Concert Review: Summer School Tour Brings a New Generation of Alternative Music to Allentown

Some concerts feel like a night out. The Summer School Tour at Archer Music Hall on July 8 felt more like spending an afternoon discovering your next favorite band.

Despite the summer heat outside, fans started filling the venue early for a lineup that stretched across the evening. The show kicked off earlier than most, giving five bands plenty of time to introduce themselves to a crowd that leaned noticeably younger than the average concert crowd. By the middle of the day, Archer Music Hall was packed with fans wearing band shirts, lining up at merchandise tables, and waiting to meet the artists between sets. PETA was also on hand collecting signatures and handing out giveaways, adding to the festival-like atmosphere.

One thing that stood out was how approachable the bands were. Throughout the afternoon, several members stepped away from the stage and over to their merchandise tables, taking photos, talking with fans, and thanking people for coming out. It made the day feel a little more personal than a typical concert.

While the Summer School Tour featured performances from Chase Petra, South Arcade, Games We Play, Honey Revenge, and Winona Fighter, it was Winona Fighter that completely stole my attention.

I’d heard plenty about their live show before finally getting the chance to see them, but they still managed to exceed every expectation I had.

Trying to put Winona Fighter into one category doesn’t really work. Their music pulls from punk rock, alternative, and hardcore without sounding tied down to any one style. The songs hit hard when they need to, but they’re just as comfortable pulling the audience in with huge hooks and memorable choruses.

What really separates them, though, is what happens once they step on stage.

Coco Kinnon rarely stayed behind the microphone for long. She constantly moved across the stage, feeding off the crowd and finding every opportunity to connect with the people packed against the barricade. More than once she stepped right to the front, singing face-to-face with fans who happily shouted every word back at her. It never felt rehearsed. It felt like she genuinely wanted the audience to be part of the performance instead of simply watching it.

Bright yellows, blues, and purples filled the stage throughout their set, giving the room almost as much movement as the band itself. Songs like “Subaru” and the recently released “Bombs Away: kept the crowd fully invested, inspired by the frustrations and uncertainty surrounding the current state of the world, the song carried a little more weight without losing the band’s signature edge.

It fit naturally into the set and felt right at home alongside the rest of their material. while their cover of the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” turned into one of the afternoon’s biggest moments. The floor stayed active with crowd surfers and light mosh pits popping up throughout the performance, giving security plenty to do while everyone else simply enjoyed the chaos.

By the end of their set, I honestly found myself asking the same question over and over, why aren’t more people talking about this band? Great songs will get people through the door, but it’s their live show that keeps them there. Winona Fighter doesn’t simply play a set. They create one of those performances that sticks with you long after it’s over.

The rest of the lineup made sure there was never much downtime between sets. Chase Petra proved that a guitar, drums, and strong songwriting can easily hold a room’s attention. South Arcade kept the pace moving with a lively performance that had fans bouncing along almost immediately, while Games We Play took a more laid-back approach, mixing catchy songs with plenty of interaction between the band and the crowd. Closing out the evening, Honey Revenge shifted the atmosphere once again, bringing upbeat pop-punk grooves that had much of Archer Music Hall dancing as the Summer School Tour came to an end.

The beauty of the Summer School Tour isn’t that every band sounds the same. It’s that every band brings something different to the stage. Whether fans arrived for one specific act or spent the day discovering someone new, the lineup offered plenty of reasons to leave with another band added to the playlist.

For me, that band was Winona Fighter.