On March 31, 2023, Hawthorne Heights brought the Pitch Black Forever tour with Armor For Sleep to the Domain Northside in Austin, Texas for a once in a lifetime free live streamed event.

Packed out wall to wall, the show kicks off with local Austin legends Nominee getting the crowd warmed up with hits off their newest album Lowlife and their iconic cover of “Somebody Kill Me” from the movie The Wedding Singer. Nominee writes a lot about mental health and just trying to get by paired with pop-punk and post-hardcore sensibility, definitely a band worth checking out.

Second to the stage, emo band Armor For Sleep from New Jersey played everything from “Dream to Make Believe” off their first album to “How Far Apart” on their newest album The Rain Museum. The rowdy crowd moshed from start to finish in anticipation of the headliner.

The night ended with Ohio’s Hawthorne Heights, starting off with a pre-recorded video of the band performing on the rooftop of the Domain. For 20 years the band has been a safe space for outcasts and weirdos and 20 years later nothing has changed. Every emo in Austin came out to rock to their favorite band once again. Changing the name of their hit song and show closer to “Texas Is For Lovers” for one night, the band that started in Ohio back in 2001 has grown with all of their fans, and 20 years later got to play in an overpacked outlet mall.