A very special evening of acoustic performances by Citizen Soldier, Adelitas Way & New Medicine
The band formed in 2006 consisting of the members: vocalist Rick DeJesus, drummer Trevor Stafford, guitarist Chris Iorio, and bassist Derek Johnston. Iorio would later leave the band and be replaced by Robert Zakaryan and Johnston would also depart from the band and be replaced by Andrew Cushing. The band broke into the mainstream when they released their first single “Invincible”. The band started to gain recognition when the single was featured in multiple television shows such as “WWE Superstars”, “CSI: Miami”, and “Bully Beatdown”. The song also did well on the charts, reaching the No. 6 position on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
In 2009 the band released their debut self-titled album through Virgin Records. The album featured the singles “Invincible” and “Last Stand”. The sound of the album consisted of heavily distorted guitars played at a fast tempo and DeJesus’ gritty vocal presentation. After the band’s debut album they released the single “It’s A New Day”, which was used as the theme song for WWE superstars Ted Dibiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes.
The band released their second studio album “Home School Valedictorian” in 2011. The album contained four singles, which all placed high on the active rock chart. The singles from the album included: “Sick”, “The Collapse”, “Criticize”, and “Alive”. The album also did very well on the Billboard charts, placing on the US Billboard 200 chart and reaching the No. 4 position on the US Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. The album also featured a guest appearance from Tyler Connolly from the band Theory of a Deadman, who contributed to the track “I Wanna Be”.
The year 2014 saw Adelitas Way releasing their third studio album “Stuck”. The album was produced by Grammy Award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz and contained the singles “Dog on a Leash” and “Save The World”.
When the Adelitas Way is not busy making albums they are busy performing in front of live audiences. They have been on several headlining tours as well as supported such groups as Shinedown, Guns N’ Roses, Papa Roach, Three Days Grace, and Deftones.
He was AWESOME!!! I got a hug and a signed guitar at the Hangar In Greensboro!! He was so sweet and kind! I got to tell him he saved my life and I thanked him!! He was truly the best in concert!!
Rock bands rarely play small venues, but as Adelitas Way were still fairly up and coming when I saw them, the show was in an intimate venue, an old converted church. The acoustics, environment, and general atmosphere of the venue was awesome, and it was incredible to be in such close proximity with the band.
Rick deJesus came out on to the stage with the roadies to help set up, and everyone was screaming and cheering in anticipation, and it was such a good way to rile everyone’s excitement. By the time the band came on stage, everyone was pretty hyped, and got into the music right away. They opened with Alive, which went down really well, and was a great way to get everyone involved, as the majority of the crowd appeared to know the lyrics and were singing and dancing along enthusiastically.
Something that you really appreciate in a live performance, is how much stamina the band have. Not only are they singing their hearts out and doing a fantastic job in their instruments, but they’re dancing round the stage so vigorously, I was surprised they could still play their music. It was incredible to see them perform and showcase their talent first hand. If you’re a rock fan, even if you don’t know their music, I’d get a ticket if you can.