Saturday nights with a stacked line up always makes for the best of weekend celebrations, and earlier this month I got the opportunity to catch an entirely Ohio-based four act event at A&R Music Bar in downtown Columbus.

First opener Gool started the night right as I arrived at the show, and their infectious energy vibrated the walls of the building as guests tuned in to their vibrant set. A key feature of Gool’s set was expansive guitar lines that careened throughout the crowd, and as someone who hadn’t caught a Gool show before, I was immediately hooked by their instrumentation. Following up Gool came Cleveland-based People In The Daytime, whose single “In Love With A TV” I’ve actually known for a while from one of my friends. While I previously didn’t know that the energy of Gool would be matched, People In The Daytime managed to amp up the crowd even more during their first ever Columbus show with a thrashing rock energy. The band heavily featured their keys player who is arguably one of the most talented keyboard players I’ve ever witnessed live, and the crowd couldn’t help but bop along to the band’s catchy tracks.

Adam Paddock was next to hit the stage, a late addition to the show bill who is beloved by the Ohio State community that he recently graduated from. Throughout the course of his set, the crowd experienced the magic of this multi-genre experimentalist as he featured a trumpet solo, sailed through saccharine vocals, and even exploded into danceable electro pop. This show also found the first live performance of his newest single “stay close to me”, which we featured on our September 25th Weekly Roundup. This isn’t my first time seeing Adam, but with each show he seems to find himself even more within his element as a musician and entertainer, and this crowd was quite literally ready to eat out of the palm of his hand by mid-set.

The night closed out with headliners Cousin Simple, a proudly Columbus band through and through who couldn’t stop reminding us just how good it felt to be home. Their set began with the first view of their now released music video for "Candlelight", which is entirely campy and fun in its inception as the band struts in the woods in wigs and suits. As soon as the video ended, the viewing screen dropped to show the band floor directly into their set with such raucous energy that almost didn’t seem possible to sustain. The crowd and band seemed to feed off of each other to build the show energy into infectious joy as lead singer Harsh Hoag bounced around the small stage with the command of a tried and true rockstar. I kept expecting the energy to falter due to its insanely high levels, but neither Cousin Simple or the packed out crowd seemed able to stop their boisterous daze of music and dance for even a moment. Highlights of the set included a cover of “Mr. Brightside,” an unreleased track written while on tour out west, and the encore consisting of a quick change back into suits and wigs for the live performance of “Candlelight”. 

This show held a joyous hangover of energy for me well into the following day, and it truly epitomizes the essence of the Columbus music scene. The home of both Caamp and Twenty One Pilots, Columbus values the artists that are exuberant, diverse, and driven by community and connection. The musicians on this bill all genuinely wanted to experience the show in full force with the crowd, and the reciprocation of energy kept spirits high long after the last chord was played to the delight of everyone in attendance. Both Cousin Simple and Adam Paddock have been on my radar as the next up artists for the city, and after finally getting to catch both at a show, I can firmly say that you need to have both on your watch list. The sounds coming out of Columbus are just simply off the charts, and these two artists are running the game by leaps and bounds. 

Make sure to connect with Cousin Simple, Adam Paddock, People In The Daytime, and Gool so you don’t miss a moment from Ohio’s finest up and coming acts!