Yellowcard is a band I have always held extremely close, one tied to some of my earliest memories of the scene during a time when the pop-punk and emo explosion was taking over my world. I was a teenager as that scene was really finding its footing, and while I still love so many of the bands that came out of that era, Yellowcard has always held a special place in my heart. The band is tied to one of the first times I stopped worrying about following every rule and simply allowed myself to live in the moment.
I’ve always been a rule follower, even more so when I was young. I was the good kid, the one who was usually too afraid of getting in trouble to do anything remotely questionable. So skipping class to crash a concert would have been completely out of character for me. But in 2003, I did just that.
My best friend attended another high school, and they had won a contest to have Yellowcard play at their school during lunch. “Ocean Avenue” had become our anthem, and I had to be there, but there was one problem — I needed a school ID to enter the show. My best friend found a classmate that sort of resembled me and paid her 10 dollars for her ID.
I skipped class, snuck off campus, and made my way to her school. When I arrived, I was trembling, so nervous that I was going to be caught, but somehow slipped under the radar and made it into that room without incident. I had just started photographing concerts and had managed to not only make my way into that room, but to do so with my SLR in hand. I had mostly been shooting bands in the local scene, so this was my first time taking photos of a band that had made it big. I don’t remember much about the show except that it was incredible, but afterwards, in another rare departure from my usual cautious self, my best friend and I managed to sneak out to the bus and meet and take photos with both Sean and Ryan, who could not have been nicer. It’s not only a core memory, but that show really ignited my passion for concert photography.
So when I heard Yellowcard would be making their return to Arizona for the “Up Up Down Down” tour, I was excited to not only see the show, but for the opportunity for a full-circle concert photography moment nearly 23 years later.
On June 1, 2026, Yellowcard transported Phoenix, AZ, back in time, bringing their “Up Up Down Down” tour to a very sold-out Arizona Financial Theatre, supported by their longtime friends New Found Glory and Plain White T’s. From the lineup to the setlists to the production, the tour leans heavily into the nostalgia of our youth while also celebrating new and upcoming releases from all three acts.
Plain White T’s kicked off the evening, bringing an eight-track setlist that featured all of our favorite songs from the early-to-mid aughts, as well as tracks from their latest record, Plain White T’s. The pop-rockers revealed that they are nearly finished with a new record and treated the audience to a new, unreleased song, “Anything 4 U,” that had only been played a handful of times to date. Frontman Tom Higgenson encouraged a mosh pit, and the audience delivered. Voices echoed throughout the venue as the entire room sang along to beloved hit “Hey There Delilah” before the band wrapped their set with “Our Time Now.”
As the stage was prepared for the next act, the giant Plain White T backdrop fell, revealing New Found Glory‘s “NFG” backdrop, the letters arranged in a way that was reminiscent of the classic MTV logo. Static and rainbow-striped squares resembling old-school glitching televisions lined the stage, further fueling the nostalgia of the evening.
This evening’s lineup was a bit out of the norm, with bassist Ian Grushka missing his first-ever show to attend his daughter’s graduation. Their tech, Colman O’Brien, stepped in on guitar, while Dave Knox took over on bass, rocking his best Ian-inspired shirt to match his floral bass guitar. Knox (Real Friends) and Dan O’Connor (Four Year Strong) have stepped in on guitar throughout the tour while lead guitarist Chad Gilbert continues his battle with cancer.
While the band is fresh off the release of their latest record, Listen Up!, their set leaned heavily on fan favorites from their early catalog, including “Hit or Miss,” “Head on Collision,” and “All Downhill From Here.” They even worked in their pop-punk rendition of “Part of Your World” from Disney’s A Whole New Sound compilation before closing with the anthem of the early 2000s, “My Friends Over You.”
As the crowd eagerly awaited the evening’s main event, the nostalgia was cranked up tenfold. Yellowcard‘s set design was revealed, featuring a backdrop inspired by a classic Nintendo controller, the band’s logo stylized to resemble the Nintendo logo on the kick drum, a giant boombox-inspired lighting rig, and Nintendo-themed stage mats. A television screen beneath the drum riser played clips from beloved films of the 1980s and 1990s alongside footage from classic video games such as Zelda.
The Ghostbusters theme song suddenly filled the venue as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man emerged onstage, running back and forth while being chased by a Ghostbuster armed with a t-shirt cannon. The playful scene immediately won over the crowd before the band emerged to the “Top Gun Anthem.” An impressive violin intro allowed Sean Mackin to shine before the band launched into “Better Days,” the title track from their 2025 release that earned Yellowcard their first number-one appearance on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.
