By Hannah Webb | News Editor
Mt. Joy proved Thursday night that Foster Pavilion could handle more than country concerts, bringing indie rock to Waco to kick off Silobration.
Opening for the Philadelphia band was Ax and the Hatchetmen, which is currently on its own tour. Mt. Joy closed its fall tour with the Waco show.
For some fans, the opening act was reason enough to show up. Will Pickle and Joshua Patteson, freshmen from Boerne, had seen Ax and the Hatchetmen perform in Austin the night before. Pickle said he was “blown away by the show” and wanted to see the band again.
“I’m a huge indie rock guy, so I think it’s great,” Pickle said. “I love this genre.”
Ax and the Hatchetmen opened with “Stick & Poke,” accompanied by the sounds of cars driving away and flashing lights that cast the six-member band in silhouette. Led by frontman Axel Ellis, the group wasted little time getting the crowd moving.
The band followed with three straight songs: “Where tf Did I Park My Car,” “Oasis” — a crowd favorite — and “Love Songs.”
Before launching into a cover of Neon Trees’ “Everybody Talks,” Ellis told the crowd he was “going to need some help on this one.” Despite being 15 years old, the song proved familiar enough to get the audience on its feet. Ellis shed his jacket and jumped off the stage, bringing the performance directly to the fans.
The band then shifted gears with “Dance To Different Songs.” As Ellis reached for the high notes, phone flashlights flickered throughout Foster Pavilion, dotting the darkened arena with small points of light.
Ellis introduced “Flagstaff” with a question for the crowd:
“Do you like road trips?” he asked. “So do we. This is a song about a town in Arizona.”
“Who’s ready to climb mountains with joy this evening?” Ellis asked. He thanked Mt. Joy for the opportunity to open and the crowd for arriving early.
The band launched into “Stay // Honestly,” which Ellis introduced as a “breakup song.” The music grew louder as he raced across the stage, matching the restless energy of the performance. Red and pink lights then washed over the pavilion as “Funny Valentine” brought the crowd into rhythm with a steady round of clapping.
Next came Ax and the Hatchetmen’s most-played song, “Hotel Room,” punctuated by a drum solo. The band carried that momentum into “Sunscreen,” giving its saxophonist and trumpet player room to shine.
Ellis introduced the final song, “Loser,” with a simple acknowledgment:
“We’ve all been there.”
As the drumbeat began, the band launched into its last performance of the set before leaving the stage to applause and shouts from the crowd.
Between sets, Chip and Joanna Gaines appeared onstage to thank concertgoers for attending the show that kicked off Silobration.
“We are so happy you came out on this beautiful Thursday night,” Chip said. “… It means the world. We are so excited for you to be here for this. [It’s] basically our concert series, and this is us kicking off our [11th annual] Silobration.”
Joanna reflected on how “fun it would be to be a rock star,” while Chip picked up the drumsticks and began playing. She playfully scolded him before eventually taking the sticks herself.
After thanking the crowd, Joanna encouraged concertgoers to return for the remaining Silobration performances by The Fray, Dylan Gossett and Cory Asbury.
For some students, the show was more than another concert on Baylor’s calendar. Rogers, Minnesota, senior Kira Cmiel bought her tickets over the summer after learning Baylor would host the band.
She first connected with Mt. Joy during a road trip to Zion National Park with friends during her freshman year.
“A bunch of my friends played for me for the first time some Mt. Joy songs,” Cmiel said. “I feel like I heard them but didn’t really make the connections. And I was like, ‘This is awesome.’”
Mt. Joy took the stage shortly after, opening with a few minutes of acoustic music. Warm, sunshine-esque orange lights silhouetted the band as it eased into “Lemon Tree.”
The quieter opening did not last long. As the song swelled toward its climax, lead singer Matt Quinn shouted, “What’s up, Waco?” and the pavilion erupted.
The momentum carried into “Sheep,” with the crowd dancing along before moving into “Jenny Jenkins.” The band kept the energy high with “Let Loose,” then eased into the more subdued “Orange Blood,” which Quinn introduced by calling the audience “amazing.”
For a moment, the spotlight shifted to Jackie Miclau, the band’s pianist and lone female member. Bathed in pink light, Miclau delivered an orchestral-sounding solo that seemed to pull the audience somewhere beyond the walls of the pavilion. She rose from her seat to play the keyboard, transitioning into “Dirty Love.”
After the song, Quinn revealed that he had been watching the Philadelphia 76ers game backstage. He gave a shoutout to former Baylor basketball player VJ Edgecombe, drawing applause from the audience, before offering a quick “Sic ’em” — the first of several throughout the night.
Quinn introduced “I’m Your Wreck” as simply a song about “being a nervous wreck.” Its jazzy sound gave way to a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” bringing a familiar melody into the band’s own set.
Before “Highway Queen,” Quinn reflected on the band’s early days, when its members traveled across the country in a van, playing “anywhere that would let them.” He described them as “people of the highway,” a phrase that led naturally into the song. The band followed with a cover of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
The set continued with the title track “Mt. Joy,” followed by Grateful Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain” and “Strangers.” During the opening verse of “Strangers,” Quinn traded “New York City” for “Waco, Texas,” giving the familiar lyrics a local touch.
The mood shifted when Quinn introduced “Lucy,” a song written for a friend diagnosed with brain tumors. He described his friend as an “incredible inspiration” and spoke about people fighting with “everything they have to get one more day of something we all take for granted.”
“This is a beautiful place where terrible things happen, but at the end of the day, there is a lot of beauty in this world, and to know that there are so many people risking so much to come back and be a part of this,” Quinn said. “It is so important for me to remember, and so I’ll send this out to everyone who is battling [something hard].”
The slower performance offered a moment of stillness amid the night’s louder, more energetic songs. But the reprieve did not last long. “Bathroom Light” and “Astrovan” followed, the latter a clear favorite of one concertgoer who repeatedly shouted requests between songs.
Next came “Julia,” with covers of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers and “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz woven into the set. As the familiar rhythms filled the pavilion, audience members tapped along, carrying the music through the final stretch of the show.
To close the night, Quinn thanked the Gaineses, his band, the crowd and Ax and the Hatchetmen. He invited Ellis back onstage to join him for the final song, “Silver Lining.”
With both bands sharing the stage, the crowd surged back to life, jumping up and down as the song brought the evening to a close.
For Cmiel, she was especially excited to see Baylor bring more folk and indie music to campus, describing the university’s support for smaller artists as feeling “like supporting a small business.”
“Keep the country, because, you know, we’re in Texas, but definitely keep people on the folk train,” Cmiel said. “I will be attending more if this is what it’s looking like.”
