Koyo @ Pearl Street Warehouse
Author: Ash Newton
On Thursday, November 20, Koyo rocked Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, D.C., bringing their personal brand of melodic, emotion-soaked hardcore on their first-ever headlining tour.
They were joined by bands I Promised The World, Restraining Order, and Ben Quad.
I Promised The World opened, delivering a blast of bombastic post-hardcore. With members from all over Texas, the show was their first ever in DC. They appeared to have no setlist on stage, performing a tight seven tracks in quick succession. Their performance included an unreleased song, “A Pure Expression,” from their upcoming self-titled EP, set to release on Rise Records on January 16, 2026. They also played “Bliss in Seven Languages,” the lead single for the record, which fulfills the band’s tried-and-true formula to a tee: throaty screamed vocals over chugging guitars with slower, melodic bridges spaced throughout. Even with this template, their songs remained dynamic and engaging. The band especially shone on closer “02,” which features a gorgeous syncopated rhythm from drummer Mason Zschau and splits vocals between Hunter Wilson’s heavy, urgent growls and Caleb Molina’s clean singing.
Restraining Order played next, another virgin DC voyage for the Massachusetts- and Connecticut-based natives. Though their setlist featured fourteen songs, few clocked in at more than two minutes long, true to the four-piece’s classic hardcore roots. Between songs, though, a distinction soon emerged: tracks that vocalist Pat Cozens noted were off their newer album had a distinct feel, being generally a bit slower and more bass-heavy than older material. The new album, “Future Fortune,” was released two months ago on September 12, 2025, on Blue Grape Records. In spite of this difference, the songs retained cohesion, banking on ’80s and ’90s nostalgia for classic skatepark hardcore, with repetitive shouted choruses and simple, energetic guitar riffs.
Ben Quad performed after, drawing excitement from the crowd, as many attendees were present more for them than any of the other bands on the bill, including Koyo. The Oklahoma City band’s brand of twinkly Midwest emo was easily the most technically impressive sound of the night, surpassing even I Promised The World. Between their second and third song, they played about ten seconds of American Football’s seminal hit “Never Meant,” one of a few humorous interstitial moments. During other breaks to tune, listeners were met with meme audios, including “Dire Dire Docks” (the underwater theme from Super Mario 64) and “Dorime,” a hymn sung in fake, Latin-sounding gibberish.
After the heart-wrenching final chorus of “You’re Part of It,” the stage suddenly went dark. From the darkness emerged two glowing birthday candles, and the house lights slowly came on. The “technical difficulty” was a brief prank to mark guitarist Edgar Viveros’ birthday. After being presented with a cake, the band launched into the next song, and the birthday boy received many moments to shine, playing intense tapping solos while fans reached out toward his guitar. Other impressive performances included “It’s Just a Title,” wherein drummer Isaac Young especially shone, playing absurdly fast and tight ride cymbal rhythms.
Finally, Koyo headlined. The Long Island five-piece brought a short setlist to their first-ever headlining tour, playing nine songs and one encore. Most tracks originated from their debut record, “Would You Miss It?” which was released in 2023. Even still, they opened with a big hitter, “Moriches,” from their EP “Drives Out East,” which brought an already raucous crowd to an absolute frenzy. Audiences swarmed around vocalist Joey Chiaramonte to shout the words back at him and didn’t let up for the rest of the night. Highlights included “What’s Left to Say?”, which featured Chiaramonte taking up double duty, providing vocals for his part and in the stead of Long Island legend Vinnie Caruana, who features on the studio cut of the song. While they didn’t play the other song featuring a celebrated hometown singer—Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo on the song “Message Like a Bomb”—the band paid homage to their native Long Island on “51st State,” a fitting title, too, for a show in DC. The song’s thumping beat and glittering backing vocals from guitarist Harold Griffin err on the dancier side of the mosh, and showgoers certainly felt that way, bursting into two-steps on the chorus.
For the encore, they performed the more recent single “Mile a Minute,” which dropped in November of last year. The song’s anthemic chords and vague lyrics laden with post-breakup emotional turmoil brought the catharsis of the night to an apex. As Koyo left the stage, Chiaramonte promised the band would return on another tour the following year. Between songs, Chiaramonte had previously noted that the band had intended to “get a few songs out before the tour,” but that the releases had fallen through. After the show, he specified that Koyo intends to continue touring for at least another year, picking up bills as an opening act for larger artists while continuing to hone a new record. He placed a tentative date for their second album somewhere between 2027 and 2028. If their current output is anything to go by, it’ll certainly be worth the wait.
Author: Ash Newton | Artist: Koyo | Venue: Pearl Street Warehouse | 11/20/25