Recently, I joined Katie Loberger, the Shield’s Business Manager, in attending a concert at the 1904 Music Hall. Headlining that night was Flipturn, a local indie band from Fernandina Beach, and the opening acts consisted of Miles from London, a band from Jacksonville, and Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, a funk rock band with a peculiar yet tasteful setup. 

The concert doors opened at 8 p.m., so Katie and I arrived at the venue at 7 p.m. after we got lost downtown. We were the third group of people in line, and after socializing with and befriending the couple next to us for an hour, we were let into the 1904 Music Hall. The venue, while smaller than I anticipated, ended up pleasing me as I would have grown uncomfortable had the place been larger and filled with more people. 

Katie and I snagged the front row, and Miles From London arrived on stage about fifteen minutes later. The stage did not seem to have any extra decoration which correlated with the band itself, but the energy coming from lead vocalist Christian Pittman distracted from the barrenness of the set. This “bop rock” band initiated just the right environment for the rest of the night, utilizing bright lights and smoke machines well. The chemistry between Pittman and bassist Ian Poland was also memorable from the night. 

Following Miles From London was Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, a band just as odd sounding as its name. The members brought flowers, dream catchers, rainbow capes, unconventional instruments, and an astronaut suit to the stage. I found the music and energy from this band to agree with me and Katie more that night, especially since we stood in front of Aaron Stinson, a long-haired man who played a flute, piccolo, saxophone, tambourine, and used other everyday items to make music. The vocalist, Joe Hertler himself, provided an endearing voice and audience encouragement to join in on the music, which was easy to do even if their music was previously unknown to me. 

After the Rainbow Seekers performed, the headliner Flipturn set their stage, and the audience eagerly waited for the music to begin even if the set was nearly as barren as the first opener. Still, this indie band delivered the best music of the night, with hits such as “Hippie,” “Chicago,” and “August,” and I definitely found myself tearing up during “August” as lead vocalist Dillon Basse provided chilling vocals which were up to par with the studio recording. Basse himself even jumped into the audience and crowdsurfed, which only stirred us up even more. All in all, each band we saw that night was a joy to listen to, and by the end of it, my ears were ringing, and I was dying for a burger.