Coheed and Cambria embark on a co-headlining tour with Mastodon with support from Periphery about two months after their newest studio album Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe released on March 14, 2025. They kicked off the tour in Salem, Virginia on May 10, 2025. Knoxville, Tennessee took the spotlight on night two at Knoxville Civic Auditorium.
There was some intrigue as to how a show with heavier music was going to be at a seated venue. Upon arrival, seeing the vast range of ages at the show, it actually made for a great setup. Youth sitting up on the seats’ headrests headbanging along with black-hoodied, white-haired seasoned concert veterans to those that fall in between who grew up with Coheed and Cambria filled the venue seamlessly. I had to do the math and was astonished that I myself have been listening to them for twenty years.
Youth sitting up on the seats’ headrests headbanging along with black-hoodied, white-haired seasoned concert veterans to those that fall in between who grew up with Coheed and Cambria filled the venue seamlessly.
Claudio Sanchez, lead singer and guitarist, walks out onto the stage to the echoing piano intro of the opening track of their aforementioned new record titled “Yesterday’s Lost.” Drummer Josh Eppard steps onto the stage to accompany Claudio with mallets, the only time in the show he uses them.
Coheed co-founder Travis Stever on guitar and vocals and Zach Cooper on bass and backing vocals join in to round out the group as they dive into song number two which coincides with the next song on their new album. The track “Goodbye Sunshine” has a poppy feel and is reminiscent of “A Favor House Atlantic” both in feel and wording, with both choruses with catchy melodious “byes.”
It makes sense that many of the tracks from the new album were on the setlist, though out of the fourteen songs that were performed, half of them were not. Upon playing a cover of Danzig’s “Mother,” a tribute to the show taking place on Mother’s Day, the audience is addressed with a warm welcome, with mentions of how Knoxville has always been good to them, even back when they would play basement shows. And as a nod to this, they proceeded to launch into some classics “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Everything Evil” off of their second and first studio albums, respectively.
Upon playing a cover of Danzig’s “Mother,” a tribute to the show taking place on Mother’s Day, the audience is addressed with a warm welcome, with mentions of how Knoxville has always been good to them
Perhaps the most stunning display of the evening was the two-story-tall figure that appeared during “Blind Side Sonny.” Claudio mentioned in an interview with ABC Audio that they are “bringing a portion of the story to the stage.” This ominous figure looking like a zombie soldier was wearing goggles that would change between displaying dollar signs, hearts, and targets. It was surreal to look at as it looked both animated and real at the same time, protruding out towards the audience.
To close out their set, they performed “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.” At first, I was a bit disappointed the tempo was a tad slower than it is on the album, but then it grew on me and made me imagine a giant spaceship pulling into the station, much like the mothership the characters travel on that Coheed and Cambria wrote in for their concept album The Second Stage Torment. Josh hit a massively awesome drum solo before the main theme came back in to finish off the song and the band exits the stage before the encore.
Claudio emerged back on stage with acoustic guitar in hand to perform “Corner My Confidence” from the new album. This brought the audience back to the way the set began: sweet, lullaby-sounding ballads allowing Claudio’s vocal prowess and wide range of dynamics to take center stage. The choice to start each set this way perhaps reflects how their new release The Father of Make Believe takes on some more personal themes and tones. According to this interview with Steve O’G, this stemmed from Claudio having thoughts spawned from his uncle’s passing of what if scenarios if he or his wife passed away and what that would be like. Coheed and Cambria lyrics have always had elements of being introspective and intricate but with this new album release, a concept twenty years’ in the making, there is a heightened sense of weightiness to these songs.
To close out their night, Coheed and Cambria ended with a crowd favorite “Welcome Home.” It is truly an epic song in and of itself let alone a send-off song. Fans left satisfied and many lined up to purchase merch afterwards. We all await for their return to Knoxville.
Coheed and Cambria continue on the rest of The Infinite Arc Tour through North America June 8th before heading out on a summer tour with Taking Back Sunday and support from Foxing kicking off August 16th.
Setlist:
1. Yesterday’s Lost
2. Goodbye Sunshine
3. Shoulders
4. Domino
5. Blind Side Sonny
6. Searching For Tomorrow/Mother
7. A Favor House Atlantic
8. Everything Evil
9. Someone Who Can
10. Liar’s Club
11. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Encore:
1. Corner My Confidence
2. Play the Poet
3. Welcome Home
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