William Ryan Key in Carrboro NC at the Cat's Cradle Backroom
As a vocalist of a pop-punk/rock band that experienced some major mainstream success and spending nearly a decade as that band, what do you do once that band ends? For William Ryan Key, the end of Yellowcard most certainly did not mean the end of creating music.
Since Yellowcard decided to play their last shows, Key has been making solo appearances at Emo Nights around the country and doing some solo performances like he did for a short time on the final cross-country Vans Warped Tour in 2018. That same year was also the official start of a his solo project. Key released two solo EPs and embarked on a tour in support of Mayday Parade.
In 2019, Key is taking on his first headlining tour as a solo act, performing brand new songs as well as fan favorite Yellowcard songs. The Virtue Tour made a stop in Carrboro NC last night at the Cat's Cradle Backroom and the show ended up being a very intimate one.
 
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Not all artists handle low turnouts the same way, some will make their aggravation obvious and others will do their best to get the crowd involved by jumping off stage and engaging with those in the room. I really liked the way that William Ryan Key acknowledged the lacking crowd in the room; between songs he would talk about the places that he has been and he recognized that with this solo project he is literally started over from the ground up. He also mentioned that in a way this small show was just like playing at a coffee shop with a handful of friends, except at this coffee shop they sell alcohol.
Even with a small crowd, Key performed an engaging and relaxing set of his music new and old and those fans that did attend all were happy they came, as was I.
Other shows on The Virtue Tour will not be as small as this though as some shows are selling tickets quickly. If you are in the path of this tour, take a night with friends and enjoy some good music; it has literally just started so there's so many dates left!
And William Ryan Key's latest EP Virtue is out now on all music platforms via The Lone Tree Recordings. Listen here!
3/1: Baby's All Right - Brooklyn, NY
3/2: The Foundry - Philadelphia, PA
3/3: Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
3/5: Sneaky Dee's - Toronto, ON
3/7: Mahall's - Cleveland, OH
3/8: The Pike Room - Pontiac, MI
3/9: Beat Kitchen - Chicago, IL
3/10: Turf Club - Minneapolis, MN
3/12: Globe Hall - Denver, CO
3/13: The Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
3/15: Paris Theatre - Portland, OR
3/16: The Roxy - Vancouver, BC
3/17: Barboza - Seattle, WA
3/19: Bottom Of The Hill - San Francisco, CA
3/21: The Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
3/22: Constellation Room - Santa Ana, CA
3/24: Rebel Lounge - Phoenix, AZ
3/26: Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM
3/28: Barracuda - Austin, TX
3/29: Three Links - Dallas, TX
3/31: House Of Blues - Houston, TX
4/2: The High Watt - Nashville, TN
