It is rare to find a band where you will hear a spontaneous performance of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” a violin solo while missing an entire string and a drummer who plays a whole set with a bleeding hand all in the same concert. Happy Landing performed this past Friday in Duling Hall in Jackson and did just that.
Happy Landing came on to the scene as five college students looking to make it in the folk-rock scene. From going on tour, to playing with The 502s and The Stews, every action they have taken since has done nothing more than help them begin to achieve success.
All the shows they had this year culminated in their show at Duling Hall Friday. As the lead singer Matty Hendley is from Madison, only a few minutes’ drive away, the hometown crowd came out like no other. The venue sold the most tickets for a show since before COVID, and the performance showed why.
From playing an unreleased song exclusive for the crowd to a quick rendition of “Cotton Eyed Joe,” Happy Landing made sure they had a unique show for us. The energy of every member of the band was extraordinary; they had great interactions with fans, even going so far as to remember some in the front row from a previous show. All of these things made for a great show.
Not only was the energy nice, but the way the band members performed was extremely unique as well. While Hendley ran the show, lead violinist Andrew Gardner ran the band. This led to an interesting solo when Gardner had a string break twice and proceeded to do a spontaneous solo on a three stringed violin. This was the moment I could not get out of my head.
At the end of the day, I can sit here and talk about the energy and the uniqueness of the performance for hours, but it would not do their concert justice. What I can say is that Happy Landing is a band that is willing to take risks, so their fans have a unique experience, and they have the skill to back that up. Their performance on Friday proved that to me, and I cannot wait to see what they will do in the future.