hallpass Brought Athens to Atlanta Celebrating Release of Debut Album Spillway

Spillway, the debut album from hallpass has been a long time coming. The Athens’ four piece released their debut single “Maine” just over three years ago and has since consistently put out collections of underrated indie gems leading up to their two EP’s, the 2023 debut, Sabeline and 2024’s Oscillate. The band is made up of guitarist Daniel Crowe, drummer Gideon Johnston, frontman/guitarist Josh Morris and bassist Sam Smith. With the addition of Sam Smith last year, hallpass has moved the needle of their sound further towards energetic rock welcoming Smith’s edginess and taking full advantage her delicate backing vocals. 

Josh Morris of hallpass (Photo: Sam Kapoor)

hallpass kicked off this year’s summer break celebrating the release of their debut album at Aisle 5 for all of their hometown fans, bringing Athens to Atlanta. This was hallpass' first headline show in a minute as they were on tour supporting Foxtide for the first half of May performing several sold out shows across the country. Fans were eager for a show and it presented clearly on their faces and in their collective dancing. The bulk of hallpass' set consisted entirely of songs from their new album further committing to their fresh sound though Morris and the band couldn't get away without performing fan-favorites "Maine" and "Adeline" in the encore.

I was highly anticipating this show particularly because of the lineup. Opening the show was long time Kapoorhouse favorite, Recess Party, who Sam Smith is also the bassist for. Once considered Athens' new band on the block, Recess Party, with the release of their latest EP, This Must Be, have become a cornerstone of Atlanta’s current sound. 

The night also included superstar making their Atlanta debut. The Athens duo (formerly known as A.D. Blanco) which consists of producers Aaron White on drums/vocals and frontman Bennett Evans, hit the ground running with their debut single “all mine” towards the end of last year which has led to a couple more singles just this year including their newly released track “drown” which features Zoe Bayani’s vocals. superstar even brought out the Atlanta indie princess as a surprise guest to perform the song.

With the release of their debut album, Spillway, hallpass is on their way to becoming one of Athens' main staples. The band finished off the first half of tour but will be capping off the rest their tour in July. With a busy summer of shows, I just hope they get more vinyl in stock -- for my sake.