On June 7, I made the two-hour drive to Los Angeles to attend a concert at The Novo, featuring two acts I love – lovelytheband and Beach Weather – along with opening act Ava Maybee. Headlined by L.A.-based indie pop-rock band lovelytheband, the tour is officially titled the “if we’re being honest tour” after their new album of the same name, and included supporting acts Beach Weather and Ava Maybee. It was the second night of the tour, and a thrill for me to be able to see both lovelytheband and Beach Weather at the same show. Discovering Ava Maybee was a wonderful surprise and the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Located downtown near the LA Convention Center, Crypto.com arena (home of basketball teams LA Clippers, LA Lakers and LA Sparks, and hockey team LA Kings), Microsoft Theater and Grammy Museum, The Novo is a terrific venue that’s perfect for small to mid-sized concert events. This was my second time seeing a concert there, the first being electro/dream pop band Cannons last September. I like that they have balcony seating, as this old man can no longer tolerate standing for three-plus hours.

The concert kicked off around 7:40 pm when Ava Maybee and her band began their set, immediately getting everyone into a good mood with their soulful brand of indie pop inspired by some of her favorite artists such as Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Sam Cooke, Carole King, Leon Bridges and Adele. I wasn’t previously familiar with Ava or her music, but liked it right from the start. Born Ava Cardoso-Smith and based in Los Angeles, she’s been singing and performing since the age of five. Her father is Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and her mother is Trisha Cardoso, currently President and Chief Giving Officer at The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. Ava has sung the national anthem at Lakers and Dodgers games, and performed at numerous charity events. She was also a contestant on season 20 of American Idol, making it to the top 14 before being eliminated.

She’s released a series of great singles since 2020, one of which, “Colors”, has garnered over 7.3 million streams on Spotify alone! Dressed in knee-high white boots and red leggings, Ava exuding the confidence and poise of a seasoned performer as she worked the stage, engaging with the audience between songs and playfully interacting with her back-up band, all of whom were excellent musicians. They played their songs “Lay Low”, “Mood Swings”, “Puke”, “See Me Now” and their newest single “Limerence”, as well as a lively rendition of the Police classic “Roxanne”, then finishing with “Colors”, a portion of which I was able to film. We’ve all been to concerts where we suffered through an opening act we either didn’t care about or enjoy, but Ava Maybee was both terrific and immensely enjoyable.

After a short break, Beach Weather took to the stage around 8:30 pm, opening their set with the sultry “Swoon”, from their 2016 EP What A Drag. Though the alternative pop-rock trio formed in 2015, I didn’t learn about them until last summer when I heard their gorgeous song “Sex, Drugs, Etc.”. The song was originally recorded in 2016, and included on their first EP Chit Chat, but wasn’t released as a single back then, and largely went unnoticed. I loved it at first listen, and they’ve since become one of my favorite bands. I love every single song of theirs, which is not something I can say about very many artists or bands.

After dropping What a Drag and a third EP Basement Sessions, the band went on hiatus at the end of 2017 as the three members – singer/guitarist Nick Santino, bassist Reeve Powers, and guitarist Sean Silverman – relocated to different cities and began focusing on their own careers and families. Fortunately for us, they reunited in late 2021, and recorded their debut album Pineapple Sunrise, which they released this past March. In the meantime, “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” went viral on TikTok and became a huge hit on alternative radio, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, where it’s remained in the top 10 for more than 40 weeks. It’s also spent nearly six months on my Weekly Top 30, three of them at #1, and ended up at #3 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list. “Trouble With This Bed”, the second single from Pineapple Sunrise, also spent five months on my chart earlier this year, three of them at #1. The title track recently began what I’m sure will be an extended run on my chart.

OK, now back to the show! Beach Weather played a total of 10 songs, two from Chit Chat, two from What A Drag, and six from Pineapple Sunrise (though “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” is featured on both Chit Chat and Pineapple Sunrise). They had a simple stage setup, with two orange curtains as backdrops and round orange rugs for each of the three band members. They were also joined by a keyboardist and drummer, whose names I unfortunately can’t recall. The guys exuded a cool, casual demeanor on stage; Nick was engaging and playful, while an animated Sean made theatric gestures with his guitar and Reeve exuded a sexy, low-key swagger as he played bass. They sounded great, and I would have loved for them to play 10 more songs!

Here’s their performance of “Trouble With This Bed”:

Beach Weather Setlist:

1. Swoon
2. Chit Chat
3. Unlovable
4. Pineapple Sunrise
5. High and Driving
6. Silent Type
7. Hard Feelings
8. Rebel Sun
9. Trouble With This Bed
10. Sex, Drugs, Etc.

After Ava Maybee and Beach Weather’s sets and before lovelytheband took the stage, I went over to their merchandise booths and briefly met Ava, telling her how much I enjoyed her set. Her father Chad was standing nearby talking with some people but, unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to meet him. I did, however meet Beach Weather bassist Reeve Powers, who I ran into again the following morning in the lobby of our hotel, where both I and Beach Weather were staying.

After a more lengthy intermission, headline act lovelytheband appeared on stage to thunderous applause, opening their set with “if we’re being honest”, the title track of their latest album. For a bit of background, the Los Angeles-based band formed in 2016, and consists of vocalist Mitchy Collins, guitarist Jordan Greenwald, and drummer Sam Price. They’re best known for their 2018 debut single and monster hit “broken”, which spent nine weeks at #1 on Billboard‘s Alternative chart, as well as reaching #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart and #29 on the Hot 100. It ended up as the #1 song of 2018 on the Alternative chart, and was my favorite song that year as well.

They’ve released three studio albums – finding it hard to smile in 2018, conversations with myself about you in 2020, and if we’re being honest, which dropped June 2nd – as well as numerous singles and EPs. (The titles of all their songs and albums, as well as their band name, are in lower case.) As evidenced by their album titles, a lot of their songs touch on relationship issues, heartache, depression and anxiety, though many are presented in a pleasing, rather upbeat manner.

The engaging frontman Mitchy Collins, wearing his signature sleeveless shirt and shorts, proceeded to acknowledge Beach Weather and Ava Maybee, and introduce his bandmates. They were joined on stage by another guitarist, who’s name I didn’t catch.

Throughout their set, which included 16 songs from their three albums, he frequently spoke to the audience, sharing his thoughts on some of their songs as well as his struggles with mental health and depression. Two thirds of the way into their set, he appeared alone on stage to give a deeply moving acoustic performance of their heart-wrenching “i should be happy”, which speaks to feeling unhappy and dissatisfied, despite achieving all the things he’d hoped for. The song strongly resonated with me, as I’ve sadly experienced similar feelings myself throughout my life.

They finished their set with “i can’t love”, then walked off stage, though we knew they’d be back, because they hadn’t yet played their signature song “broken”. Sure enough, they returned to play the lively “make you feel pretty”, from finding it hard to smile, then closed with a rousing performance of “broken”. It was a great finish to a spectacular performance and concert.

lovelytheband Setlist:

1. if we’re being honest
2. always been you
3. buzzcut
4. coachella
5. make me wanna die
6. i’m sorry
7. sad goodbyes
8. loneliness for love
9. superfly
10. these are my friends
11. i should be happy (Mitchy Collins solo)
12. 2 drinks away
13. sail away
14. i can’t love

Encore:

15. make you feel pretty
16. broken

The tour continues through the end of June. Click here for more tour info and tickets.