By Amahli Vivian
2nd wave emo is a special thing. Perhaps it’s a combination of twinkling guitar tones, wistfulness and introspective lyricism, nostalgia for the 1990s music scene, and the unabashed heart-on-sleeve-ness that has allowed this particular subgenre to skyrocket in attention over the past several years. Or, as Nathan from First Day Back simply says, “It’s just the best” wave of emo.
Contemporary emo bands have engaged in creating a revival of this specific 1990s emo sound, with the band First Day Back being at the forefront of 2nd wave emo revival. First Day Back was formed in 2024 in Santa Cruz, CA. Their debut album, “Forward” released in June 2025, exploding in recognition and praise after its release. Self-described as singmo (portmanteau of “sing” + “emo”), First Day Back retains a unique quality to their sound while simultaneously pulling 1990s Midwest emo influences. Of course, it’s only fitting that First Day Back announced a joint tour with Everyone Asked About You, a band initially active in the 1990s emo scene.
Everyone Asked About You was first active from 1996 to 2000, where they were based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Following Numero Group’s 2022 reissue of their discography, 1 LP and 3 EPs, and their reunification the same year, Everyone Asked About You has gained wider attention within the emo and DIY community. Since 2022, Everyone Asked About You have toured and played live across the United States and have released new music in their 2024 EP, Never Leave.
In February 2026, I was able to discuss with Chris from Everyone Asked About You and Maggie, Nathan, and Spencer from First Day Back about their upcoming tour together, California, The Catalyst, and 2nd wave emo revival.
First Day Back is: Spencer (drums), Luke (bass), Zion (guitar), Nathan (guitar), Maggie (vocals, harmonica, violin)
Everyone Asked About You is: Lee Buford (drums), Collins Kilgore (guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Chris Sheppard (guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Hannah Vogan (vocals, tambourine), Matt Bradley (bass, vocals), John Beachboard (keyboards, synthesizer)
Amahli: So I’m here with Chris from Everyone Asked About You and Maggie and Nathan and Spencer from First Day Back. Thanks for, you know, coming and joining us on zoom. I think a month ago, you announced a tour together, and I’m curious how that came to be?
Chris: So we started planning this California trip just before our last trip down to Texas in October and our mutual friend Ken Shipley who’s one of the founders of Numero Group, was throwing out ideas of bands we should play with. We played with a band called My Point of View down in Denton, and they suggested/mentioned First Day Back. That was one of the names that Ken had mentioned as well. Everyone Asked About You likes to play with local openers. People who know the area and who are connected to that community and to that scene and particularly younger bands (not to age myself); We like to see what the kids are up to. I think y’all’s [First Day Back’s] record had been out for a couple months by that point. When, when did your record finally come out?
Maggie/Nathan/Spencer: June 1st.
Chris: Yeah. So we’ve been out for a few months, and we listened to it a couple times on that tour in October and thought it would be a good fit. So, we crossed our fingers that they’d be available.
Amahli: How are you guys feeling about it?
Maggie: I feel like it’s great:
Nathan: Super excited.
Maggie: I remember actually, we were just talking about [924] Gilman. You guys DMed the First Day Back account the night that we had the Gilman show. It was our first time playing on a stage and was during our headlining tour in September [2025], and you guys just DM’d us and then were like, “Yo, we should play sometime.”
Chris: Yeah!
Maggie: It was just already such a crazy night for us because it was our first time playing on stage and so many people knew the words. It was just so overwhelming. And then to get you guys who we looked up to so much, to cold DM…it was just like, this is crazy. Like what is happening?
Spencer: very casual DM.
Maggie: It definitely for us was really awesome.
Chris: I have completely forgotten that. I run all the social media [for Everyone Asked About You]. So if anyone gets a DM from the band, it’s directly from me and I remember that it had just popped up and I was like, “Oh, this looks so fun. This looks so cool. This should happen.” And I think that was when we were first starting to have conversations about this trip and what this trip might look like. Then I was trying and researching bands out on the West Coast because we did a different band each show last time we were out in California, and so we thought it’d be fun to do a bunch of shows with the same band.
Amahli: Yeah, I’m excited for the Santa Cruz show. I think most of my friends will be mobbing it. I’m curious if you guys have any thoughts on why there’s been such a crazy influx of second wave emo revival and this renewed interest in this particular sound as well?
Nathan: It’s just the best. The best emo music.
Spencer: I agree.
