Hawthorne Heights turned House of Blues San Diego into a full-on emo time machine on March 23, 2026, but the night never felt stuck in the past. The bill itself told the story: Creeper opened with theatrical menace, letlive. detonated the room with pure chaos, and Hawthorne Heights delivered a headlining set built around the 20th anniversary of If Only You Were Lonely, the album that gave a generation its soundtrack for heartbreak, desperation, and catharsis.
Creeper set the tone first. Their current incarnation leans hard into the gothic drama that has made them one of the most visually distinct bands in modern rock, and even in an opening slot they came off bigger than the clock allotted to them. Their blend of camp, menace, melody, and sheer conviction gave the evening its first real surge of grandeur. Creeper’s gift is scale: they can make a room feel like a theater, and they can make a hook sound like a curse. In San Diego, that translated into a set that felt equal parts rock show and dark cabaret.
Creeper:
Will Gould — lead vocals
Ian Miles — guitar, backing vocals
Sean Scott — bass, backing vocals
Hannah Greenwood — keyboards, vocals, violin, guitar, percussion
Jake Fogarty — drums
Lawrie Pattison — guitar
Creeper Setlist
1. Mistress of Death
2. Lovers Led Astray
3. Headstones
4. The Ballad of Spook & Mercy
5. Parasite
6. Cry to Heaven
If Creeper brought atmosphere, letlive. brought violence of motion. The reunited band hit the stage like they were there to tear up the room from the inside out. Jason Aalon Butler has always performed like the stage is more suggestion than boundary, and the material still lands with the same combination of social urgency, rhythmic unpredictability, and emotional combustion that made letlive. such an essential live band in the first place. In a stacked lineup, they were the night’s destabilizing force — the band most likely to make the crowd feel like anything could happen in the next thirty seconds. In fact, it usually did. Butler is non-stop motion while performing, spitting water, raging across the stage and even singing from the balcony. The only time he slows down is to share his inspiring stories of positivity and support for all people.
letlive.:
Jason Aalon Butler — lead vocals
Jean Francisco Nascimento — guitar, keys, auxiliary percussion, backing vocals
Jeff Sahyoun — guitar, backing vocals
Skyler Acord — touring bass
Sage Webber — touring drums
letlive. Setlist
1. Le Prologue
2. The Sick, Sick, 6.8 Billion
3. Renegade 86′
4. Younger
5. That Fear Fever
6. Banshee (Ghost Fame)
7. Muther
8. Good Mourning, America
9. 27 Club
Then Hawthorne Heights took over and reminded everyone why this anniversary tour matters. Rather than leaning on a few expected singles and coasting on recognition, they went deep into If Only You Were Lonely. Songs like “This Is Who We Are,” “Pens and Needles,” “Saying Sorry,” “Decembers,” and “Spray Paint It Black” gave the set its emotional spine, while encore favorites like “Niki FM,” “Like a Cardinal,” and “Ohio Is for Lovers” sent the room into full singalong mode. Whether you came to relive 2006 or to hear how these songs breathe in 2026, the power of the set was that Hawthorne Heights did not treat the material like museum glass. They played it like it still belonged to the present.
That is what made this show work so well. Hawthorne Heights carried the emotional center, letlive. supplied the danger, and Creeper added the style and spectacle. Three very different bands, one coherent night: vulnerability, confrontation, and theater all feeding the same crowd. At House of Blues San Diego, that combination landed exactly the way a package tour should — with each band sharpening the next one’s impact. By the time Hawthorne Heights hit “Ohio Is for Lovers,” the room had moved beyond singalong and into release. That is the trick veteran bands chase and rarely catch: not just replaying old songs – making them feel necessary again. On March 23 in San Diego, they did.
Hawthorne Heights:
JT Woodruff — vocals, guitar
Matt Ridenour — bass, vocals
Mark McMillon — guitar, backing vocals / unclean vocals
Chris Popadak — drums
Hawthorne Heights Setlist
1. This Is Who We Are
2. We Are So Last Year
3. Language Lessons (Five Words or Less)
4. Pens and Needles
5. Saying Sorry
6. Dead in the Water
7. I Am on Your Side
8. Breathing in Sequence
9. Light Sleeper
10. Cross Me Off Your List
11. Where Can I Stab Myself in the Ears?
12. Decembers
13. Spray Paint It Black
14. Bring You Back
15. Dandelions
16. Niki FM
17. Like a Cardinal
18. Ohio Is for Lovers
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Johnnie Crow is a lifelong music lover. He has photographed artists from every genre at concerts, festivals and cruises all across North America.