Yellowcard Tickets

Over 20 years after their breakthrough fourth LP Ocean Avenue, resilient rockers Yellowcard bolster ‘00s pop-punk nostalgia with their undeniable power to reinvent themselves – coming out the other side bigger than ever.

Rule-breakers in name and practice (a yellow card is a warning for misconduct in soccer), Yellowcard rode against the wave of 2000s pop-punk delinquents by wielding a fiercely emotional violin, giving their raucous choruses a startling, ear-catching classical spin. Their first two albums, 1997’s Midget Tossing and 1999’s Where We Stand, paired riotous hardcore with string melodies courtesy of violinist Sean Mackin, who readily gave the storming punk guitars a run for their money. A turning point for the band came with 2001’s One for the Kids, when Ryan Key took up official duties as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, prompting them to embrace a wider spectrum of influences as they forged their trademark pop-punk sound.

Still, nothing had prepared the Jacksonville, Florida gang for the whirlwind that their fourth LP and major label debut, Ocean Avenue, would bring upon its release in 2003 on Capitol Records. By now installed in California, Yellowcard fleshed out their singalong pop-punk anthems with heart-on-sleeve lyrics and string arrangements that gave their misfit angst and longing for life back home a fresh dimension, as they bid their carefree teen years in Florida farewell and faced the precarious reality of adulthood head on. Certified double-platinum in the US, the epic title track remains to this day Yellowcard’s tour de pop-punk force, alongside highlights including emo ballad ‘Only One’ and ‘Way Away’, an “ode to disbelievers” in the words of former lead guitarist Ben Harper.

Dealing with the trappings and distractions of fame, the 2006 follow-up Lights and Sounds is essentially an alt-rock-powered, anti-LA concept album. The record shot to No.5 on The Billboard 200, yielding one of Yellowcard’s most dynamite choruses in the title track. Weathering line-up changes, a two-year hiatus and a move to an independent label, the band managed five more studio albums alongside greatest hits and acoustic offerings, bookended by 2007’s Paper Walls —a return to their trusted pop-punk style— and 2016’s eponymous Yellowcard, the beginning the end for the Jacksonville stalwarts, who announced their break-up the following year.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Yellowcard hadn’t spoken their final word. What started as a one-off reunion show to celebrate Ocean Avenue at Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2022 snowballed into a 20th-anniversary tour in 2023 —the biggest of their career, as a wave of nostalgia swept up old fans and a new generation sampled the might of ‘00s pop-punk for the first time. The band also released Childhood Eyes, their first EP with original material in seven years, marking the beginning of a new chapter for a rock foursome feeling wiser and more comfortable in their skin as people and artists. This is brilliantly exemplified in 2024’s A Hopeful Sign, a collaborative comp with Nashville ambient post-rockers Hammock, “a massive influence” on the group, according to Key. Reimagining emo favourites and deep cuts from across the Yellowcard catalogue, the release slows down the pop-punk pace to deliver highly atmospheric songs —majestic glimpses into an adventurous new future for the defiant pop-punk players.