Winona Fighter Earns High Marks at Summer School's New York City Session
Class was in session at Irving Plaza on Wednesday night. The idobi Radio’ Summer School Tour rolled into New York City at the start of one of the hottest weeks of the summer so far, with a full classroom of pupils anxious to kick off the upcoming Fourth of July weekend a few days early.
Now in its third year, Summer School tutors music fans in the art of music discovery: five rising bands in one jam-packed evening, as well as a bonus local band. Six bands on a Wednesday was a heavy course load, but worth the cram session. So in the spirit of the tour, RØKKR is handing out grades for every set of the night!
SAGE: A-
Summer School tours as five bands, but picks up a local act to open each stop, and New York's pick was SAGE. Speaking with some moshers who are regulars in the NYC pits, they were happy just to see SAGE on the bill, even with the rest of the card stacked.
The New Jersey natives blended alt-rock and metal to kick off the night and set the tone for the entire evening. Not an easy task when you are the first of six bands. An A- for the hometown kids, with the minus only because an opening slot is never enough time to show your work.
Chase Petra: B
Performing with only two band members, the Southern California natives still delivered a great set. Chase Petra brought clean pop rock vocals and plenty of stage presence. A scaled down lineup earns a scaled down grade, but showing up shorthanded and still winning over the room is a solid B in any class.
Winona Fighter: A+
Winona Fighter delivered the strongest set of the night. Valedictorians, if you will. It's been a full school year since I first saw them open for Simple Plan, the tour that set them on their current trajectory, which has included two consecutive invites to Warped Tour.
Coco Kinnon is one of my favorite front persons, across any genre. She's that kid in the class who can't sit still, but somehow keeps up with the class material.
Of course, the band was not above bribing the crowd with their now infamous cover of “Sabotage,” delivered in the Beastie Boys' own backyard, as well as their single released last month, “BOMBS AWAY.”
If you aren't familiar with Winona Fighter, be sure to study up on their 2025 debut punk album My Apologies to the Chef. Trust me when I say it's a no-skip album!
South Arcade: Incomplete
English exchange students South Arcade get an Incomplete on their transcript. Now, hear me out… The Oxford natives received one of the most amped welcomes of the night when they took the stage. But they were maybe one song into their set before security removed press from the barricade as a safety precaution.
Not much later into their set, the fire alarm sounded and power was cut to the stage. House staff was able to restore power after a few minutes. But it's hard to give a fair grade with so many interruptions to their set.
Sooo... guess RØKKR will have to catch them on tour in the future and revisit their grade. Oh darn!
Games We Play: A-
The boys from Games We Play wasted no time getting comfortable with the class at Irving Plaza, with all five members taking the stage shirtless. This could be grounds for a trip to the principal's office, but it was one of the hottest days so far this summer in a packed venue!
Games We Play is just one of those bands where, beyond their feel good music, the frontman Emmyn Calleiro is as genuine as they come. He mentioned it was their first time touring in a year or so. Some of that time was spent with his baby daughter, Wednesday, who was watching from the balcony. The crowd spotted her and waved, and adorably, she waved back!
During their set, Calleiro spoke about his mental health and a stretch where he wasn't enjoying the music he was making. But his head is in the right space now. Also, another memorable moment was the band pulling a fan up to the stage to play keyboards.
This one gets an A- for the positive vibes. GWP may have scored higher, but we are still trying to figure out if these class clowns’ were serious when they said the power outage during South Arcade's set was their tour prank!
Honey Revenge: B+
Cramming six bands into one midweek evening was courageous. Some of the edges of the crowd had thinned out by the time the night's headliners, took the stage, but pupils that were in it to win it stuck around. And it was fitting they did.
Honey Revenge played the inaugural Summer School run in 2024 as an opener, making them the tour's first graduate to return as headliner. The band even brought out an OG dry-erase board to tally the number of crowd surfers during one of their songs. (If you were one of those surfing, be sure to keep scroll to the very end for a bonus gallery of crowd pics!)
As for the final grade, there isn't a more fitting mark for a band named Honey Revenge than a… Bee Plus.
PRINCIPAL’S NOTE
Recommended for Honor Roll — Security & House Staff
Considering the circumstances, security did a fantastic job handling a surf-happy crowd and the pit of photographers. Irving plaza has one of the more narrow stages in New York City, and twelve or so photographers was just too much chaos.
Security made the right call to vacate the pit during South Arcade. And they kept performers safe when they left the stage to sing at the barricade (and surf, like Coco from Winona Fighter).
House staff deserves their accolades, too. They successfully located the issue with the power or a pulled fire alarm and resolved it without needing to make the crowd exit the venue. I mean, what would summer school be without at least one fire drill?
Recommended for Class Detention — Photographers
New York is one of the most competitive markets for media coverage and press passes. No shame in photographers shooting your shot with PR or tour management, obtaining a pass, and showing up to do your job.
However, your conduct while class is in session is still important. So, my fellow photographers get a detention slip. Some were a bit too concerned with getting their shots, whether it was stepping in front of others or just refusing to move to the side to let others by. Others appeared to be disrespectful towards security.
Remember, shooting at the barricade is a privilege. Don't worry, there will be other shows, other great performances to capture, and for the love of all that's holy, everyone in the band deserves to be in your frame, not just the lead singer!
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If you spot yourself in the crowd, we want to hear from you! Let us know in the comments!
