Dozens of children, teenagers and parents arrived at the Uptown Theater Oct. 16 ready for a night full of music with Echosmith, the Mowgli’s and American Authors. This concert was part of the 13th annual Honda Civic Tour.

Kicking off the concert was indie pop band Echosmith. Echosmith is comprised of four siblings from Los Angeles and is best known for its hit “Cool Kids” which reached number 19 on Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. The band opened with “Come Together,” an unfamiliar but catchy tune for the audience.

While the vocals of lead singer Sydney Sierota were strong, the overall performance was mostly anticlimactic, as very few people knew of Echosmith’s music. Echosmith closed with “Cool Kids,” which got the crowd energetic as this was the hit that everyone had heard over the summer. Many people began to dance and sing along, and by this time, the crowd had grown much larger. It finally felt like there was energy in the room. After the show, Echosmith posed stood outside the theater to take photos with any fans who wished, adding value to the event.

After a quick set change, alternative rock band the Mowgli’s played. The Mowgli’s opened with “Emily,” a light-hearted love song. The overall performance from this seven person band left and energetic and loving vibe to the crowd. Lead singer and Kansas City native Colin Dieden added a personal touch to the performance by shouting that he was in his “favorite city in the country”.

The Mowgli’s closed with two of its well known songs, “Say It, Just Say It” and “San Francisco,” which left fans and newly converted fans jumping with enthusiasm. Dieden jumped and ran through the crowd when closing the show, which made the crowd go wild. By the end of the performance, it seemed like the Mowgli’s were the headliners of the show.

American Authors, a four member rock band, began its show with beautiful strobe lights and silhouettes. Many children stood and cheered in the general admission section during the performance while their parents sat in the seats in the back of the Uptown Theater patiently waiting for the concert to end. The crowd overall was not that impressive in terms of quantity, but it was still a pretty good showing for a school night.

American Authors sounded better live than on its record, partially because all of the unnecessary background vocals were cut out. Instead of dozens of reverbing sounds covering up lead singer Zac Barnett, the performance featured just his voice and his powerful voice alone. While some of the crowd jumped and sang through every song, while a portion of the crowd looked unentertained until American Authors played its hit “Best Day Of My Life”.

The band also covered Coldplay’s song “Yellow,” which generated a happy cheer throughout the crowd.

Towards the end of the show, they played a new song that has not yet been released, titled “Nothing Better Than You.” This song shines light on perhaps an even brighter future for American Authors as it features an unique and catchy electronic interlude, diversifying the sound of their music and giving it a more modern sound.

Overall, the night of music was very entertaining. I’m not sure if I would go to an American Authors band alone if it was just American Authors performing, so I’m glad that the show featured three distinctive bands. With Echosmith’s success with “Cool Kids,” the high energy and feel-good feeling of the Mowgli’s and a new unique sound for American Author’s, I see a bright future for all three of these bands.