Wayland Steals the Show in Greensboro, NC
Cone Denim Entertainment Center – Greensboro, NC – 10 November 2017
At first glance when this show was announced, I could honestly care less; the tour’s headliner, Hinder, have never been a band that I was interested in. A few days before the show I was scrolling through the good ole Facebook and saw that rising rock outfit Wayland was on the tour as one of the support acts, and it was at that moment that I scrambled to try and get approval to cover this one. Since my review of their new record, Rinse & Repeat, I have become a fan of the Michigan band and their powerful sound, plus I saw it as an opportunity to check out Cone Denim Entertainment Center since I have a few shows coming up there.
All of my photographer friends that night asked if I was excited to cover Hinder, my response to that question was, “I’m just here for Wayland” and man, did they steal the show. The band opened their short thirty-minute set with their most recent single, “Through The Fire”, which warmed the crowd with the band’s amazing stage presence. 
The highlight of the night came mid-set when the band broke into an extended version of “Shopping For A Savior”. Frontman Mitch Arnold traded his guitar for a tambourine and unleashed his powerful, soulful vocals and the rest of the band rocked the stage. Towards the end of the song, Arnold launched the tambourine across the stage to one of the band’s techs on the side of the stage in a flawless move, before going back to winning the crowd over. Even though his vocals were not at 100% due to a sickness, Arnold still sounded better than most vocalists do when they are fully healthy.
The band’s high-energy performance is what will launch them to the next level now that they have a full release to support on stage. Big things are coming from this nonstop touring “band of gypsies”, and you’ll definitely want to check them out when the band stops in your town in the future.
