Taking Back Sunday & Thrice in West Des Moines

Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band formed on Long Island in 1999, known for emo and alternative rock built around intertwined vocals and guitars. The album Tell All Your Friends established the group’s early sound through songs including “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team),” while Where You Want to Be and Louder Now produced staples such as “A Decade Under the Influence” and “MakeDamnSure.” Taking Back Sunday performed on the 2007 Projekt Revolution tour alongside Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance. In 2019, the band marked its twentieth anniversary by playing Tell All Your Friends in full, followed by either Where You Want to Be or Louder Now, chosen by a coin toss each night. The band later toured with Third Eye Blind on the 2022 Summer Gods Tour.

Thrice is an American rock band formed in Irvine, California, in 1998. Their early records The Illusion of Safety and The Artist in the Ambulance established a melodic post-hardcore sound, while Vheissu and the four-part The Alchemy Index moved into broader alternative and experimental rock. Their best-known songs include “Deadbolt,” “The Artist in the Ambulance” and “Black Honey.” The 2012 farewell tour preceded a hiatus and supplied recordings for the live album Anthology. Thrice returned to performing at Skate and Surf in 2015, then resumed sustained touring after the release of To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere. In 2023, the band played The Artist in the Ambulance in full on its 20th Anniversary Tour.