Miss May I Finish Off Canada Run at Rum Runners in London, Ontario [Photos]

In the past week, Miss May I have been taking a trip around Canada for their summer tour featuring Gideon, Dreamwake, and Soulkeeper. Starting in Quebec City and finishing in London, Ontario, for a night of mosh pits and heavy riffs.

If you live in London, or any part of Ontario, for that matter, you know the temperature has been beyond hot, with a heat wave impacting most of the province for the past few days. You would think this would impact the number of moshers, but it had no effect as fans of metal packed together into Rum Runners and were not afraid to mosh.

The night started with Dreamwake, a jazz-fused metalcore band with the saxophonist delivering solos that made the crowd feel like we were in a jazz club. The whole band was dancing around the stage and having a good time, and it was contagious to the crowd. Midway through the set, they played fan favourite “Heatwave” that had the crowd singing along and moshing hard. Dreamwake also debuted a new song that fans enjoyed.

Next up was Soulkeeper, who delivered a heavier sounding metalcore sound compared to Dreamwake. The mosh pits continued to grow for Soulkeeper, and this set was the start of the crowd mic-grabbing. Soulkeepers’ frontman loved the mosh pits and encouraged them through the entire set, and the crowd did not disappoint. Like Dreamwake, Soulkeeper also debuted a new song. Based on the crowd reaction, you could tell that they had a large number of fans in the building.

Rum Runners was starting to fill up after Soulkeeper, and before long, it was time for Gideon to take the stage. Although they are considered metalcore, these guys are a band that fans of hardcore will love. In between Soulkeeper and Gideon, the venue was playing older classic country songs like “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins. Although it might not make sense to play country music, it made sense as soon as Gideon took the stage.

Gideon frontman Daniel McWhorter came out fitted with a cowboy hat and delivered the heavy hardcore sound right out of the gate. The first three rows of the crowd knew the words to every song, which led to multiple mic grabs throughout the set. The mosh pits were stronger than ever, with some people choosing to windmill like a hardcore show and push like a metal pit.

These guys are heavy and definitely won over the crowd. Midway through the set, they had a massive wall of death that had most of the venue involved, which is the first time I’ve seen it happen at Rum Runners. The stage divers started as well. Gideon made sure they had the crowd warmed up and active for the final band of the night and the tour headliner.

Before long, it was time for Miss May I. Rum Runners was filled up, and the crowd was warmed up to give it all they had to impress Miss May I. It’s safe to say Miss May I impressed the crowd, and the crowd impressed Miss May I. They exploded onto the stage full of energy, and the crowd did the same, with the strongest mosh pits of the night occurring during the set. Everyone in the room knew the lyrics to every song, and they were screaming them at the top of their lungs.

With London being the final show in Canada for the tour, Miss May I knew they had to make it worth it, starting it off with one of their biggest hits, “Hey Mister” from their 2012 record At Heart. They then went into some of their most recent work from their 2022 album for songs two and three, but went right back into the old stuff for song four.

Around the venue, you could see three types of people. The moshers, people screaming the lyrics or the long-haired headbangers that were having the time of their lives. They kept it going through the whole set, and it’s a mystery how none of them got tired.

The band kept the energy high all night, and singer Levi Benton sounded great with vocals that sounded just like the records. The riffs stayed heavy and were complemented by the deep bass tone that you could feel throughout the venue. Lastly, drummer Jerod Boyd was delivering blast beats for days. All the members together sounded super tight and delivered one of the heaviest sets I’ve personally seen.

Miss May I delivered a heavy and energetic set to Rum Runners, and every band on this tour gives fans a different sound of metal, ensuring that all fans of metalcore subgenres have a set they love.

Miss May I (w/ Gideon & Dreamwake) @ Rum Runners (London, ON) on June 23rd, 2025

16 photos