Sep 25, 20233 min read

Cannons The Heartbeat Highway Tour sells out Denver’s Ogden Theater 9-23-23

Updated: Sep 27, 2023

One of the fun surprises of being a concert photographer is, I may know the headlining artist but discovering new artists and their music that support the headlining acts can be a real treat. This night was no exception.

The evening started off with Jane Leo created by Jane Ellen Bryant and Daniel Leopold from Austin Texas. From their first song, “Our Love” the duo captured the audience’s attention and mine as well. With their indie rock, and dark pop sound, the duo moved through their set of music with an energetic stage presence as Jane would move about the stage interacting with the crowd. Finishing their set, the crowd thanked the duo for their performance with a robust roar.

Photo Credit: Terrell Stewart

Next up originally from Australia and now living in Europe was Two Another, a duo made up of friends Angus Campbell and Eliot Porter. With their influences from 90’s R&B, a fusion of soul and dance/electronic, the duo started their set with, “Your Gone” and the crowd started to move with the music. It was a very interesting mix of music that would have their audience dancing to one song and then seeing couples wrapped in each other's arms gently swaying back and forth to the next song. Through each song, the crowd would cheer a little louder and louder and when Two Another finished their set, the crowd let out a roar of appreciation.

Photo Credit: Terrell Stewart

About two years ago I discovered the band Cannons and not quite a year ago I had the pleasure of covering their excellent show here in Denver, though they were not the headliners.

A month later after that show, the band's lives would change thanks to a very popular series on Netflix called, Never Have I Ever. The band’s song, “Fire For You” was played in its entirety on an episode of the series. The next day, the song was number one on the TV song charts and had 10 million hits on Shazam! New doors opened, they signed with Columbia Records and a headlining tour was put together.

Photo Credit: Terrell Stewart

The stage was set and when the lights went down, a deafening roar was let out, and a tape of, “What's Love Got to Do with It” started and Ryan Clapham, Paul Davis, and Ben Hilzinger made their way out on stage to the cheering crowd. A moment later, Michelle Joy appeared and the cheering got louder. Cannons opened their set with, “Shadows” from their 2019 album of the same name.

With a roomy stage, Michelle wearing a black long-sleeve bodysuit moved about interacting with the crowd. Throughout their set, Michelle would slowly dance about the stage at times spinning or kicking up a leg.

Moving back and forth in time with songs, “Talk Talk”, “Spells” and a personal favorite, “Hurricane”. Michelle's soft and sultry vocals had the crowd mesmerized as they moved with the music. The band finished their set with, “Fire For You” which had the crowd cheering. A short break and Cannon’s finished their show with an encore of “Desire” and “Evening Star”. As the band turned together for a picture with the packed venue, their fans waved and cheered and it did not stop till the band had left the stage.