What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1001510
FEATURE 8 WHAT'S UP! JULY 8-14, 2018 JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette WHAT'S NEXT FOR WALK THE MOON? If you're in a band whose infectious pop/rock anthem about letting go and having fun takes over the world, breaking Billboard chart records and becoming your biggest song to date, how do you follow that? That's the question Walk The Moon bandmates didn't realize they were facing after the release of "Shut Up and Dance" — until people asked it of them over, and over, and over. "Even though it may be what people know us for, ['Shut Up and Dance'] is not really the center of the Walk The Moon spectrum, you know?" guitarist Eli Maiman offers. "I think we actually have a tradition of being a little more introspective — like 'Iscariot' off the first record, or 'Aquaman' off the second record — we're not necessarily the party band that people may portray us to be. So fighting against that pigeon holing has been an ongoing battle for us. Even 'Anna Sun' has a lot of very sentimental, nostalgic feeling to it, even though it's painted into this kind of very bright picture. That's kind of where we live — we want to make you dance, and we want to make you cry at the same time." There won't likely be much crying as Walk The Moon takes the stage July 8 at the Walmart AMP in Rogers with fellow rockers Thirty Seconds to Mars, but Maiman does reveal the group's new album and third release, "What If Nothing," has the widest stylistic variety of their work to date. Following the tough decision to cancel their 2016 tour due to a family illness, when Walk The Moon returned to the studio, they were up against the expectations created by "Shut Up and Dance" as well as overcoming that time away. "We felt like trying to replicate that was not artistically where we wanted to go and didn't have a lot of possibilities," Maiman says. "So ultimately what we decided to do was just not question our instincts and follow the inspiration and not really worry if it sounds like 'Walk The Moon.' That's what felt the best for us is all the feelings kind of erupting up and not trying to taper them down into a single, easily digestible, stylistic persona." OLD DOMINION BACK WITH OLD FRIENDS Members of country music five- piece Old Dominion are living like there's "No Such Thing as a Broken Heart" as they "Snapback" to the AMP on July 12 with singer Kenny Chesney — a relationship more than "Written in the Sand." Chesney's coming "Trip Around the Sun Tour" will be his third visit to the AMP, as well as Old Dominion's third time supporting the country icon. "It feels like a family reunion at this point. That's not one you turn down," Old Dominion lead singer Matthew Ramsey says of being invited back. "It is a lot of hard [work] to make it seem like a big party, but it is a lot of fun. And [we're learning] a lot from [Kenny] — how he builds his setlist, how he connects with his fans, how he builds his team of people around him. You can see a benefit to surrounding yourself with the best." Though they've churned out a string of their own hit singles from their first two well-received albums, Old Dominion's catchy writing and "different attitude on the radio" are recognizable to country fans even in the tunes they've written for other artists. (They've got writing credits on songs recorded by heavy-hitters like Chesney, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt and a slew of others.) Ramsey says as a band of songwriters, it makes sense that their chemistry translates in their writing. FAQ Thirty Seconds to Mars 'The Monolith Tour' with Walk the Moon, K. Flay & Welshly Arms WHEN — 6 p.m. July 8 WHERE — Walmart AMP in Rogers COST — $29.50-$104.50 INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscen- ter.org/AMP Courtesy photo Indie rockers Walk The Moon will open for Thirty Seconds to Mars July 8 at the AMP. Music All Week Long AMP schedule bursting with talent