Rockford, Illinois... My story

April 10, 2010
By Brenda Bellaire

Since becoming a fan of Sons of Sylvia, I dreamed for the day that I could attend one of their concerts. Well, the time had finally come. Seeing them live and having the opportunity to possibly meet them, would be a complete thrill and a dream come true. Heading to this concert in Rockford, I felt like a teenager again!

After an eight hour drive, and a good night's sleep, the day of the concert had finally arrived! My heart quickly sped up as my three friends and I approached the venue. Long lines of fans moved slowly into the building and out of the drizzling rain. We parked and joined them in line. Once inside the venue, we bought our Sons of Sylvia T-shirts and found our seats, which were near the back of main floor.

We spotted the SOS Backdrop hanging behind the stage and at that moment, I realized my dream was finally coming true. We pulled out the SOS signs we had made and cracked our GREEN glowsticks to light. Just as we finished lighting our last stick, the lights went down. It was starting!!!

My heart was now in my throat as I heard the first few familiar notes of Austin's "Gimme Shelter" intro! He sounded sooo goood! We got to our feet and held up our signs which spelled out: S O S ROX! Everyone around us was looking at us like we were nuts! The spot light was on Austin and his beloved lap steel. He was ripping it up like only he can do and our little group was hooting and hollering through it all!

Ashley and Adam came out then and Ashley yelled into the mic..."HOW YA DOING ROCKFORD!!!!!!!"... The crowd went wild as he started into "There's a storm that's threatenin...." It was amazing seeing them up there! At one point, Ashley introduced his brothers and himself and they continued on with their set (not sure which order) of Revelation, 50 Ways, their Bluegrass number, John Wayne, Say My Name and Love Left to Lose.

They sounded incredible, just like their studio tracks! During 50 Ways, Ashley ran around on stage and showed us his crazy dance moves, which we enjoyed immensely! The Bluegrass number was awesome too, where they huddled up together and jammed. I've always admired their focus and intensity while they play. They give everything they've got to each little note.

Through each song, the four of us waved our glowsticks to the beat and held up our signs. When the guys sang the chorus to SAY MY NAME, we held up the flip side of S O S ROX! and spelled out ADAM ASH AUS TIN! Sometimes, it was only TIN! that was up, but we think the guys got the idea, because after they finished playing the song, Ashley said.. "I see you guys out there in the back!" Ha! We loved that! Thanks for the shout out Ash!

Their show was the quickest 25 minutes of my life. I could've rocked out to them all night! The people around us were asking us, "Who are these guys? They're amazing!" Well, we didn't hesitate to tell them who they were and where to find them online... http://sonsofsylvia.com

At the end of their set, Ashley announced the location of their Meet and Greet and we immediately ran! We had to get to the other side of the venue, but made it in line with only a few people ahead of us. We waited about 45 minutes before they came out, and spent some time talking to the fans in line...Their Merch table was set up with T-shirts, EP's and SOS wrist bands. Security was buzzing around, checking their watches, so we knew it was getting close...

Finally, we saw the guys coming up the escalator! They were all walking towards us with big smiles on their faces... I heard screaming coming from the girls in line, and I think a few of them came from me! I was definitely in teenager mode! The guys took their position behind the table and started taking pics with fans and giving out hugs. Who does that? They are just the sweetest guys ever!

It was now our turn to reach the table. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and I didn't know how I was going to get any words out! The rest was blur. I remember putting my hand out to each of them, but to my delight..received hugs instead! I managed to blurt out to each of them that it was so nice to finally meet them, and it was! They all signed my T-shirt and Ash wrote on it..."Thanx 4 everything". Those three little words meant the world to me. I'm so thankful to THEM for everything! THEY are the ones who have shared their gift with us. Promoting them on a few fan sites is the least I could do.

Adam said when he saw our signs from the stage during SAY MY NAME...he told us he was so surprised by them, that he was having trouble playing! Ha, glad we could rattle him up! We took a few quick pics and said our good-byes. We hung around while they met the rest of the fans. I just wanted to live that moment for as long as I could. After the line was finished, the guys were kind enough to let us take a few more photos, including a treasured group shot with all seven of us.

We said our good-byes again as we watched them all head down the escalator. Ash turned around at that moment, looked at us and said "I love you guys!" Awe, what a night to remember... I know I'll never forget it. I always hear fans say that when they meet SOS, and now I finally understand what they're talking about.

Special thanks to Adam, Ash and Austin for everything YOU do and for making my dream come true. I love you guys, too!

Always, Brenda.