Half Alive comes to Newport Music Hall on “Give Me Your Shoulders, Pt. 1” tour

Long Beach, California, based trio Half Alive will perform at the Newport Music Hall Monday at 7 p.m. Credit: Courtesy of Grant Spanier

Long Beach, California, based trio Half Alive will make a pit stop in Columbus along the first leg of a tour to promote their new album. 

The trio will play at the Newport Music Hall Monday at 7 p.m., according to the PromoWest website, and will feature songs from their new album, “Give Me Your Shoulders, Pt. 1.” J Tyler Johnson, the band’s bassist, said lead singer Josh Taylor and drummer Brett Kramer met in 2016 while working on a mutual project, and he joined just a year later, completing the musical trio. 

“They did a couple songs, released an EP and then I joined the picture after that,” Johnson said. “Then, magic. That was it.”

Although the band’s musical style has been described as a variety of different genres, including indie pop, pop, alternative rock, dance-pop, electronic rock and electropop, Taylor said the group’s sound can take on many different forms. 

“I think our sound is pretty eclectic, so it’s difficult to describe in one way,” Taylor said. “I would say it’s very funky and artful.”

The band’s new album differs from its first studio album, “Now, Not Yet,” and Taylor said it may even be perceived as a bit darker. Although the group is often associated with the funky sounds of its first album, Taylor said they decided to explore something entirely new on “Give Me Your Shoulders, Pt. 1.”

“This album is different because with our first EP we were new to what we wanted to explore,” Taylor said. “We had a lot of time to explore different genres and sounds, but this time we took that journey a step further and understood a little bit of what we didn’t want and pursued a little bit more of what we did want.”

Taylor said the energetic force of the band has increased exponentially since previous tours, and the new set provides something even more lively than before, with crowd surfing and other “magic moments” to be expected from the show.

“There’s always something that anyone expects from a Half Alive show, there’s always dance, there’s always solid groundwork of music and lights,” Taylor said. “But I think there’s a new level of energy where we’re sort of breaking the fourth wall a lot more than we have in previous tours. We’re doing a lot more audience engagement.”

Every city responds differently to songs, and Johnson said certain songs can be crowd favorites in one city while other songs capture the attention of the next location.

“As we’ve been touring and playing these songs, each city seems to gravitate towards a certain sound or a certain wave of responding to the music, which has been really exciting to see,” Johnson said. “ ‘Background’ has been a really fun one for us in terms of energy. That one really awakens the crowd and makes them so ready to just move and dance and get wild, which is what we want.”  

Following the leg of its North America tour, which will end March 30, the group will tour in the U.K. and Europe in April and May, according to its website. Although the group will make its way around the world over the next several months, Kramer said he can’t wait to meet fans in Columbus and connect with them over music. 

“Touring usually gives us some really cool one-on-one moments with our fans,” Kramer said.  “We’re really excited to come out and play at Newport, and we love our fans out there and are really excited to meet and connect with them.”

Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased through Newport Music Hall’s website. Masks will not be required but strongly encouraged, and proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from up to 72 hours prior will be required for entry.