BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:23306@goriverwalk.com DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T180000 DTSTAMP:20260624T155914Z URL:https://www.goriverwalk.com/greater-fort-lauderdale-events/citizen-pre sents-halcyon-blues SUMMARY:Citizen Presents: Halcyon Blues DESCRIPTION:17 years into an impressive career\, Citizen still feel like un derdogs who have never quite fit in. The band’s persistent sonic evoluti on and refusal to make the same record twice has earned them a reputation as one of the most consistently captivating bands in modern rock music. Bu t following your own path often means walking it alone\, and their unlikel y rise from a band of Toledo high schoolers to long-running headliners cap able of selling out shows around the world has been hard-earned. It’s pr ecisely this commitment to their craft that has led to their new album\, H alcyon Blues. It’s a dynamic and confident culmination of all that’s c ome before\, making it crystal clear that for all their sonic restlessness \, Citizen have always known exactly who they are. From the start\, the ba nd–vocalist Mat Kerekes\, guitarist Nick Hamm\, bassist Eric Hamm\, alon g with newer members guitarist Mason Mercer and drummer Ben Russin–were steadfastly determined to follow their creativity wherever it led. Over th e years they deftly moved through raw emo\, menacing post-hardcore\, anthe mic alternative\, garage-y indie pop\, and so much more. Now Halcyon Blues brings elements from throughout their entire catalog together into a sing ular and instantly satisfying record that just sounds like Citizen. In the band’s earlier years\, their sonic shifts were seen as a bug rather tha n a feature. “We’ve never easily known where we belong\,” explains K erekes. “When we were coming up we’d try to get tours and people would ask verbatim\, ‘What kind of band is this?’ We were the ugly duckling s for a long time\, and maybe we still are\, but I like that we figured ou t how to stand on our own.” And the band has also stood the test of time . While many of their contemporaries from the 2010s emo boom burned bright but also quickly burned out\, Citizen’s singular focus on pushing thems elves musically allowed them to grow steadily–and for their audience to grow with them. “A lot of bands try to do anything they can to be the ho ttest thing of the moment and we’ve just never operated like that\,” s ays Nick Hamm. “We don’t think in moments\, or months\, or record cycl es. Some bands end up getting sick of whatever walls they exist in\, but I see Citizen as this long term creative project where there’s always som ewhere new to go\, and that’s kept me exhilarated through all these year s. And we’ve trusted that people who like our band will want to come alo ng. A lot of people grew with us and we’re really thankful for that. ” Where past Citizen albums have felt like direct responses to the preceding release\, Halcyon Blues sounds like the group wrapping their arms around their entire catalog and carrying it forward. Recorded by Kerekes in his h ome studio in Toledo\, then mixed by Tom Lorde-Alge (U2\, Weezer\, Blink18 2)\, the record taps into the urgency and ferocity of Citizen’s early al bums while embracing the epic scope and undeniable hooks of their more rec ent work. “I think the band is always in conversation with itself\, ”e xplains Hamm. “Early on we tried to set it up so that Citizen could be w hatever we want it to be\, so we’ve always been ready and willing for th e music to change as we change as people. But at the end of the day we are still the same people making music together\, the same people that made Y outh and all the rest. ”Being those people hasn’t always been easy\, f or Kerekes in particular\, and Halcyon Blues finds him simultaneously reck oning with personal upheaval while finding a sense of security within the band for the first time. “When you’re doing what you always dreamed of doing\, you really don’t understand why it’s not always fulfilling\, ” he explains. “There’s been times where I’ve thought about leavin g the band\, but the Youth anniversary shows were a real gamechanger for m e. I would walk out on stage and look out at the front row and see people ’s faces that I recognized because they’ve been coming to Citizen show s for a decade. It made me sort of feel like this is the coolest thing eve r. Why would I even for a second not be stoked on it? From that moment on I’ve just been all in. This is who I am and this is what I do.”Kerekes ’ self-assuredness with his role in the band contrasts the uncertainty t hat permeates Halcyon Blues’ lyrics. “It’s about unexpected change\, ” he says. “You think you know everything\, you think you have everyth ing figured out\, and then all of the sudden you don’t. Everything’s d ifferent\, for better and for worse. Sometimes it’s really hard but ulti mately it might be for the best. ”The opening salvo of “Good Fortune ” and “I Can See You from Here” explode from the speakers\, introduc ing the record’s blend of technicolor sound and melancholic themes. Thes e are huge rock songs with fittingly huge emotions\, but the youthful frus tration of Citizen’s early work has grown up too\, replaced by a more nu anced\, though no less cutting\, adult perspective. “The album sounds sa d but it’s not necessarily like that\,” says Kerekes.“Sometimes comi ng of age things are bittersweet\, and this is sort of like that too.” M id-album standout “Always The Last One To Leave” offers one of the mos t sweeping ballads Citizen have ever penned\, while scorching tracks like “Matador” or “Smooth Talker” tap into pent up resentment with cath artic results. “Highs and Lows” pushes the band’s sound to truly ast ounding heights\, a soaring alternative song driven by propulsive drums\, a towering chorus melody\, and synth strings that draw the listener into K erekes’ emotionally raw storytelling. As the cinematic “Anne” closes out Halcyon Blues\, it’s clear that Citizen have truly arrived. “I ne ver imagined we’d play shows to several hundred people\, let alone thous ands\,” says Hamm. “We never had that red-hot rocketship thing\, but w e always did what we wanted to do and we had a feeling that if we kept doi ng it\, then eventually everything else would come together. Maybe we’ve started to come to that point. ”This is the sound of nearly two decades of musical and personal experience combined into a declaration of somethi ng their dedicated fans already know: Citizen is one of our great modern r ock bands–and they’re at the absolute top of their game.\n\nFor more i nformation and tickets click here. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.goriverwalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2 026/06/citizen.jpg CATEGORIES:Music LOCATION:Revolution Live\, 100 SW 3rd Avenue\, Fort Lauderdale\, FL\, 33312 \, United States GEO:26.1213372;-80.14640580000003 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=100 SW 3rd Avenue\, Fort La uderdale\, FL\, 33312\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Revolutio n Live:geo:26.1213372,-80.14640580000003 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR