Nonpoint kicked off their Emerald Cities tour with Blacktop Mojo and Sumo Cyco, with one of their first stops in Jacksonville, NC. There have been Wizard of Oz breadcrumbs in Nonpoint’s music over the years, now they’re theming the whole tour and their newest music to the classic.
As you walk into the venue, there were banners for each character in the story, with the bandmembers reimagined as them. Even the support bands are in on the theme with Wizard of Oz merch.
Sumo Cyco opens the set and just blows everyone’s mind. Skye Sweetnam comes on stage and blows everyone out of the water. She’s like the metal version of Gwen Steffani with her blond hair and wide leg pants, she even had ruby-studded shoes. They even played tricks straight from Oz as her blue outfit turned emerald green for a flash with some great lighting tricks. They covered System of a Down that I’ve never heard a female vocalist do so well!
Blacktop Mojo came right before Nonpoint. For anyone in the crowd familiar with them, they were just as big a draw as Nonpoint. Anyone else not familiar, became an instant fan as Matt sings with his bluesy pipes. They did not sing their famous Dream On cover, but I was glad for that, because they could really showcase their talent in their original music. Their crowd connection was great too with a fan giving Matt a shot in the middle of the set, and he took it and toasted and got back to their set. When they performed their hit, “Can’t Sleep,” Matt then strapped on a beautiful white guitar with black filagree and played guitar with the rest of the band for that one song.
Nonpoint finally hit the stage and continuously opened the pit, where there was a sign a fan was holding to show where it was–in the back away from the barricades this time. It was continuously roaring throughout the night. The members were wearing green shoes with their signature black to pay homage to the Emerald City. If you’ve never seen Nonpoint live, what you can expect is insane vocals, dreads everywhere, and the energy just constantly up! He brought on Skye from Sumo Cyco for “Buscandome.” Elias gets all of my respect, but Skye delivered the DIRTIEST vocals on that song. They made a great duo. Then for their beloved “In The Air” cover, Matt was brought back out, this time wearing his signature floor length fur coat as the Lion.
Nonpoint is on tour for the next few weeks and just released new singles, with more music coming out. Blacktop Mojo is also releasing new music. Follow their socials for their news, and continue to follow Side Stage Magazine for music and extreme sports news and coverage.
Blacktop Mojo Setlist:
CDB
Wicked Woman
Burn the Ships
Strike Me
Can’t Sleep
Bed Tundy
Where the Wind Blows
Whole Lot
Nonpoint Setlist:
Mindtrip
What A Day
Paper Tigers
Hive
Circles
Chaos
The Truth
Heartless
Alive
Ruthless
Buscandome
In The Air
Bullet
