Wallows Model + More Concert Review

WAIT A MINNETTE! (see what I did there, *wink) Don’t just sit there and wallow, go have fun, go dance to music, in fact, go and listen to Wallows!

Picture this: it is a sunny Friday afternoon in May, a week before the final week of instruction at school. You should be getting ahead doing homework or starting some of your final projects and papers. Instead, you call off work, find a cute outfit, and get dolled up in hopes that a single Wallow might spot you in the crowd to serenade you. Plus, it is your first time experiencing a brand new music venue in a town you have lived in for 18 years. If you’re thinking, “Wow, this seems kind of personal,” well..yes. I am talking about me, DJ Sammie – host of Red Ribbon Hour and the one who won’t ever shut up about Wallows. Once again, I had the privilege of attending another Wallows concert back here in Sacramento, California.

Wallows returned to Sacramento on Friday, May 2, 2025, after three years, performing at the new Midtown music venue called Channel 24. They were the second artist to perform there, as the venue had just opened the week before. 

Despite this being my third time seeing Wallows, I still want More. (See what I did there? Like the album name? You get the point.)

I first saw them back in 2022 at Ace of Spades in downtown Sacramento while they were touring for their album Tell Me That It’s Over, which is still one of my all time favorite albums. That little dinky venue and the fanbase has had a major 180 as the band has already managed to sell out The Kia Forum in LA, twice! I have such a huge love for this band, and watching them grow bigger and better every year since my sister and I first discovered them in 2017, has been such an amazing journey.

Now back to the night itself:

Doors opened at 6:30 p.m., but my group and I got in line that partially wrapped around some alleyways around the corner at 5:45 p.m. Once inside, the venue was nicely air conditioned, but had a small entrance. As you walk in the doors to the left it leads up to the general admission pit and a small bar along one of the walls. Straight ahead from the entrance were the stairs that led to the balcony. The merch was also right before the stairs, and of course I broke my bank account even more. But that was not the hard part. The hard part was having to hold everyone’s merchandise the entire time since I was the one who purchased a Wallows tote bag.

Despite the entrance and bar being small, the stage and general admission pit was huge! It took up all the space. There was a sort of 3D effect with the light design that was around the stage itself. The stage was a proscenium, and for you non-fellow theatre people, that means the stage was inside a box like structure, sort of like a window, with no part of the stage protruding out into the crowd.

Once my group and I found a good and close spot by the stage (as I needed to see the Wallows up close and personal) it started to get really hot. By around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m., the opener came on. It was a local Sacramento Dream Pop/Indie band called Rosemother. The band itself was really good. Their sound sort of reminded me of The Marias a bit. Their set was good, but it still stayed super hot inside. Once their set ended, security began passing out water. In which everyone was doing grabby hands for it.

By the time most of the general admission pit was given water, Wallows came out on stage.

When I bought the tickets months before, Channel 24 had only listed May 2, as the only day offered. But since it sold out immediately, they added another date, May 1st, a day before the original tour date. I will admit I was slightly ticked off, but when I saw the setlist posted online the night before, I was ecstatic.

They kicked off the set with “Not Alone” from their most recent album More and ended with fan favorite “Coffin Change.” The energy and vibes were amazing! It was hot, yes. Clustered together, yes. But it was amazing. That was the loudest I have ever heard a crowd sing along with the artist. I can tell the band was quite impressed with us too. 

It was slightly weird towards the end of the show when a group of women decided to create a mosh pit for the bridge part of “Remember When”. It was slightly annoying since they were using all of their might to push me and my group away, only to jump up and down when it came to their “moshing part” but pop off I guess.

The night ended with the band saying their thanks and passing out their drumsticks and guitar picks. Leaving the venue was not that chaotic, no pushing, shoving, or stampedes.

It was great to see some friends there and even make new ones. That is something that I love about the Wallows fandom – everyone is just chill. Everywhere my group and I went, new friends were made. Even some of the staff befriended us. 

The night ended up perfectly as my group and I got picked up and headed towards the nearest Raising Canes. Friday night was well spent.

Then something even better happened!

All of the members fell in love with me! I will be flying over to LA soon after I graduate in 2027 to finally be with them (let me be delusional please, this is my Beatles moment!). But seriously, I only mention that because they viewed my Instagram story the night after the concert. I went feral.

Also, Channel 24 was an amazing venue! It is something that Sacramento definitely needed. Another place to encourage the arts, to have more publicity. Artists usually skip Sacramento and either head to the Bay Area or Southern California to perform at bigger and better venues. Meanwhile, before Channel 24, Sacramento only really had three. It’s more than some cities, I get that, but the city really needed to attract more artists to come by.

I mentioned previously that Wallows have not been in Sacramento for three years. In those three years, a total of two albums have passed by. They skipped us entitling on their Model tour, which I had to see in San Francisco and was an…interesting experience. 

I am proud that there is a new music venue and downtown Sacramento is evolving and catering to a new demographic. With Sac State gaining exposure and attraction for athletics, this is also a great opportunity for Sacramento as a whole to gain more attraction and tourism not only for economic boost, but to make this city more enjoyable for everyone. This new venue is a token of the start of new booming urban life in Sacramento.

This night felt like a perfect representation of Wallow’s growth, something that I can proudly say I have been watching since their first album, Heck, even before they were even called Wallows. 

Every time I see them, I love them more. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the future. I will definitely keep listening and watching them live.