It's Saturday, January 18th, 2025. What better way to spend a Saturday night than seeing Driveways perform a killer show taking place at The Abbey in Orlando, Florida! Although my night started off a little bumpy and kind of embarrassing as I mistakenly missed the update where the venue was changed from them performing originally at The Conduit in Winter Park to The Abbey in Orlando. So here I was pulling up to an empty venue (insert facepalm), confused and bummed, but thankfully for me it was only a 20-minute drive between venues and a small battle to find parking. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to make it inside the venue, I had just missed the opening band—Orlando local Braveweather—finishing their set, but I was grateful and relieved I had made it before Driveways made their way on stage.
For those of you new to Driveways, they are a 3-member band from Saugus, Massachusetts, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Pat Finnegan, Derek Serino on the bass guitar, and Ryan Passariello on drums and backup vocals/screams. The sound produced from these guys is nothing short of masterful, balancing a sweet mix of pop/punk and post-hardcore, but not your typical cookie-cutter type of sound you hear from a lot of new music these days. No, these guys will have you addicted to the distinct sound they produce. Especially personal favorites of mine like "Drop Dead" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
As I geared up, I raised my camera in the air as a signal to help my attempt to ease passage through the sardine-packed crowd and make my way to the front. I waited as eagerly as those surrounding me before Pat, Eric, and Ryan walked out on stage to take their place, Pat and Eric high-fiving the cheering crowd, further building up the energy to the next level as they kicked their set into gear with "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" The perfect song igniting the crowd's built-up energy! Heads bobbing and echoes of sing-alongs from hardcore fans were heard throughout the venue as Driveways transitioned from one well-known song to the next. Featuring key tunes from "Ghosts" and "Drop Dead," hearing the crowd singing "Drop dead, and burn the bridges that you built in my head" radiate through the venue will always make you feel connected to the music even more as it's played right before your eyes. Provided below is the setlist for the night so you can picture just how great of a set they played! As the set played on, a fan dove offstage and moshed to the beat of each song up until "October Forever.".
The Abbey proved to be the perfect venue, displaying their incredible sound live and capturing their performance perfectly. Definitely the upgrade that was needed for the shows capacity and fanbase, its big enough to draw a huge crowd, which sold out, but small enough that you still have that incredible opportunity to talk to the band members at the merch tables and even get signed memorabilia. Something not typically possible at bigger stadium shows or festivals. I'd definitely say that if Driveways make their way through your city, don't miss out on it!
The aftermath of the show stayed packed in towards the merch table as fans gathered in line to almost "clean house" on remaining merch, as well as getting photos and signatures from the band as they packed up their gear for the night.
