While it has been nearly six years since “Outer Banks” first premiered, Jonas Pate’s sun-soaked drama still holds a nostalgic grip on a lot of my peers. I personally spent part of my high school years fixated on its romanticized take on coastal North Carolina, drawn to its hazy freedom, the idea of endless summer, tight-knit friendships and coming-of-age chaos. That same spirit continues in “The Runarounds,” Pate’s newest project that follows a group of high school seniors forming a rock band while chasing something bigger than their small-town beginnings. Though I might be a little too old to relate directly to these coming-of-age shows, they still bring the warmth and excitement I felt at 16 watching “Outer Banks” for the first time. The Runarounds brought me back to that feeling during their two sold-out nights at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1.
What makes The Runarounds particularly compelling is that the band is not just fictional. The five-member rock group exists beyond the screen, comprised of William Lipton on guitar and vocals, Axel Ellis on guitar and vocals, Jeremy Yun on lead guitar, Zendé Murdock on drums and Jesse Golliher on bass. Originally formed for television, they have since stepped fully into their own, translating the show’s dreamy, fictionalized North Carolina into a real-life touring act. Their sound leans into breezy, 1970s-inspired rock layered with elements of modern indie rock and feels sentimental and retro without sounding overly dated. After a year of filming, recording and touring, the band wrapped the first leg of their Minivan Tour in Nashville with shows that felt more like an extension of the series than a typical concert, blurring the line between scripted storylines and real-life performance.
Opening the night, Nashville-based Post Sex Nachos brought a vibrant spin on indie rock, immediately setting the tone with a high-energy performance of “SOS” from their latest EP “Booster Pack.” The five members — Mitch Broddon on lead guitar, Sammy Elfanbaum on rhythm guitar and vocals, Kevin Jerez on keyboards, Chase Mueller on bass and Hunter Pendleton on drums — delivered a rollercoaster of sound that creatively bends rock conventions. Elfanbaum’s voice stood out to this effect, blending the raw whine typical of indie rock with surprising clarity and projection, especially on tracks like “Changes,” which leaned into funkier riffs and classic rock influences. The band’s chemistry was clear in their movement and interaction, from guitarists playing off each other to bass and drum moments that let each member shine, creating an infectious energy that spread to the crowd. This was complemented by their balancing of playful grooves with danceable disco-tinged tracks such as “Talk About It.” The Post Sex Nachos kept the audience on their toes with a cover of Lola Young’s “Messy,” which seamlessly fit into their unique indie rock style. Their energy stayed high through boppy beat-driven songs like “Keep Moving” and the groovier “Super Girl,” where Elfanbaum taught the audience to two-step along. They closed their set with “Growing Old,” inviting the crowd to chant “change my name, my name,” which built excitement for the Runarounds and community within the crowd.
After a long delay following the opener, The Runarounds truly put us on North Carolina time, delivering a set that felt longer than usual and completely immersive. The first few songs immediately set the tone, beginning with “Ghosts,” which had the crowd clapping along and fully engaged with the energy on stage. The band’s collaborative dynamic was clear, with vocals and songwriting shared across members. “15 Rootbeers,” for example, written by Jesse, the bassist, showcased their quirky indie rock side while remaining light and danceable. Songs like this, combined with the way the band fed off each other’s energy, created a lively atmosphere perfectly aligned with their younger audience and on-screen personas. They followed with a new, unreleased track, “Bleachers,” a rhythmic, party-ready number that had everyone clapping. The mood shifted with “Minivan,” a faster, angsty song with a dreamy, groovy ending and a dramatic stage blackout, reflecting themes of uncertainty, survival, and growing up. Their overall stage presence was reminiscent of both 70s rock and the feeling of beachy summer days, evoking the simple joy of hanging out with friends just out of high school.
The idea that this concert was truly an extension of the show was cemented through a series of surprise appearances from its actors. The crowd erupted during “Beautiful Stranger,” a beachy fan favorite that had everyone singing along. Mid-song, Marley Aliah, one of the cast members, came out with a digital camera, snapping photos of the band and the audience, making it feel less like a concert and more like a scene unfolding in real time. Dressed in 60s-inspired beachy looks reminiscent of the show, the cast presence blurred the line between fiction and reality, especially as Aliah exited to the lyrical cue, “there she goes.” Lilah Pate, another member of “The Runarounds” cast, returned to the stage for “Sophia,” a track tied to Pate’s character and the love storylines that run throughout the series. They followed it with a cover of Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb,” a choice that felt perfectly suited for a band that began on television, given Cyrus’s history performing as a fictionalized version of herself on “Hannah Montana.”
Another moment that brought the show to the stage was when Pate came back out for “Hypocrites,” a dreamy slower song that brought out the band’s beachy tone. This moment not only leaned fully into Pate and Lipton’s characters being love interests on the show but also had the crowd swaying if not fully slow dancing.
“The next one is a slow tune so if you came with a friend or a loved one now it might be a nice time to politely ask them for this dance,” Lipton said.
The night closed on a rock-heavy note when the band brought out Marty Schwartz of Marty Music, the YouTube guitarist many of them learned from, to cover Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.”
“This next song is a cover and Marty probably taught me how to play it,” Ellis said.
The performance felt loose and celebratory, with members jumping off drum platforms and leaning into the crowd in a way that nodded to classic rock showmanship that is less common today. They followed it with “Chasing The Good Times,” a fitting title for a band clearly savoring the moment, especially having just played with Schwartz, one of their idols.
After exiting the stage, The Runarounds were met with an ear-ringing demand for an encore. They returned alongside Lilah Pate and Marley Aliah to cover Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” a song that fit their sound well. The performance felt like friends playing a song they grew up loving, an experience that transcended the idea of a typical concert or even castmates working together on a show. It captured the same warmth and closeness that defines the series itself, turning the encore into something that felt genuine rather than staged or planned.
