Concert Review: The Neverest Duality Tour with Halestorm, Lindsey Stirling and Apocalyptica at the Upstate Medical University at The OncenterWar Memorial in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Neverest Duality tour was united by musicians Halestorm and Lindsey Stirling on September 16, 2025, at the Upstate Medical University at The Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. Apocalyptica was also in support of this fantastic lineup. This show was astonishing, and I couldn’t dare blink for a second, as each band’s set was packed with so much action. There’s a lot to explain about what made this show so exciting.

Coming all the way from Helsinki, Finland. Apocalyptica started the night off. I’ve heard the band name ‘Apocalyptica’ a couple of times in my life, but I have never listened to their music or known what the band was like. I was excited to see what I was about to witness. The lights went out, and “The Ecstasy of Gold”started playing around the arena. I’ve only ever heard this intro when I sawMetallica a few years ago. As soon as the intro ended, the band entered the stage with cellos in their hands and started shredding “Ride the Lightning” by Metallica. Their set was Metallica covers. They played one of my favorites, ‘Master of Puppets,’ which made it incredibly fun to take photos and capture the energy. I witnessed an eye-catching performance that I never would have guessed, using orchestra stringed instruments playing metal. They brought a lot of energy and stage presence to kick off the night, and the audience was absolutely into their set, singing along to the Metallica covers. Definitely check them out, you might be surprised as I was.

Lindsey Stirling took the stage to get the crowd ready for Halestorm. I never thought I would get the chance to see her live. I’ve seen some music videos and recall her appearance on America’s Got Talent over a decade ago, which I think  remember watching on TV at the time. The band walked out on stage, and background dancers followed with a light-up book, immediately making me think, “We are about to experience an awesome story”. The entire set was absolutely jaw- dropping, energetic, and a performance that I will never forget. Performing songs from her album ‘Duality’, released in early June 2024, Stirling has recently released a deluxe edition with additional tracks. On stage, she moved, danced, spun, ran, and jumped around, all while playing the violin perfectly without missing a note. I was very impressed watching her play. The choreography to the songs with Stirling was mesmerizing, and the background dancers with her on stage to visually tell the story were perfect.

On top of that, Stirling introduced her band, following her new touring guitarist, Jason Richardson, whom I’ve been a fan of for a while. I’ve heard his guitar playing on various projects. Seeing him play guitar with my own eyes was incredible. It was amazing to see Stirling and Richardson keeping up together, note-for-note, on both of their instruments, especially considering how fast some of these songs were. I plan on seeing her live again next time she comes to town, to experience another story told on stage like this. My honest reaction after her set was, “Wow, just absolutely incredible, never thought I’d see anything like that”.

Halestorm took over the stage, doubling the energy and crowd interaction from Lindsey Stirling and Apocalyptica. The band is performing songs from the new album “Everest,” which was released back on August 8, 2025. Halestorm stepped on stage behind a huge white backdrop, revealing their silhouette profiles, and the crowd roared with excitement as they started playing their intro track, ‘Fallen Star’. Lzzy Hale got the entire arena out of their seats as she interacted with the crowd, unleashing her iconic scream as the band went into playing one of their biggest hits, “I Miss the Misery”, with confetti blasting in the air and the crowd finishing the lyrics with her in parts of the song. The band performed one of my favorite songs, “Love Bites (So Do I)”, with the crowd screaming the lyrics as loud as possible. As Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger stood next to each other, showing stage presence and having fun, Arejay Hale performed cool stick tricks while playing perfectly.

For my third time seeing Halestorm, and I get more impressed every time. At almost every show, Lzzy shares the band’s origin story, explaining how she and her brother, Arejay, first started Halestorm in their younger years, which is so inspiring for many individuals. It really helps people understand the importance of perseverance and not giving up on their dreams. They say they have played gigs to only two people before, and that didn’t stop them. They left everything they had on stage and made sure every single person in that crowd had something to talk about while walking out of the venue.