William Ryan Key welcomed the crowd by joking that some people in the audience might be wondering what year it actually was with a lineup like Yellowcard, New Found Glory, and Plain White T’s sharing a bill. He noted that the members of both opening bands are among the closest friends Yellowcard has ever toured with, making the tour especially meaningful. He shared that the band had spent months planning the production, hoping to create the biggest and best Yellowcard show fans had ever experienced.
The mission, he explained, was to celebrate their formative years, the days of bedroom rehearsals and garage band practices, with the goal of having fun. They wanted everyone in attendance to celebrate the music they love, forget whatever struggles they might be carrying, and leave the room with nothing but joy and happiness.
Looking out into the crowd, Key also acknowledged the large number of children and teenagers in attendance, thanking the parents who had introduced a new generation to Yellowcard’s music and helped keep the band’s legacy alive.
Key took a moment to reflect on their journey. Twenty-three years ago, Yellowcard released Ocean Avenue. Key joked that the record had now become “classic rock.” A handful of songs from that album found their way onto the radio and changed the band’s lives forever. As self-described ’90s kids, he recalled hearing a song on the radio and immediately heading to the record store to buy the album. While music consumption has changed dramatically, he admitted that hearing a Yellowcard song on the radio still means everything to the band. After nearly two decades away from radio success, Yellowcard had recently earned not one but two number-one songs from their newest record.
“It isn’t something we’re saying to brag,” Key told the audience. “It’s because of you.”
He thanked fans for continuing to support the band and allowing them to keep writing music, adding that while he doesn’t know exactly what comes next, it feels like they’re just getting started. Ten years ago, Yellowcard thought they were saying goodbye. The fans had other plans.
Midway through the set, the stage transformed into what Key affectionately referred to as “Meemaw’s basement.” Vintage couches appeared onstage alongside a rotary phone and classic movie posters for films like The Karate Kid and The Goonies. The atmosphere shifted into a more intimate, acoustic-driven segment featuring “Back Home,” “Big Blue Eyes” — which Key dedicated to the fathers in attendance — and “Empty Apartment.”
The quieter moment didn’t last long. Soon the band kicked the energy back into high gear with “Five Becomes Four” and “Lights and Sounds.”
One of the evening’s most powerful moments came when Key paused to speak candidly about mental health. Reflecting on difficult seasons in life and the feeling that struggles may never pass, he explained how “Lift a Sail” was written as a reminder that storms eventually end.
Though he described his life today as incredible, praising his wife, son, family, and bandmates, he also admitted that recent months had brought unexpected battles with stress and anxiety. He shared that he had recently returned to therapy for the first time in years because he wants to be a better husband, father, friend, bandmate, and performer.
“If you feel like you need to talk to someone,” he told the crowd, “don’t wait too long. Don’t just write a song. That’s not enough. You don’t have to do it alone.”
The vulnerable speech was met with thunderous applause before the band delivered an emotional performance of “Lift a Sail.”
The nostalgia continued throughout the evening. Key repeatedly paid tribute to beloved films from his childhood, holding a boombox over his head in a Say Anything-inspired moment and recreating E.T.‘s iconic glowing fingertip.
One of the night’s biggest surprises came with “Breathing,” a song Key admitted doesn’t always make the setlist despite being one of his personal favorites. The crowd erupted as the opening notes rang out, with the pit reaching some of its highest energy levels of the night.
The final stretch of the set was relentless. Crowd surfers continuously flowed over the barricade during “Only One,” despite the song’s slower tempo. All night long, fans screamed every lyric back at the band, creating one of the loudest singalongs Arizona Financial Theatre has seen in recent memory.
The audience itself became part of the story. Children lined the barricade holding handmade signs, many proudly announcing that it was their very first concert. Meanwhile, Ryan Key, Sean Mackin, and the rest of the Yellowcard crew never stopped moving. Mackin seemed to occupy every inch of the stage at some point during the evening, wildly swinging his violin while delivering the signature sound that has always made Yellowcard stand apart from their peers.
Without an encore, the band closed the evening with “Bedroom Posters” and, fittingly, “Ocean Avenue.” Thousands of voices joined together for every word, singing along as if those songs had been part of their lives for decades.
As I stood in the photo pit photographing those first few songs, I couldn’t help but think back to that nervous teenager who skipped school nearly twenty-three years ago just for the chance to see this band. Back then, Yellowcard represented one of the few times I stopped worrying about doing everything right and allowed myself to live. And for a few hours in that room, it still felt that way.
Inside Arizona Financial Theatre that evening, thousands of people did exactly what Yellowcard hoped they would do: forget their worries, celebrate the music they love, and simply live in the moment. And for this forever emo kid, it felt every bit as special as it did the first time. It’s the kind of show that shouldn’t be missed.
The “Up Up Down Down” tour continues its trek across the US through June 20 when the tour wraps in Springfield, MA. Tickets for the remaining dates can be purchased here.
