Review and photos by Katrina Gelety

The Summer School Tour came to Pittsburgh, PA on August 6, 2025 with an insanely phenomenal lineup. The evening started with a set from Huddy. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I only knew his song “All the Things I Hate About You,” but I was drawn into his performance the second he began with “Vendetta.” His stage presence is electric, and he makes sure to interact with the audience as much as possible. The crowd was gave him the same energy back as they were jumping, dancing, and singing every word back. You never know how an audience will react for the first artist on a lineup, but it was amazing to see Huddy get the same love from fans as every other artist on the bill. Huddy’s set was one of my favorites of the night, and I hope to see him live again soon.

Up next was Arrows in Action. I knew it was going to be a fun set when each member came onstage in matching tracksuits, and then I fell in love as soon as they mashed up their song “Over It” with “Breaking Free” from High School Musical. The band treated the audience with performances of songs off of their latest album including “Feel It Again,” “Light Like You,” “Cheekbones,” and “Empty Canvas.” They finished their set with their hit “Uncomfortably Numb,” and Taylor Acorn surprised the audience by coming out to sing her parts of the song with the band.

It was then time for Beauty School Dropout to perform, and they began with their song “Fever” which had the crowd losing their minds. It was clear that many attendees were specifically excited to see Beauty School Dropout as multiple people in the audience were wearing the band’s merch. The first crowd surfers of the night began as the band performed their song “We Made Plans & God Laughed.” The intensity of the band’s set lasted all the way through to their last and most energetic song, “Fight Mode.” Fans made sure to save enough vivacity to give that song and the band the love they deserve.

Pennsylvania natives, If Not For Me, were next and mentioned how happy they were to be home. The audience welcomed them back with what I believe was the biggest amount of crowd surfers that night. I remember thinking during “Say It to My Face” that I hadn’t seen one second of the song where there wasn’t at least one surfer in the air. The band mentioned that it was their third time in Pittsburgh and that “third time’s the charm” as that show became their favorite Pittsburgh show thus far. Closing out their performance, they played “Feel Me Now” which had the crowd as lively as they had been at the start of the set. 

Charlotte Sands followed opening with her song “Tantrum,” bringing the audience’s energy right back up after the quick set change. One of the words I wrote down from Sands’s set was “BELTING” as I could not believe how effortlessly she showcases her vocals when performing live. I was in awe the entire time over her voice and her stage presence. It’s extremely evident that Sands is meant to be a star. She is constantly moving all over the stage as well as interacting with fans. The pictures I got during her set were some of my favorites of all time, and I believe it is because of her dedication to putting on a phenomenal show. My two favorites of the set were “Pity” and “Spite,” and I was also excited to see that “Dress” made the setlist as that is the first song of hers I heard when I found it on TikTok years ago. It’s been so great to see how much she has progressed over the years, and I will be excited to see all that comes for Charlotte Sands in the future.

The penultimate band to perform for the night was Rain City Drive. Right from the start with “Lose My Composure,” I remember thinking how incredible singer Matt McAndrew’s vocals are live. He’s another singer that can effortlessly belt and not miss a single note. I was ecstatic to hear “Over Me” on the setlist since it’s my favorite Rain City Drive song. The audience continued to keep up their crowd surfing during the band’s set, one guy even holding his Rain City Drive street sign which had me cracking up. I enjoyed their set so much that their songs have continued to be on heavy listening rotation for me since the show, and I hope to also see them again soon.

Closing out the night was the extremely talented Taylor Acorn. I’ve been listening to Acorn since she was in country music, so I am always excited to get to watch her shine. She took the stage with her latest single, “Goodbye, Good Riddance” which I had, and still have, on repeat. The crowd kept up their surfing and high energy for the last set of the night. It was so great to see them going wild for “Greener” since it’s my favorite song of Acorn’s. I was also thrilled to see Charlotte Sands come back out on stage to sing “Final Nail” with Acorn. Closing out the night with “Psycho,” you could see on every audience member’s face that they had the best time at the Summer School Tour that night. 

Finally, when it comes to Charlotte Sands and Taylor Acorn, it is beautiful to see two strong and talented women headlining a punk/rock tour. I grew up listening to this music and often heard people saying that it wasn’t “cool” to listen to women or female fronted bands in the genre. That broke my heart to hear when I was younger considering I have always adored female musicians. To see EVERYONE in the audience giving all of their energy to both Sands and Acorn made my heart happy and gave me hope that women will continue to thrive in this specific music scene.

I loved the Summer School Tour 2025 so much and will absolutely be attending again in the future. You can check out photos I took of the show in the gallery below!