State Champs, The Home Team and Broadside – 02 Ritz Manchester; 22ND FEBRUARY 2025.

25th February 2025 0 By Laura Jane

Here we go… We’re off (again) to Manchester. I’m starting to feel I should be so thankful for the music scene we have here and the sheer amount of diversity in genres that grace our lovely city. I’ve said it before in my articles but honestly; Manchester you do us proud for having a music scene that absolutely thrives.

Tonight’s venue… the 02 Ritz. The 02 Ritz is situated at Whitworth St W, Manchester, and is in very close proximity to Oxford Road train station and also various bus routes making it a very easy venue to get to. The 02 Ritz is a venue I love attending for this reason, it’s in the heart of the city with so many access points it makes attending shows easy (that’s if you can get a ticket!). Tonight was a sold-out event featuring State Champs and friends, friends being The Home Team and Broadside.

BROADSIDE photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock

Although above I praise how easy it is getting to the venue, unfortunately, sometimes unexpected things happen whilst traveling into Manchester which resulted in me getting there a little bit late missing the first 10 minutes of Broadside which was such a shame so unfortunately, there were only crowd pictures available for these guys but the show they put on during their set was spectacular. Broadside are a pop punk band from Richmond, Virginia, USA formed in 2010 and has managed to survive multiple member changes since then and surprisingly has still ended up coming out strong through all the turbulence. The energy from this band and crowd interaction was strong with many ‘dad humor’ jokes and one-liners being thrown around frontman Oliver Baxxter.

Next on tonight’s show was The Home Team. I’ll be straight up honest here, on the lineup for this evening this is the band I had the most anticipation for – odd yeah? feeling more nervous to see a support band is something that rarely happens but I’ve seen many previews of these guys taking to stage with their unique charm and wanted to witness this firsthand after being unavailable to attend their previous show at Manchester Rebellion (11th December 2024).

THE HOME TEAM photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock

The Home Team kicked off their set with ‘Brag‘ and what a start, seeing both guitarist and bassist move more or less in unison dancing around the stage was a treat for the eyes. From the beginning to the end, the set felt like a constant party with the full band (albeit the drummer) dancing around the stage, there was a lot of hip thrusting involved throughout the set and chaotic dance moves being thrown around but it was a delight to watch. I find that The Home Team is one of them bands that haven’t necessarily released one bad song if you’re a fan of their music, they could have played their full discography and I’d have been bopping along like an excited schoolgirl. The highlight of their set for me personally was the track ‘Walk This World With Me‘, this song holds a small place in my heart and is a beautiful song and during this moment at the venue, you could feel the energy of the crowd swaying along in unison to this track and feeling the raw emotion behind Brian Butcher‘s voice was memorizing. Their ability to connect with the audience was clear and a key factor of their show. A thoroughly amazing performance.

Closing the evening were New York pop punk royalty State Champs. I remember first hearing these guys when I picked up a copy of “Punk Goes Pop Volume 6” in 2014 and hearing their cover of ‘Stay The Night – Zedd ft. Hayley Williams‘ and was instantly hooked on their sound from then onwards.

STATE CHAMPS photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock

Starting on a high note with ‘Silver Cloud‘ and that nostalgic vibe from the 2000’s pop-punk era flowed through. Playing some of their fan classics such as ‘Outta My Mind‘, ‘Light Blue‘ and ‘Secrets‘ it’s no secret at all why this band have thrived throughout the years and have become the sensational musicians they are today – their set this evening was tight and polished. With their catchy tunes and high-energy sets they left fans thrilled and wanting more and ended the evening on a roaring sea of applause, if people weren’t already standing for the show I could have imagined a standing ovation being a guaranteed event.

Overall, the evening was a huge success for fans and artists alike in my opinion. From the crowd’s reactions tonight, there was a lot of love, enjoyment, and appreciation. The venue felt nostalgic for the old pop-punk shows that used to happen at Manchester Academy back in the day. It was a good ol’ nostalgic blast from the past. Pop-punk enthusiasts who had journeyed to the O2 Ritz tonight for a night of high-energy performances definitely were not let down by what was brought to the stage. I can imagine this night being one to remembered for a lot of the audience members tonight. If you have the chance to catch any of the bands from this evening live, don’t miss out on doing so!!

FOR EVERYTHING BROADSIDE CLICK >> HERE <<