Wallows Bring ‘Model’ Tour to Ascend Amphitheater with BENEE Tonight, Aug. 20

Out in support of their recent third album Model, LA indie pop/rock outfit Wallows are set to return to Nashville for the first time in five years to headline Ascend Amphitheater tonight, Aug. 20 with buzzy alt pop singer BENEE (who you definitely want to show up early for)! One of the coolest tours of the summer (today we might mean that literally as well; the weather is perfect for an outdoor event), tickets are still available right here while they last! Learn more about both artists and preview their music below.

While you might recognize Wallows‘ famous frontman Dylan Minnette from his numerous acting credits (13 Reasons Why, Scream, Don’t Breathe), or fellow vocalist and guitarist Braeden Lemasters for his acting pursuits as well, don’t write them off as another actors’ vanity project; the LA alt rock trio are the real deal! Though they didn’t officially make their debut as Wallows until early 2017, the roots of the band trace back to 2011, when the group (rounded out by drummer Cole Preston) were all teens, and started making music together under a variety of early names after meeting in the GigMasterz program at Keyboard Galleria Music Center in Southern California. They released an independent EP in 2014 under prior name The Narwhals, but the group was a little slow-going at first while Minnette and Lemasters balanced their burgeoning acting careers, eventually settling on a name and honing their ’80s influenced post-punk, synth-y, and bedroom pop inspired alt rock sound across a string of early singles, landing a deal at Atlantic ahead of debut EP Spring in 2018. The combo of Minnette’s growing star power and viral single “Are You Bored Yet?” with Clairo helped really blow Wallows up by 2019’s debut album, Nothing Happens, and though the pandemic would slow their tour momentum a year later, the rise of TikTok would see the band’s songs reach a new audience, and give them time to swiftly craft a new EP, Remote, in 2020. Helmed by Grammy-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid, Wallows returned with a sophomore album, Tell Me That It’s Over, in 2022, showcasing a more mature and honed side of their sound, and incorporating more elements of indie rock and post-punk, also appearing at major fests like Coachella and Bonnaroo that same year. Their fame has only continued to rise since, and the trio’s latest LP, this year’s indie pop and rock leaning Model, was met with critical acclaim and their highest chart success to date, with numerous singles like “Calling After Me” and “Bad Dream” finding viral success. Look no further than the size of the stages on this tour to see just how popular the band have become over the last few years!

Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand and born Stella Rose Bennett, alt-pop breakout BENEE was raised in a musical household, but it wasn’t until her late teens that she began posting covers on SoundCloud and taking her interest in music more seriously, soon attracting the attention of producer and fellow Kiwi Josh Fountain, who’d help kickstart her career and has been involved in her production ever since. Buzz around the singer’s early work landed BENEE a major label deal out of the gate, and a pair of 2019 EPs, Fire on Marzz and Stella & Steve, shot her to international critical acclaim and to chart-topping success at home, leading to a tour with Lily Allen and cementing a fervent online following. It was 2020, however, with viral hit “Supalonely” featuring Gus Dapperton became a mega-hit on TikTok (and has gone on to amass billions of streams) and the release of her debut LP, Hey u x, that BENEE truly became a breakout star, lauded for her quirky, genre-bending indie/alt-pop stylings and knack for fusing fantastical lyrical themes with a grounded and earnest sense of suburban upbringing. Despite the Covid lockdown, which stalled a would-be early U.S. tour with Remi Wolf, BENEE managed to make remote appearances on several American late-night shows throughout 2020, and began work on her latest effort, 2022 EP Lycee, as lockdowns started to ease, recording half at home in New Zeland and half in Los Angeles with Greg Kurstin, Kenny Beats, and Rostam. Since then, she’s also appeared at Bonnaroo and Coachella, toured both as a headliner and in support of artists like Olivia Rodrigo, and has been hard at work on a forthcoming sophomore album!

Wallows and BENEE will perform tonight, Aug. 20 at Ascend Amphitheater. The show is all ages, begins at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.), and tickets are available for $42.30-105.75.