Awaken I am: Secrets 10 Year Anniversary Tour

    We have been a huge fan of Awaken I Am for a while and had the honor of covering these young men on their 2018 U.S tour. When we got the offer to cover them on this tour with Secrets we did not hesitate to jump on the opportunity to meet up with our friends again.     Unfortunately we did not get to catch up with guitarist Connor due to a tragic accident that claimed his life at the age of 22.  Although he was not there physically, you could still feel his presence in the room with his brothers.

  Now let's get to their set! these guys just released their EP "The Beauty In Tragedy" a few weeks ago and although it was their way of greiving, it did not disappoint at all. It had everything from hurt, anger, confusion, questioning to why it happened ect. Their performance showed the exact emotions that you hear on their EP. It was emotional for us as the fans to see these amazing artist going through something so horrible and yet they found a way to perform it with respect, grace and pride because they poured their heart and soul into this in honor of their brother Connor. 

  
  The way Jimmy sang with such passion followed by Ryan playing his heart out on bass, Luke was tearing it up on drums and Jay was nailing it on guitar was mind blowing to me and every song showed how much this EP meant to them and to the world. Not only were they able to perform with such tremendous passion, it definitely showed all emotions to the point everyone was singing and crying. These young men put on a show that everyone in some way could relate to and then they also pulled out some of the old tracks to have fun with.

    Awaken I Am is definitely ones to keep your eye on because there is a lot more great things to come from these guys and their shows are only going to get better with time however their passion for the music will stay the same because their passion is something that can not be faked and their love and respect they have for their fans is priceless and they are going to keep taking the music scene and the world by storm.

                                                                           ~Debbie~
    

Awaken I am: Beauty In Tragedy

                          

    This is a hard one for me to write because I have gotten to know these guys in Pittsburgh Pa while covering their show and my heart breaks for them and what they are going through. Awaken I am is a post hardcore band from Australia and is signed with Victory records. This band is so good and toured the US a few of times and is hitting the US for a 3rd time. When their tour came to an end Spring of 2018 they lost their brother, bandmate, friend & family Connor Verner-Oakley. He was killed do to a selfish driver that was trying to end her life but instead took the life of Connor. 

     Now that you have the back story this is how "The Beauty In Tragedy" came to life. This is the bands way of coping with the tremendous impact that losing Connor had on their lives.     Luckily Connor did get the chance to leave his mark on this EP when they recorded and made the video for the single "Dissolution" and his talent and passion for the guitar shines in the song and his presence is definitely shining in the video.

   Jimmy(vocals), Ned(guitar), Ryan(bass), Luke(drums) have taken their grief and all of their emotions and let it out on their new EP and let's face it anyone that has lost someone close to them knows those stages of grief. They released a badass EP and oh wow did they let out all of their emotions and I honestly am very proud of them for letting their emotions out and sharing it with us (even though it couldn't have been easy for them) instead of holding it in.

  I  admire their courage and strength also I respect them for keeping Connor's memory Alive. He will always be apart of them even though he is not here on earth, he will always be in the hearts of everyone who knows him or has seen him perform with this awesome band and I know that these guys will continue to keep Connor smiling down on them and making him proud. 

  If you have not already done so please head  over to whatever music streaming service you have and listen to this very personal EP that the guys of Awaken I Am have poured their hearts and souls into.  On the "The Beauty In Tragedy" EP you will find the tracks "Kin, Indifference, By Your Side, Stages Of Grief and of course Dissolution which is the last song that Connor got the chance to grace his presence on. R.I.P Connor, to his bandmates, family, friends & fans keep your head up and continue to honor Connor and keep making him proud.

                            ♡Debbie♡