Concert Review: Hawthorne Heights Brings Emo Nostalgia to Minnesota with 20 Years Of “If Only You Were Lonely”

Two decades after If Only You Were Lonely put heartbreak on the map for an entire generation, Hawthorne Heights returned to the iconic First Avenue in Minneapolis on March 9th, 2026, to remind us why the album became a staple of the mid-2000s emo scene. The band played the record in full, but not before supporting acts Creeper and Letlive delivered theatrical, emotional, and chaotic sets that hyped the crowd for a night built on celebration and nostalgia.

Creeper opened the night with a theatrical flair that felt straight out of a gothic vampire opera. Even though I wasn’t personally familiar with their music, their performance was impossible to ignore. Dramatic lighting, dark aesthetics, and vocalist Will Gould’s commanding presence immediately pulled the room in. Hailing from the UK, the band brought a polished, haunting energy that translated incredibly well live, blending sharp vocals with a moody, cinematic atmosphere. Their set laid the perfect foundation for the night, pulling the crowd into a world where emo, punk, and gothic storytelling collide.

Nothing could have prepared me for the moment Letlive took the stage. From the second they walked out until their set ended, the energy was pure, unhinged chaos, in the best way possible. Vocalist Jason Aalon Butler was an absolute force, throwing a trash can around (and on top of himself), then picking up speakers, running across the stage with them, stacking them, and climbing on top like it was nothing. Watching him sustain that level of nonstop intensity while still sounding solid the entire time was honestly wild. During the middle of their final song, Butler took things even further by making his way to the complete opposite side of the venue, climbing up to the upper level, and finishing the song from the balcony. That moment escalated into him hanging off the edge and finishing the song while being held up by the crowd. This was far from your typical live set; it felt more like a controlled explosion that demanded your full attention from start to finish.

By the time Hawthorne Heights took the stage, the room was already buzzing with nostalgia. Celebrating the 20-year anniversary of If Only You Were Lonely, the band played the album front to back, giving longtime fans the chance to relive every lyric, breakdown, and scream that defined mid-2000s emo. The crowd was fully locked in from start to finish, singing along as if no time had passed. The band also treated fans to a new song, “Like a Cardinal,” set to be released on March 20th, which fit seamlessly alongside the older material and felt like a natural evolution of their sound.

Of course, the night wouldn’t have been complete without staples like “Niki FM,” which sent the energy even higher. Hawthorne Heights closed the night in the most fitting way possible with “Ohio Is For Lovers,” turning the venue into a sea of crowd surfers as vocalist JT Woodruff made his way to the barricade to sing the entire song face-to-face with the crowd. It was the kind of moment that perfectly captured what this anniversary show was all about: connection, catharsis, and the lasting impact of songs that still mean everything to the people screaming them two decades later.