May 6-7, 2023
Five years since their hiatus, Orlando was resigned to the idea of never seeing emo legends You Blew It! play live again. So when the band announced their first Will's Pub reunion show, it's no surprise it quickly turned into two back-to-back sold-out shows. The best of Orlando truly came out those nights: diehard fans, lifelong friends and beaming proud parents of the band all together in a sea of never-ending crowd surfers and fans screaming every lyric to every song at the top of their lungs. The pours were heavy and the significance of the moment was palpable. This is one of the rare reunion shows absolutely worth the wait — though we hope You Blew It! doesn't keep us waiting another five years for the next gig.
Best of Orlando 2023: Local Music
2nd: Jeremy Birdsall, jeremybirdsall.com
3rd: Thomas Milovac, thomasmilovacmusic.com
2nd: Hard Rock Live, hardrock.com/live/locations/orlando
3rd: The Plaza Live, plazaliveorlando.org
1st: Montgomery Drive, montgomerydrive.com
2nd: Jessica Pawli, facebook.com/jessicapawli
3rd: 407 Booking, instagram.com/407booking
1st: Sanford Porchfest, sanfordporchfest.org
2nd: Electric Daisy Carnival, orlando.electricdaisycarnival.com
3rd: WJRR Earthday Birthday, wjrr.iheart.com/featured/earthday-birthday
1st: Smartpunk Records, smartpunk.com
2nd: Swamp Cabbage Records, swampcabbagerecords.storenvy.com
3rd: Popnihil, facebook.com/popnihilpress
1st: Red Lion Recording Studio, redlionrecordingstudio.com
2nd: Studio 1509, studio1509music.com
3rd: Phat Planet Studios, phatplanetstudios.com
1st: Austin's Coffee, austinscoffee.com
2nd: The Alley, facebook.com/thealleylive
3rd: Renaissance Theatre Co., rentheatre.com
1st: Orlando Sings Solaria Singers, orlandosings.org/choirs
2nd: Violectric, violectric.net
3rd: Anthology String Quartet, anthologyquartet.com
1st: Angel of Boom, instagram.com/itsoffcialangel
2nd: DJ Edil Hernandez, djedilhernandez.com
3rd: DJ Richie Rich, facebook.com/iamdjrichierich