Maggie: Yeah.
Chris: I—we’ve thought about it a fair amount and part of it, I think, is that the bands that are making music now were raised almost entirely in the digital iPod, streaming, post-Napster and Spotify. I feel like there’s probably some level of, in the same way that anytime I was in a new town when I was in high school, I would go and try to find the record store and find like whatever random local small stuff was there so that I could bring it back to my friends, in Little Rock and be like, “check out this sweet band I found.” I think there’s a little bit of a crate digging mentality and a little bit of a desire for something maybe that feels a little bit more authentic than what’s kind of just pushed out by the algorithm to everyone. That’s my old person take on it.
Maggie: I agree with you, though. I feel like we…that’s true. I feel like people have strayed very far away from authenticity and so it’s refreshing to hear. Even though maybe it wasn’t made recently, it’s refreshing to hear music that feels authentic.
Chris: Yeah. First Day Back was just in Boston two weeks ago at the festival called Something In The Way and there were a number of bands that were playing that festival that were playing to backing tracks and playing to like click tracks. Even though they were punk or alt or emo or whatever/some sort of adjacent to that, they still sounded super duper polished and produced. But the most fun shows were the ones where the bands that weren’t [polished], like the most fun sets. And I don’t know, I just feel like there’s something to be said for hearing music that isn’t stuck to a click track and you can feel the artists are just vibing with their friends.
Amahli: I feel like audiences see that too. Like I’ve seen, first they back a handful of times and it’s so interesting just watching how enthusiastic people are. I was wondering if you guys have a favorite aspect of performing live?
Chris: For me, I would say exactly what you just described. The audience participation and energy is really fun. When we were originally a band back in the 90s, we didn’t have…nobody knew our lyrics, we played to the same 50 people every time we played. To be on a stage now and see a whole crowd of people who know every lyric and want to sing along, want to dance along and are just so happy to be there is really fun. My second favorite thing (might be my first favorite thing, they might be tied) is the band are my oldest and closest friends. I just love getting to hang out with them and have fun with them on stage.
Nathan: They are both very, very good points. I kind of agree.
Maggie: Yeah.
Nathan: It’s fun watching people stage dive and have fun at the shows.
Spencer: Yeah, it’s already nerve wracking to perform. But then when people are really hyped and you can tell that everyone is just comfortable, it makes the show super fun.
Maggie: It’s super fulfilling, I feel… I have always loved going to shows and seeing live music and you know, we all have. And so the feeling that we get when we go to a fun show and to know that we are able to do that for someone is just, like, fulfilling, you know? And we are all really good friends as well. And so, you know, it’s just fun times.
Spencer: It’s silly. Yeah. Silly goofy times.
Amahli: How are you preparing? Besides practicing, is there anything you’re doing to prepare for your tour?
Maggie: We just ordered a ton of merch.
Spencer: Eating healthy.
Nathan: Vitamin C.
Spencer: Vitamin C.
Maggie: Oh my god, yeah. I haven’t really been singing that much because I need to take a break. Nothing crazy.
Chris: I just spent the weekend down in Connecticut printing a boatload of shirts. And we’ve got two more boatloads to finish making because Lee, our drummer, runs a printing company out of his home. We’ve got all that to do. We are trying to figure out the logistics of how we get all of our equipment from East Coast, pick some up in Arkansas, and then all the way out to the West Coast. So doing a lot of logistics stuff, which is really boring and tedious. But other than that, we live in six different states and four different time zones, so we’ll just practice when we get out to California before the show starts. It’s also finding hotels. We are our own tour managers, so we’re like making sure we have all the places to stay and all that.
Amahli: I guess this goes for both of you because you’ve both toured in different scenes and cities, but have you noticed any differences in the ways that shows go in different places or is it mostly similar and comparable?
Nathan: I think California has the best scene.
Maggie: Or where we’ve been to.
Nathan: Yeah. The fans just go so insane here. In Southern California too.
Chris: I would say that in California, the crowds are a little bit, rowdier, far rowdier than I was accustomed to when I was going to shows. Back when I was going to like the DIY shows in the 90s, the kind of rule that everyone abided by, they called the Fugazi rule. There was no moshing because we wanted to make sure that the crowd was open and accepting enough to anybody who wanted to be right up in the mix without being at risk of getting hurt/punched/pushed over/whatever. There wasn’t a lot of moshing at the shows that we went to—or stage diving. So that’s quite different when we experienced that, for the first time on the West Coast. And New York, that was fairly similar as well when we played there. But when we did the East Coast, they were a little bit more reserved, a little bit more of the head nodding (but it was still very, very fun). I mean, there’s all sorts of similarities and then just other differences. East Coast: everybody buys tickets well in advance. Texas: everybody bought tickets the day of. California seems to have in my experience been a mix, but everybody’s all pumped. They’re all so excited to get out there and be there with their friends and have a good sad time.
