The term legend is defined as, “an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field or expertise.” A personal belief of this writer is that the Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein has officially reached the status of legendary. The group just wrapped up their 25 Years of Noise Tour with one of the last few dates taking place at The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina. The tour celebrated the year 2025 officially marking the bands 25th year in existence. As support, Silverstein brought along fellow emo-music bands, Thursday and Free Throw, as well as up and coming Australian group, Bloom.
Excitement filled the air as the anticipation for the show to begin grew by the minute. When the lights finally dimmed, the energy in the crowd reached a new high and the members of Bloom ran out onto the stage and kicked off the beginning of an exciting, chaotic night! The crowdsurfing and mosh pits began immediately and never stopped for the rest of the evening. Bloom gave a hard-hitting performance that could be considered one of the best tour openers of 2025. Free Throw kept the energy up while jumping around the stage and left all the elder emo’s with teary eyes. Once Thursday took the stage, they delivered a powerful and emotional set that seemed to transport everyone in the venue back to the early 2000’s. Every voice in the room could be heard yelling the bands emo ballads back at them the entire set.
When the stage had been reset and the supporting bands equipment cleared, it was time for Silverstein to show everyone why they have survived in the alternative music landscape for 25 years. Before the members took their places on stage, the LED screens lit up with a montage showing recordings of the band performing in their earlier years. Once the montage came to an end, drummer Paul Koehler emerged first, followed by the rest of the band with lead singer Shane Told taking his place on the stage last. Silverstein broke into one of their newer tracks, “Negative Space” and almost simultaneously the crowd surfers started coming over the barricade (venue security definitely had their work cut out for them the whole night). For the next 90 minutes, the band took us through music history as they performed at least one song off of every album they ever released.
A highlight of the night was when Shane brought out his acoustic guitar and performed “The End” from their album, A Shipwreck In The Sand. Due to its acoustic nature, the band does not perform this song often on other tours, and it was an extreme treat for those in attendance. As the set continued, the bands timeless hits including “My Heroine”, “Smile In Your Sleep” and of course “Smashed Into Pieces” were performed to smiling, yet teary eyed fans.
Even though the 25 Years of Noise Tour has now come to an and, Silverstein has cemented their place in the emo, punk and alternative music scenes as a band that is not going anywhere anytime soon. As Told’s voice said at the end of their beginning montage, “This is forever.”
Photos & writing by Justin Doan
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