Irving Plaza in New York, NY — July 1, 2026

The Summer School tour came to New York City’s Irving Plaza last week, bringing a stellar lineup amidst the city’s ongoing heatwave. idobi Radio has been putting on this pop-punk themed tour for the past few years, and they always find a great group of talented bands to take the stage. This year, the tour consists of Chase Petra, Winona Fighter, Games We Play, South Arcade, and Honey Revenge, alongside a local opening act in each city.

The night started off with NYC locals Sage, who wasted no time bringing up the energy in the room jumping around the stage and delivering some powerful vocals. The crowdsurfing started early (and would continue throughout the night) as fans fully immersed themselves in the music.

Chase Petra was next up, and they mixed in a few slower, more emotional songs in their set. Lead singer Hunter Allen, commanded the stage in her rainbow striped tights throughout the band’s twenty minute set.

After their awesome set, fans got to see an incredible high energy performance by Winona Fighter, who took no issue having all three of its members moving around the relatively small Irving Plaza stage. While fans clearly enjoyed their whole set, they made sure to throw in a cover of “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys just so there was something that everyone could sing along to.

South Arcade took the stage shortly after, and theirs was definitely the most chaotic set of the night. An onslaught of crowdsurfers caused an early exit for us photographers from the front of the barricade, and about three songs in, the set had to be stopped when the fire alarm went off. It was quickly sorted out and the band finished up their set, which despite the complications was one of the best of the night. Lead vocalist Harmony Cavelle exuded nonstop energy, and the stylistic autotune found in many of their songs was fun to listen to.

Next up was Games We Play, the musical project of singer-songwriter Emmyn Calleiro. There were definitely lots of fans there for them, and others seemed to pick up on some of the songs in the set which included “Is This What I’m Made Of,” “The Smash,” and “I Hope You’re Happy.” There was plenty of comedic relief between songs, including the band pretending to leave after the first song of the set was over. Calleiro also got to wave hello to his daughter up in the balcony.

The headliners for this year’s Summer School Tour are Honey Revenge, and they were the perfect choice to close out the night. Their current era seems very purple, and they certainly leaned into that with their stage design and lead singer Devin Papadol’s bright purple hair. Though technically a duo alongside guitarist Donny Lloyd, the band had a very talented bassist and drummer up on stage with them as well. They played plenty of their hits, including “Airhead” and “Rerun,” along with a selection of songs off of their upcoming album Loving and Losing being released this September. The Summer School Tour continues through July with a few more stops on the East Coast before heading out to the Midwest and West Coast. Grab tickets if you can!

Words & Photography: Julia Finocchiaro