Silverstein’s 25th Anniversary 25 Years of Noise Tour stopped into Ottawa’s Bronson Centre Thursday night. For Silverstein fans, it was a chance to celebrate with one of Canada’s most critically acclaimed bands.
The show featured not one, but three opening acts. Greyhaven, Broadside, and Real Friends each delivered the goods to warm up the sold-out crowd for headliners Silverstein.
Greyhaven kicked off the night with a powerful set, followed by Broadside, whose charismatic frontman Ollie Baxter had the audience in the palm of his hand as they tore up the stage with instantly likeable pop-rock songs. Real Friends also quickly get the crowd into a frenzy as the mosh pit swirled in response. The highlight of their set was when vocalist Cody Muraro parted the crowd in half and made his way to the center to spend a few heartfelt moments with fans as he talked about life, being Canadian, and what it meant to him to be back here before starting “I’ve Given Up On You.”
Silverstein’s set started with an expansive series of video screens, with documentary-style videos chronicling the band’s humble beginnings in 2000 in Burlington, ON, to their worldwide success. Their setlist spanned Silverstein’s discography, including many fan-favourites like “My Heroine” and “Smile In Your Sleep” as well as newer songs like “Skin and Bones” and “Confession.”
Silverstein’s return to Ottawa was a unique celebration of a storied career for the post-hardcore band, with a long history of playing shows in Ottawa. Vocalist Shane Told spoke to the crowd at length about the band’s many shows over the years at iconic venues, including Babylon and Club SAW—a pre-GPS era show for which he said they had to call the club to get directions to find their way there many years ago. More recently, the band played an incredible set at last summer’s edition of Bluesfest, opening for The Offspring.
They’ve certainly come a long way over the years, and with a new album set to drop in September–Pink Moon, the companion album to Antibloom, which was released in February of this year–they’re more than ready to keep pushing boundaries for at least a few more years.
Silverstein’s 25th anniversary tour continues throughout 2025 with dates in Canada, the U.S., and Australia.
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