Story of the Year & Senses Fail Bring “The Scream Team Tour” to Times Square [Photos]

Times Square may usually pulse with Broadway lights and tourists, but on this past Saturday night, it belonged entirely to the emos. “The Scream Team Tour,” co-headlined by Senses Fail and Story of the Year with special guests Armor For Sleep, packed Palladium Times Square to capacity for a three-band lineup that felt like stepping straight back into the golden age of mid-2000s emo and post-hardcore.

This wasn’t nostalgia. This was a full-scale revival.

Armor for Sleep is an American rock band from Teaneck, New Jersey. Band members include Ben Jorgensen (vocals, guitar), Nash Breen (drums), Erik Rudi (guitar), and Chad Saba (bass).

They opened the night with a beautifully atmospheric set, instantly grounding the tour in emotional roots. Ben Jorgensen stepped into the lights and pulled the crowd back into the dreamlike worlds of Dream to Make Believe and What to Do When You Are Dead. He sang with that signature aching softness that defined the early-2000s emo, sitting right on the edge between fragile and soaring.

Set highlights included: “Stay on the Ground,” “Awkward Last Words,” “Dream to Make Believe,” and “Car Underwater.” Their performance felt intimate—like the collective exhale before the chaos to come.

Senses Fail is a post-hardcore band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Band members include James “Buddy” Nielsen (vocals), Gavin Caswell (rhythm guitar), Jason Milbank (lead guitar), Steve Carey (drums), and Daniel Wonacott (bass).

Buddy Nielsen hit the stage like he was shot out of a cannon—half feral scream, half spiritual purge. His sharp, cutting scream tone defined an entire generation of post-hardcore fans, raw, desperate, and cathartic. Senses Fail fans know the moment Nielsen opens his mouth, an emotional purge is coming. The crowd reacted instantly, launching into circle pits before the first chorus even hit.

Their set was a rapid-fire blast of staples and deep cuts that defined an era: “Buried a Lie,” “Calling All Cars,” “You’re Cute When You Scream,” “Lifeboats,” “Lady in a Blue Dress,” “Family Tradition,” “Can’t Be Saved,” and “Bite to Break Skin.”

Every breakdown, every scream, every sing-along felt like reopening a memory you didn’t realize you still carried.

Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri. Band members include Dan Marsala (vocals), Ryan Phillips (lead guitar), Adam Russell (bass), and Josh Wills (drums).

As co-headliners of “The Scream Team Tour,” Story of the Year had one goal: End the night in absolute chaos. And they did.

By the time Story of the Year was ready to close the night, the room was already buzzing. But the band still managed to pull off one of the most unexpected, hilarious, and crowd-igniting entrances of the tour: They rolled onstage on scooters. Yes—actual scooters. To “Chariots of Fire.” The crowd absolutely lost it.

From there, the set was pure adrenaline. “Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb)” kicked the room into motion instantly. Sing-along staples like “And the Hero Will Drown,” “War,” “Our Time Is Now,” “Anthem of Our Dying Day,” and “Sidewalks” hit with the force of muscle memory.

“We Don’t Care Anymore” triggered one of the wildest pits of the night—crowd surfers flying toward security in waves, the room shaking under the weight of thousands of jumping bodies. They closed with their most iconic anthem: “Until the Day I Die.”

Story of the Year isn’t a band you just hear; they’re a band you feel. Their live energy comes from the collision of each of their personalities. Marsala’s emotive rasp and pure emotional honesty, Philips’s sharp, staccato guitar attack paired with his trademark kinetic intensity, Russell’s sharp-edged bass lines, and Wills’s powerhouse drumming

The scream-along was deafening—a full-volume reminder of why this band remains a pillar of emo and post-hardcore.