Page 133 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2018

The Black Sheep • Colorado Springs, Colorado • April 26, 2018

www.blacksheeprocks.com

Music by Ballyhoo! “Maryland Summer”

Story by Jim Edwards www.newmusicfoodtruck.com
Photography by Shane Ritschard http://flic.kr/ps/3dHMRJ

The first time I saw the boys from Aberdeen, Maryland,
BALLYHOO!, was as a last-minute add-on to the local alternative
rock radio's annual Christmas bash in 2013. They were performing
their radio hit "No Good" that had been produced Rome Ramirez
Of Sublime with Rome. They opened that Christmas show and the
headliners didn't stand a chance as they completely stole the
show! Flash forward 4+ years later -- there they were on an early
Spring Thursday evening in April, stepping onto that same stage in
Colorado Springs at a place called the Black Sheep for the first of a
4-night Colorado tour stop. Colorado Springs' Black Sheep is a tiny
450 capacity, standing-room-only venue that is an intimate place
to see top-notch national bands on the way up…bands like Imagine
Dragons, Daughtry, Macklemore, and 21 Pilots. Ballyhoo! had
played that stage many times in the last four years, so tonight as
the boys took the stage, it felt like a homecoming.

As the stage darkened and their opening fanfare played, the
roomful of Ballyhoo! fans (called “Hooligans”) bristled with
anticipation. Touring in support of their seventh album called
"Girls," the first song was the title track. After that, it was as if they
put the pedal to the metal and didn't let off! They played almost
every cut from "Girls," mixed in with hits and favorites from their
extensive catalog. Each song had the crowd dancing and often
singing along.