lyrical angst of mid-2000s emo bands. I was immediately reminded of I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, with the band effortlessly staying at the forefront of my mind throughout their performance. This is a group who is absolutely worth checking out and keeping your eye on, especially with their latest album, SELF TITLED, coming out this May.

Colony House put everything they have into their live shows. If you saw my Big Thief review from the night before this show, you would remember I talked about how the band traded off performance for musicianship, choosing to stay relatively fixed in place and utilize limited production to amplify their music. Colony House followed a different path. Nearly every song in Colony House's setlist was complimented by an equally potent performance, whether it be frontman Caleb Chapman's crowd walk on "Looking for Some Light" or the wildly explosive ending of "You Know It". 

Throughout the night we saw the band create countless memories for the crowd, including audience member Caleb Jiles who was invited on stage to perform "2:20" with the band, taking over on lead guitar. This is a special moment that Colony House has been doing at every show, giving them a chance to directly connect with fans. However, this show was different, in addition to Caleb coming up on stage for guitar, another attendee, Trey, was invited on stage to do drums and, according to the band, this was a first. Not only did both guests crush their performances, but they left that show with an unforgettable memory. It is clear that Colony House not only cares deeply for their fans, but celebrate them.

"Landlocked Surf Rock" kicked the night off strong, with the immediately recognizable fast guitar strumming and kick drum that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Drummer Will Chapman wasted no time making his presence known, with the drum fills crashing over like a wave. "Silhouettes" saw the band dive back into their indie rock roots, with lead guitarist Scott Mills' distinctive playing being prominent in the mix. The highlights from his guitar came in clear through the speakers. Then, in one of the most rambunctious and bombastic moments of the night, "O Ya" metaphorically punched the crowd in the chest, mostly in thanks to Parke Cottrell's deep, monumental bass riff.

Colony House crammed a lot of music into their set, knocking out twenty-one songs and an acoustic melody of four more in a clean hour and forty-five minutes. Blending together their songs "Leave What's Lost Behind", "This Beautiful Life", "Caught Me by Surprise", and "I'm Not Dying", Colony House crafted a beautiful melody of several songs they just couldn't squeeze into their set in full. Taking a break from all the bombast and ruckus, this was the biggest highlight of the band's musicianship. 

          Setlist:

          1. Landlocked Surf Rock

          2. Would Ya Could Ya

          3. Silhouettes

          4. Learning How to Love

          5. Trying to Survive

          6. Where I'm From -> Man on the Run

          7. Don't Give Up on Me

          8. One of Those Days

          9. Moving Forward (acoustic)(ft. Little Image)

          10. Waiting for My Time to Come

          11. Julia

          12. Everything

          13. O Ya

          14. 2:20

          15. Leave What's Lost Behind -> This Beautiful Life -> Caught Me by Surprise -> I'm Not Dying (acoustic)

          16. Second Guessing Games

          17. Why Even Try

          18. Looking for Some Light

          19. Do You Ever Feel

          -

          20. Cannonballers

          21. You Know It

It is still early into "The Cannonballers Tour", but that doesn't mean you should sleep on your chance to see Colony House live. The band is about to run up the east coast and into The Rust Belt before making their way out west through Texas. The band will then head back home to Nashville where they will headline The Grand Ole Opry. Colony House's full list of shows can be found below.

          2/27 Fayetteville, AR — George's Majestic Lounge*

          2/28 Oxford, MS — The Lyric*

          3/02 Lexington, KY — Manchester Music Hall*

          3/03 Cincinnati, OH — Bogart's*

          3/04 Cleveland, OH — House of Blues*

          3/05 Washington D.C. — 9:30 Club*

          3/07 New York, NY — Irving Plaza*

          3/08 Boston, MA — Paradise Rock Club*

          3/10 Philadelphia, PA — Theatre of Living Arts*

          3/11 Pittsburg, PA — Roxian Theatre*

          3/12 Detroit, MI — Saint Andrews Hall*

          3/14 Chicago, IL — House of Blues*

          3/15 Minneapolis, MN — Fine Line*

          3/16 Kansas City, MO — The Truman*

          3/17 Little Rock, AR — The Hall*

          3/23 Houston, TX — House of Blues*

          3/24 Waco, TX Waco — Hippodrome Theatre*

          3/25 Dallas, TX — House of Blues*

          3/26 Oklahoma, OK — The Jones Assembly*

          3/28 Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater*

          3/30 San Diego, CA — House of Blues*

          3/31 Los Angelos, CA — The Belasco Theater

          4/01 San Francisco, CA — August Hall*

          4/02 Portland, OR — Roseland Theater*

          4/04 Seattle, WA — Neumos*

          4/06 Englewood, CA — Gothic Theatre*

          4/14 Toronto, ON — The Axis Club*

          5/09 Nashville, TN — The Grand Ole Opry^

          * with Little Image

          ^ with Steven Curtis Chapman & The Grand Ole Opry

Colony House also took a moment to highlight their charity, Exist For Good. Exist For Good is an initiative the band started where each tour they raise money for a cause, for "The Cannonballers Tour" Colony House chose to partner with Food For The Hungry to raise money in support of the victims of the February 6th earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. The band asked fans to commit $5.00 USD per month, and came out to have a meet and greet with anyone who signed up at the show. More details on Exist For Good can be found here.

This show was incredibly fun. From start to finish, Colony House deliverable memorable song after memorable song, each with an equally as exciting performance. Pair this with the band's connection with their fanbase and it becomes a whole new level of exciting. I feel like I would be preaching to the choir when recommending this show to any of their fans, but for those unfamiliar with Colony House, I would highly recommend checking out one of their live shows. You can fully expect to have a fantastic night.