Idobi Radio’s annual Summer School tour is a great idea to start with: five rising-star bands brought together for a low-cost show. The variety of bands on the 2026 lineup enriched the experience. While all the bands fall within the punk-pop/contemporary emo genre to some degree, the spectrum from punk to pop varied widely between the performers, making for a genuinely memorable experience. Prior to the tour, I wasn’t particularly familiar with any of the artists on the bill, but every single one was impressive in their own right.
The tour, founded by industry legends Kevin Lyman, creator of the iconic Vans Warped Tour; Eric Tobin, an executive at Hopeless Records; and Michael Kaminsky, founder of music management company MGMT, completed its third edition with this year’s run. The 2026 lineup included Chase Petra, South Arcade, Games We Play, Winona Fighter, and Honey Revenge. In addition to the five advertised bands, each date also featured a unique fan-voted local band as an opener.
At the June 30 date at The Fillmore Silver Spring, that band was Richmond, Virginia-based Set For Tomorrow.
Set For Tomorrow was a high-energy, fast-paced way to kick things off. The band blends a variety of influences into a sound uniquely their own, and their captivating stage presence kept the audience engaged from the start. They’re good at what they do, and they look good doing it. In every moment, it was clear that this was a group of young men who loved what they were doing, and the audience fed off that energy.
Chase Petra followed with a more subdued performance, providing a nice transition into the next set. Singer and guitarist Hunter Allen commanded the stage. The band, which has transitioned from a trio to what is effectively a solo act, crafts vivid, story-heavy lyrics and a softer sound than many of the other bands in the lineup. Allen’s emotive vocals felt almost like a palette cleanser between Set For Tomorrow and their successor, South Arcade.
South Arcade, hailing from Oxford, England, describes their sound as “Y2Kcore,” and there’s definite validity to that description. The band’s punky attitude, skate-rock aesthetic, and boundless energy would have been right at home on a muddy, sweat-soaked festival stage somewhere around 2005. Singer Harmony Cavelle was a blast to watch as she high-kicked, bounced, and spun around the stage. Cavelle’s vocals never missed a beat, even during her athletic performance, and the rest of the band matched her energy with every note.
The night continued its ebb-and-flow structure by calming things down with a set that really stood out from the rest. As the name suggests, the Summer School tour is themed around high school, and if each set were a class period, Games We Play would be lunch hour.
This set was the only one with its own staging, set up to resemble a backyard barbecue, and singer and songwriter Emmyn Calleiro came across with such endearing sincerity that the whole set felt like a family affair. With a charming smile, a warm demeanor, and catchy hooks that take the edge off even the most uncomfortable emotions embedded in his lyrics, Calleiro stole the show.
From bringing his infant daughter on stage and proudly introducing his younger brother-turned-official-bassist to tossing cans of Dr Pepper to audience members at the barricade so everyone could enjoy a drink together, the full set was earnest and memorable in a way that rarely comes through at rock shows.
Lunch period can’t last forever, though, and before long it was time to head back to class. If we continue with the metaphor, penultimate band Winona Fighter would be our gym class—and rest assured, they got bodies moving in the crowd.
On the spectrum from pop to punk, the Nashville-based band falls very firmly on the punk side of things. Singer Coco Kinnon’s raw, powerful vocals and onstage attitude present a formidable force that draws audience members in. The band’s hard-edged guitar licks and thrash-worthy tracks make it nearly impossible to avoid thrashing along just a little bit yourself.
If the rest of the performance wasn’t enough to make Winona Fighter memorable, Kinnon ended the set in a chaotic final flourish, tearing off her shirt and beating it against the stage with all the wild fury of the punk rock patriarchs of the 1970s.
Like prom royalty, Honey Revenge took the stage at the end of the night, capping Summer School off with a party. Singer Devin Papadol and guitarist Donovan Lloyd are immediately recognizable in the band’s signature “purpy pop” aesthetic. Imagine the pastel-goth look doused in purple Kool-Aid, while somehow still managing to look both glamorous and appealing; that’s the vibe the pair gives off.
The fashion gives the set a dreamy sort of feel, enhanced by Papadol’s confidence and comfort onstage and Lloyd’s charming smile. The pair are theatrical in their dancing and occasional coordinated strutting across the stage, and the energy they give off bolsters the dance-worthy pop tones of their songs.
Beyond the general aesthetic and energy, though, Honey Revenge made a point of actively engaging with the audience. During their song “Habitual,” Papadol challenged the audience to get as many crowd surfers over the barrier as possible—while, as she made a point of emphasizing, keeping everything as safe and respectful as possible. The band went as far as to bring out an appointed referee with a scoreboard to track which show of the tour managed to earn the most “points.”
Later in the set, while performing “Worst Apology,” Papadol came down from the stage to sing with fans in the crowd. That level of fan engagement—and trust—always makes for a memorable experience for those nearby.
Ultimately, that’s what made this year’s Summer School tour such a success: every band brought something distinctly different to the night. From Set For Tomorrow’s youthful enthusiasm to Chase Petra’s introspection, South Arcade’s frenetic energy, Games We Play’s heartfelt sincerity, Winona Fighter’s raw punk aggression, and Honey Revenge’s polished pop spectacle, the lineup never stayed in one place for long. Like any good school day, there was a little bit of everything—and by the end of the night, it was hard not to feel like we’d all learned something.
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