
Itโs OK if you want to say that youโre not a Future Islands fan. Itโs OK if you want to say that they arenโt your favorite band. But donโt you dare ever say that Sam Herring canโt dance.
After fifteen years, six full-length releases, and relentless touring throughout, Future Islands have earned the recognition of a canโt miss live act. And after viewing the amazing combination of quick and tightly performed dance grooves with Herringโs chaotic and otherworldly abilities as a frontman, I can confidently say that it made for a seriously unforgettable night.

Before Future Islands emerged from backstage, Olympia Washingtonโs Oh, Rose took the stage to deliver an awesome batch of dream pop-infused indie tunes that turned many a head, mine included. And then it was time.

The set list for the night was a treat for new and old Future Islands fans. They performed seven tracks off their last record โAs Long As You Areโ including the bass-driven Born in a War, the dreamy Moonlight, and the heart-wrenching Thrill which closed out their initial set. They also performed at least two tracks each from their first five albums. Some came as no surprise like their mega-smash Seasons (Waiting on You) from โSinglesโ or the early single Tin Man from โIn Evening Air.โ Other songs were dedicated to their die-hard fans like the song โBeach Foamโ off of Wave Like Home which Herring said was so old โit was almost the name of the band,โ or the early nonalbum track โIn the Fallโ which Herring said was usually not performed until October for obvious reasons.
All this equated to a twenty-two track set list that lasted nearly two hours. The stamina of the group was for lack of a better word, insane. Especially with Herring running, sliding, sweating (sweating), jumping and performing roughly fifteen short dance routines that could easily be transformed into tik-toksโฆ it was all truly a sight to behold.