Concert Review: Evanescence and Halestorm at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ 1/21/22

Three of the most fierce, powerful female-fronted rock bands joined forces this January for a string of rescheduled dates on the East Coast. Halestorm and Evanescence (with opening act Lilith Czar) ended the tour at Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center. Despite the show being only one day after Halestorm’s tragic tour bus fire, the bands persevered and put on a more than stellar show. 

The show kicked off promptly at 7:15 PM with an electric performance from Lilith Czar. Back in February 2021, rock artist Juliet Simms rebranded herself as ‘Lilith Czar’ and debuted a completely new look and sound. In April, she released “Created From Filth and Dust”, her debut album under the new moniker. Their set started with a powerhouse performance of ‘Feed My Chaos’. The rest of the set was filled with the authentic hard rock tunes and a high energy stage show.

Next up on the bill was co-headliner – Halestorm. Their set kicked off with frontwoman Lzzy Hale’s thunderous voice echoing through the near 20,000 seat arena as she belted the band’s latest single “Back From The Dead”. From there we were off into Halestorm’s never-disappointing, kick-ass rock n’ roll set. All four members of this hard rock force gave it their all and left everything on that stage. After a few classic Halestorm tunes, Evanescence’s frontwoman Amy Lee joined Lzzy Hale at her piano for a touching duet performance of “Break In”. You could hear a pin drop in the room. After this emotional ballad, the band kicked it back into high gear with “Amen”. One of my favorite parts about the set was that each band member had their signature look: Lzzy’s stiletto boots, drummer Arejay’s mohawk, guitarist Joe’s pigtails, and bassist Josh’s hat. All of this adds to the uniqueness and authenticity of Halestorm’s stage show. Mid-set, Arejay Hale broke out into a drum solo with his famous ‘Big Sticks’. The band joins him onstage once again and says “Newark, New Jersey… ARE YOU A FREAK LIKE ME!?” The energy exchange between the band and the crowd was palpable. It’s impossible to watch a Halestorm show and not feel empowered.

Legendary gothic metal band Evanescence took the stage around 9:30 PM. On tour supporting their latest album “The Bitter Truth” released in March 2021. 3, 2, 1, 0… and we were off into their set. You could feel the drums pounding in your chest from the front to the back of the venue. Frontwoman Amy Lee appeared above drummer Will Hunt silhouetted in front of what appeared to be a fireball. Heavy guitar riffs accompanied by driving drums and bass with the operatic, soaring vocals of Amy Lee. The set featured over half of the songs from their latest album as well as the classic well-known Evanescence tunes. The crowd sang along to every word of every song both old and new – an impressive feat for a band that has been around as long as Evanescence has. That just goes to show the longevity a band like this has. 

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