Volbeat, Halestorm & The Ghost Inside Light Up 713 Music Hall In Houston

It had been over a month since my last concert, so when I got the notification that I’d be covering Volbeat, Halestorm, and The Ghost Inside, I was pretty damn excited. Walking into 713 Music Hall this past Tuesday was surprisingly less chaotic than expected. Normally this venue feels like a can of sardines, but this time there was actually room to breathe. The crowd was still stoked though…kids repping merch, people snapping a million selfies, friends running into each other left and right…but it wasn’t shoulder-to-shoulder madness. Probably not the best for the venue, but definitely a win for me since I’ve been living the hermit life lately and avoiding humans LOL. Traffic was its usual Houston nightmare, but somehow I made it on time with a whole thirty minutes to spare…a personal record at this point. That gave me time to catch up with friends I didn’t even know were going, which made the night even better. And shoutout to 713 for blasting the AC because it was over 100 degrees outside, and stepping into that icebox felt like the first blessing of the night.

First up was The Ghost Inside, a Cali based metal band that came out swinging and set the tone for the madness ahead. Their sound was straight-up gnarly…riffs that hit like a freight train, drums that rattled your chest, and screams that made every hair on your arms stand up. The lighting matched the mood perfectly, dark blue tones washing over the stage and adding that heavy, atmospheric vibe. Their vocalist was clearly stoked to be there, pacing the stage, hyping up the crowd, and feeding off every ounce of energy being thrown back at him… especially after seeing the stampede of crowd surfers. They ripped through a seven-song set that included “Going Under,” “Death Grip,” and closed it out with “Aftermath,” leaving us all wishing for more. Ima be real here…I didn’t listen to them much before this show, but after that set… you can definitely consider me a new fan.

Halestorm. Where most of my excitement was aiming for this tour. I’ve been dying for the chance to photograph this band since I first started concert photography moon’s ago, and finally getting that moment felt like a bucket list check-off. I’m going to try not to fan-girl too much in this paragraph but yall… Lzzy Hale is a straight-up goddess of a woman. She walks on stage rockin’ a killer bodysuit with a cape draped over it with golden snakes all over the design and just immediately radiates that “women rule the world” energy…which, obviously, is my vibe forever and always. I was obsessed and at this point and knew I was about to get some of the coolest shots of her. I’ve been a Halestorm fan since “Freak Like Me” first dropped in 2012, and it’s still my all-time favorite. Hearing it live was everything I hoped it would be, too. Their thirteen-song set was nothing but bangers…“I Miss the Misery,” “I Get Off,” “Familiar Taste of Poison”…each one just hitting harder than the last. At one point, I spotted the cutest little girl on her dad’s shoulders just rocking out, and I couldn’t help but think, yes, raise her right, bring on more badass, empowered ladies in metal. They threw in a sick drum solo that had the whole crowd losing it, and of course a flawless tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with “Perry Mason” that gave everyone chills. They closed the night with “I Like It Heavy,” and honestly, it was the perfect ending to a powerhouse set. Lzzy’s vocal range, the way she can flip from soaring high notes to a raw scream… It’s easily one of the best I’ve ever heard from a female metal artist. I was absolutely fan-girling the entire time, and I’m not even sorry about it.

Closing out the night was none other than Volbeat, the hard-hitting rockers straight out of Copenhagen, Denmark, (somewhere I’m dying to travel to) who have been melting faces since the early 2000s. The second they hit the stage, the entire venue went absolutely berserk…cheers so loud you could feel the floor vibrating beneath your feet. The energy instantly shifted from excited to electric, and you could tell this crowd had been waiting all night for this moment. Production-wise, Volbeat didn’t mess around this tour… The lighting setup was top-tier…flashes, strobes, deep colors…all perfectly timed to the music. For a photographer like me, it was a dream. Their sound was just as flawless: heavy, gritty riffs that punched you in the throat, a driving rhythm that kept everyone with their hands in the air, and soaring melodies that had fans singing every word back at them. It’s that signature Volbeat blend of metal, hard rock, and a touch of rockabilly swagger that makes their live shows so fun to be at… even if you aren’t necessarily a fan.

Frontman Michael Poulsen was grinning from ear to ear the entire set, clearly thrilled to be on that stage. His vocals were on point the whole performance…raspy, raw, and instantly recognizable…and he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand from the first note. The band tore through a stacked setlist with songs including “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown,” “Demonic Depression,” “By a Monster’s Hand,” and “Seal the Deal,” each track hitting harder than the last. Towards the end, they delivered an absolutely killer tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave,” and honestly, it was one of the most impressive moments of the entire night.They closed out with fan favorite “Still Counting,” and by the end, the venue was pure chaos in the best way possible, and even brought along kids from the crowd on stage. It was literally the cutest thing ever. Fans were screaming, applauding, throwing horns in the air, and the energy was nothing short of what was expected at that point. It was one of those sets that reminds you why live music is just simply unmatched, and I’m beyond stoked I got to witness it firsthand.