Lake Street Dive
Aug. 31, 2025
Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio
By Rob McCune
In the historic Akron Civic Theatre, a concert hall with the aesthetic of a royal amphitheater under a starry sky, the stage was seemingly dressed for Soul Train. A backdrop like half of an open oyster shell burst into cascading color, and at center stage, a 1970s-style home bar beckoned with an excessively plush barstool seat.
And the Soul Train arrived just on time, greeted at the station by the soul-searching fans of Lake Street Dive, who on their “Good Together” tour pulled out all the stops.
Supporting the band as opener were Atlanta-based Penelope Road, a five-band with a youthful funky folk-soul sound. Led vocally by Charles Eastman on keys and Max Moore on guitar, the band jammed to songs from their two EPs, released in just the past two years, and two new singles – “Flowers (Carry Me Home)” and “Out Tonight.”
The keys – bringing bright, electric tones – and the grounding strum of guitars spoke the same language though with distinguishing accents. And by the time the band broke out Tears for Fears’s “Everybody Wants To Save The World,” which they say is their favorite song to cover live, the audience was so settled into their sound that they were ready to buy a house on Penelope Road.
Then they pulled up a stool with Lake Street Dive, a band that has recorded eight studio albums since forming in 2007 including “Good Together,” dropped last summer.
A set that blended new and old often embodied the soul of legends like Aretha and Ella in the big, bold belting voice of lead singer Rachael Price, stunning in a red ribbed dress down to her ankles.
With Bridget Kearney on stand-up bass and bass guitar, James Conelison on lead guitar, Akie Bermiss on keys and Mike Calabrese on drums, Price played the part of a mama bird, heaping praise and opportunities to shine on each. At one point, she took the plush stool at the bar as Bermiss stole the show with his bluesy cover of “You’re Still the One,” made most popular by Shania Twain.
The whole band fam gathered together around the bar for a stripped-down session that blended covers of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back,” which went viral when Lake Street Dive riffed on it on a Boston sidewalk in 2012, with some of their own “oldies,” like “Side Pony,” which Kearney said is officially back in style after being shunned for years as an embarrassing experimental look.
The boisterous bop “Party on the Roof” nearly brought down the roof, and an encore which featured a cover of Hall and Oates’ “Rich Girl” and the scornful rocker, in the style of Alanis, “Good Kisser.”
This Dive, had it been rated in the Summer Olympics, would have rated 10s all across the board.
Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands.
