Pop Punk Legends The Starting Line Play First Headlining Nashville Show in Decades, Tonight, Aug. 30 at Brooklyn Bowl

If you’re a millennial who loved the pop punk scene of the 2000s, there’s a strong chance Philadelphia’s The Starting Line hold a special place in your heart. Never quite as big a household name of some of their Warped Tour and Alt Press peers like New Found Glory, Fall Out Boy, or Paramore, who erupted from the emo scene into the mainstream, the group are, nonetheless, one of the most beloved of that era, releasing three fantastic albums and some generationally resonant singles like “Best of Me.”

Formed in 1999 in Pennsylvania, when frontman Kenny Vasoli wast just 14, the group inked a deal with burgeoning indie label Drive-Thru Records ahead of their 2001 debut EP, With Hopes of Starting Over…. It was the following year’s debut full-length, Say It Like You Mean It, though, which really helped catapult the young band to broader attention, scoring several buzzy singles and leading to hundreds of tour dates and festival appearances over the following few years. By 2005 sophomore effort and major label debut and perhaps their catchiest work, Based on a True Story, the pop punk scene was dominating mainstream music, and The Starting Line seem poised to explode, hitting the road on high-profile tours with breakout acts like Fall Out Boy, and seeing their songs appear in numerous high-profile placements in television, video games, and more.

What would be their final LP for many years, Direction, arrived in 2007, showcasing a more mature sound and resonating well with fans and critics, but the dissolution of the group’s label hurt its promotion, and, despite runs on Warped Tour and a trek supporting Paramore, The Starting Line opted to go on hiatus the following year, just as pop punk was shifting towards the more pop-forward, overproduced, highly commercial “neon wave” of the latter 00s. And though not technically an active band in the ensuing years, The Starting Line never really felt totally broken up, returning nearly every year for at least a handful of shows (often around the holidays in the Northeast, or for the occasional festival outing).

The group became a little more active around the turn of the 2010s, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut, and even returning with some new music, an EP called Anyways, in 2015, but still never played more than a handful of shows any year throughout that decade, opting instead to focus their attention on other projects (Vasoli initially made solo music as Person L, and, later, formed electro and dreampop group Vacationer). Despite nostalgia fests and occasional shows, it began to feel like a part-time legacy act was all The Starting Line would ever be at this point, but, in a pleasant surprise, the band announced earlier this year that they would not only be embarking on their most extensive headlining tour in 17 years, but are also prepping to release their first full-length since 2007’s Direction.

Dubbed Eternal Youth, The Starting Line’s long-awaited forth LP will arrive Sept. 26, and, in celebration, the band are set to headline Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl tonight, Aug. 30, with beloved pop punk group Knuckle Puck and rising shoegaze outfit KEEP. Aside from a short set opening for The All-American Rejects and New Found Glory in 2023, The Starting Line haven’t played Nashville since the 2000s (their last show before that was with Paramore, in ’07), and haven’t headlined Music City in almost 20 years. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the band or a just a 2000s pop punk obsessive, this performance is a must-see! Get tickets right here while they last.

The Starting Line, Knuckle Puck, and KEEP perform tonight, Aug. 30 at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville. The show is 18+, begins at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.), and tickets are available for $53.70.