About two weeks prior to our spring break we saw an ad for an upcoming music event with some of our favorite artists. The only problem was that it was in Texas. To be quite honest, the distance was never the issue at all, it was the getting there part that seemed a little hazy.
It became clear to us that we were going to go, despite the distance and everyone’s thoughts against our plan. So, I (Jen) began to plan out every detail in order for this to work. Our cars were in no shape to drive across the country, so I asked my biological father if he wanted to swap cars for a week. It took a while to get an answer but he willingly agreed.
Now came the saving up part. This trip was not going to be cheap. Fortunately I have a lot of relatives that live in Texas, so no hotels for us. Our expenses would mostly be food and gas, mostly gas though.
The most difficult preparation was the packing. We both struggled in this area, but what do you expect from two indecisive girls? I (Jen) packed two bags, my 16 y/o cousin brought one, and Britt brought 4. In Britt’s defense, her main suitcase wasn’t as big as ours were. We somehow managed to fit them in the back of our Honda Civic.
On Thursday, March 15 we drove away from Greenville at 4am, and rode into the sunrise. Britt drove first, just like we planned, and then we switched four hours in when it was time to refuel. We kept this up for 14 hours. The ride was filled with music, and naps and our silly “song roulette” game. As we passed through states, our minds were filled with the desire to travel and live our lives on the road. We counted down the hours until we would be in the Lone Star State baby!
We arrived in Burleson, TX around 5:30pm and were greeted by my grandparents. This would be our home for the next week, and we couldn’t contain our excitement about the adventures to come.
VIsta Kicks, but as cowboys
On Saturday, we drove an hour to Denton, TX for the first show of our trip. We got lucky with this show, it wasn’t apart of the plan at first. We decided to leave Burleson around noon so that we could do a bit of exploring, which turned into shopping (watch our vlog to see a full haul of our purchases). We ate, and then headed down to the venue.
VISTA KICKS was still doing sound check as we waltzed in. After they got off the stage, we were quickly greeted with hugs and how-have-you-beens. It was exciting to stand aside and watch all of the new and young fans that they had gained since we saw them last.
Their opener was an energetic band called Jonathan from Croatia. We stood to the side with Sam and Trevor and watched them rock out on the stage.
When it came time for the boys to go on, we made our way to the front so we could get some good shots of them. They played through songs off of their albums and included some songs that we’ve never heard live before like “Mona Lisa” and “Circles”. They put on a great show as usual and we were looking forward to their showcase in San Antonio.
stay bad showcase
We arrived at The Paper Tiger around 6pm and stayed around to explore the venue. The venue was outdoors and had string lights and murals to decorate the area. We sat on one of the a picnic benchs and waited for the show to start.
The Shakes came on around 6:30 and played through their set with a relaxed and mellow vibe. Their song “Golden State of Mind” is super calming and easy to chill to. The next performers were a group called Gymshorts based out of Rhode Island. They jumped onto the stage with high energy and an angsty sound. The lead singer kept the crowd engaged by handing off the microphone and leaping off stage.
The next performer was a solo artist named Derek Ted from California. His music is mainly acoustic and is weirdly reminiscent of summer and old lovers. His sound can be described as being soft and nostalgic. If you’ve never checked him out, you definitely should!
Arms Akimbo was the next band to perform. They had everyone bobbing their heads and tapping their feet to the sound of their music. Based out of California, Arms Akimbo brought the ultimate alternative and rock sound. These goofy guys put on a great show and continued smiling throughout the whole thing.
Hate Drugs came onto the stage around 10pm. Also hailing from the Golden State, they brought the dream indie sound. These guys were so into the music they were playing and it showed. They had the whole crowd engaged and no one took their eyes off of them for a minute. They recently released a new album, Tsunami Soul I, so they played the majority of their set from this album. These dudes are extremely talented and you should check them out on Spotify or any other music platforms!
Vista Kicks were the last set that was scheduled for this show. They came out and opened with “Million Dollar Seller Pt. 1” and played through some of the same songs from previous shows, with surprise performances of “Work for Me” (Thanks Trevor!) and “Love & Paranoia”. We can honestly say that these guys never put on a bad show! The energy and effort that they put into not only their songs but into their stage presence and performance is unlike any we have ever seen. We’ve said this plenty of times before but if you EVER have the chance to see Vista Kicks live, please do! We have a feeling that these guys will be big very soon and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to see them in an intimate environment!
Back to reality
In between concerts, we spent our days exploring nearby cities, going to Target way too many times, and ultimately just living it up while we had the time. This trip was nothing short of amazing and it was a great way to spend our spring break and to get away for a little bit. We already have some new adventures planned, but for the meantime, we will be saving up some money for our next venture! We hope you guys enjoyed this travel post and make sure to check out the vlog that we made regarding this trip! Also make sure to check out the pictures that we took while on this trip on the gallery on this blog or on our instagram @hypnoticbolt! Stay groovy!
Hypnotic Bolt 