While Noah Kahan was kicking off the first of his four sold out nights at Fenway Park just across the street, Boston’s House of Blues had its own party fully underway. The Summer School Tour had a mosh pit going from the first song of the night to the last, and crowd surfers that just kept coming.
Summer School is a concept that works precisely because of what it isn’t. This isn’t a traditional headliner show with a supporting act or two. It’s a rotating sampler of pop punk. Five or six acts, each getting 20 to 30 minutes, the whole night designed to feel like a highlight reel of the genre. Every city gets one local opener that changes with each stop, and Boston’s was Ringpop!, a four-piece from right here in town who have been a fixture at local venues and had a spot on 2025’s Warped Tour lineup. They were a natural fit, familiar to the Boston crowd and energetic enough to kick off the kind of night that followed.
Chase Petra from Long Beach came next, operating as a duo rather than their usual trio, lead singer Hunter Allen on vocals and guitar alongside their drummer, and somehow making two people sound like considerably more. Games We Play followed with a set that featured what may have been the most elaborate fake-out of the evening. After their first song they made to leave the stage entirely, prompting the audience to beg them back for “one more song.” They returned. And then did it again. Multiple times. It was a fun bit, and the crowd played along happily every time.
Winona Fighter was the set of the night. Lead vocalist Chloe “Coco” Kinnon is the kind of frontwoman spent as much of their set crowd surfing and diving into the mosh pit as she did on stage. The highlight came from a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” that managed to push a kick an already electric into higher gear.
South Arcade, an English rock band with a sound rooted firmly in the early 2000s, was a new name for me but clearly not for the crowd, which showed up for their set with noticeable anticipation. They held their own on a bill that didn’t leave much room to breathe.
Closing the night was Honey Revenge, and the trajectory they’ve followed makes the headlining slot feel earned in a very specific way. Two years ago on a Summer School Tour, they were one of the opening acts. Tuesday night they were the main attraction. The duo of Devin Papadol and Donny Lloyd has built a reputation for being almost perpetually on the road, and if that road life has worn on them at all, there was no evidence of it on stage. They played through their hits, “Airhead,” “Are You Impressed,” “Habitual”, with the energy of a band that still genuinely loves doing this.
The crowd surfing was constant from Ringpop! through Honey Revenge’s final song. The mosh pit never really closed. Boston had a good Tuesday night and sent the Summer School Tour off to its next city in style.
Nathan Smith is a Providence-based music photographer and journalist focusing on capturing the special moments and unfiltered magic of live performances. Whether he’s shooting established artists at sold-out TD Garden shows or documenting the rise of emerging local bands, his goal is the same: to pull viewers directly into the heart of the moment.
His writing spotlights rising artists and local scenes, with a focus on telling the stories that often get overlooked. A lifelong music fan and musician himself, Nathan approaches interviews and portraits as conversations rather than transactions, building trust with artists so their genuine personalities can shine through. Whether he’s backstage, in the photo pit, or at home in front of the keyboard, he brings the same curiosity and care to every assignment.
Outside of his press work with Juice Box Press, Nathan works regularly as a photographer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous bands in the Boston and Providence area. Nathan also plays violin with a local orchestra, follows Celtics basketball almost religiously, and is an avid fantasy reader.