Amahli: That’s what emo’s all about. Being sad together.
Chris: Makes you feel less sad right?
Amahli: Exactly. Is there something you’re the most excited about with going on tour together?
Nathan: We get to watch Everyone Asked About You a bunch of times.
Spencer: Yeah! I’ve actually never seen you guys live.
Nathan: Me neither.
Maggie: I’ve seen you guys twice, personally!
Chris: You said you saw us at Best Friends [Fest], yeah?
Maggie: Yeah, and also Bottom of the Hill.
Chris: Oh yeah. Bottom of The Hill was a very very fun show. I’m really excited that we get to play that venue before it shuts down this year. That venue’s super cool.
Spencer: That place is great.
Chris: This trip is a lot of bucket-list-playing. Gilman is really exciting because I’ve only been to Gilman once and it was on the back of a moped when I was 16 years old and the show had just ended so I didn’t even get to go see it (laughs). So I’m excited to play a bunch of shows with First Day Back. The record is really great. They were awesome in Boston and all super nice and friendly and chill. So it feels like it’s going to be like, not a hard trip. I’m excited to just get the crowd whipped up into a frenzy with all of us together. Hopefully we can have some good surprises for everybody.
Maggie: I love that it’s a two-band bill. That’s just so awesome.
Amahli: Does that translate into longer sets for both of you?
Chris: We usually play an hour and ten minutes because we don’t know how to cut songs from our setlist.
Spencer: Even when we’re opening or headlining, our sets are 45 minutes because we have the album plus one, but I feel like that’s pretty good.
Maggie: Yeah, as an opening slot.
Spencer: I’m super excited to play more California shows again because it’s kind of been a while for us. I guess we played Santa Ana not that long ago, but…
Maggie: That didn’t feel real.
Nathan: Yeah, that was like a one-off thing. It was a festival.
Spencer: But yeah, I’m super excited to play the Gilman and Bottom of the Hill because I’m from the Bay Area and those venues are awesome. Last time we played the Gilman was super fun. I’m hyped to play in California again.
Chris: Sweet. Well First Day Back, I’m really excited to see you guys in what…two months [This interview was recorded in mid-February].
Spencer: Yeah, it’s going to be great.
Maggie: It’s going to be just amazing and awesome.
Spencer: And Santa Cruz, pull up to The Catalyst.
Maggie: Yes! Because for the record, if anyone is listening to this, we’re going to do something special at the Santa Cruz show and no other show. So…
Nathan: We are?
Maggie: Yes, we are. I was going to surprise you, I actually haven’t even told you what it is yet.
Spencer: I don’t know what it is either.
Maggie: It’s been in my head. I haven’t told anyone, but it’s going to happen.
Chris: I love the pronouncement of, “We are doing a surprise and nobody knows.”
Maggie: Nobody knows.
Spencer: Legitimately.
Chris: Maggie just willed that into existence. It was on the radio, we have to do it now. Sorry.
Amahli: I’m going to air this part specifically, by the way.
Maggie: Well, pull up, it’s going to be awesome. Hometown show. Love The Catalyst. I really hope they don’t tear it down.
Chris: Yeah Santa Cruz, show up and show us what…
Spencer: Show us what you’re made of!
Chris: …Bring First Day Back Together.
Maggie: Santa Cruz singmo bro, what’s up?!
Amahli: I think people are gonna pull up.
Nathan: I feel like the big room [in The Catalyst], that’s a bucket list.
Maggie: I know, yeah. To play the big room before we graduate.
Chris: That’ll be…with the exception of when we played Numero 20, that first Numero festival, this will be right at the biggest room we’ve ever played. We played Metro in Chicago, I think Metro’s maybe a little bit bigger? Maybe, I don’t know. But I’m excited. It’s going to be very fun.
Amahli: I guess that’s kind of all I have for y’all. Thanks for chatting with me.
Chris: Our pleasure.
Spencer: Thanks for having us.
This interview audio and transcript have been edited for depth and clarity.