This Saturday, May 18, Skate And Surf Festival will kick off at Six Flags Great Adventure New Jersey with dozens of the scene’s biggest names. A number of the UTG staff will be on hand for the event, and from the feedback we have been seeing on Twitter it sounds like a lot of you will be as well. If that’s the case, then you’re probably currently have a mini panic attack while trying to solve the biggest question you will face that day:

WHO AM I GOING TO SEE?

Everyone has a few a favorites they must watch, sure, but with a list of performers this long there are bound to be a few overlapping set times that make the fanboy or fangirl inside throw a tantrum that would put Honey Boo Boo to shame. It’s a problem that plagues every great festival or multi-stage tour, but we here at UTG want to help make this Saturday (and in tomorrow’s column, Sunday) a bit easier by sharing our picks for the five must see sets of Skate And Surf Day 1. Click below to view our picks and stream their music, then comment and let us know who you plan on seeing. If you spot myself, Jacob, Dan, or Corbin – say hi!

Don’t have tickets for Skate and Surf? Click here for information on last minute ticket availability.

Obvious choice is obvious, right? Wrong. Even though Fall Out Boy are closing out the first night of the festival, it’s not hard to believe a number of die hard music lovers will be worn out from the eight hours of rock that take place before FOB’s set to hold out for the Chicago foursome. Having just caught the guys at SXSW back in March, I can say firsthand they are as good live now as they have ever been. Save Rock And Roll is an album made for a concert setting, and Skate And Surf will be the first major US festival opportunity the East Coast has had to celebrate the return of Fall Out Boy. This will be a set to remember. Do not go home early.

Ohio’s Mixtapes are a bit more than a month away from releasing their Sophomore full length, Ordinary Silence, and this Saturday’s Skate And Surf performance will be one of your first opportunities to hear the latest material. The outdoor, amusement park setting may not be the first place one imagines seeing a band known for their punk club/basement antics, but as soon as the crowd joins those sing-a-long verses you learn to love the group (and seeing bands like them live) in a whole new way.

Tyler Carter is no stranger to the music scene. His work with Woe, Is Me and more recently with Issues has reached (and won over) tens of thousands of young adults in this country and beyond, but only a small number of those supporters have ever had the honor of seeing Carter solo. Backed by a band of friends and musical connection, the crooning frontman will likely deliver a set of creative covers and hopefully unreleased pop offerings from his long rumored (then shelved, then rumored again) solo album. This will be a performance unlike any other you may have seen from Carter, and it’s anyone’s guess as to how soon such an opportunity will arise again.

Rise Records’ new golden boys, Crown The Empire have gone from internet sensation to full blown scene juggernauts in just over eighteen months. That may seem like a startling rise (no pun intended), but one listen to the group’s debut album The Fallout and it’s clear why they have come so far so soon. Their music is to young ears today what My Chemical Romance’s “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” was a decade ago. Fast, loud, angry-yet-heartfelt, and focused on bringing together the “true believers” in a world plagued by darkness. Their live show emphasizes this concept, and crowds eat it up without complaint.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying the marketing talents of T. Mills. After spending last Summer on the Vans Warped Tour, Mills spent the Fall in the lab working on new music, then hit the road with Sammy Adams on a sold out nationwide tour. He’s part of the elite next generation of alternative hip hop entertainers, sitting high on digital charts alongside the likes of Mod Sun, Hoodie Allen, and G-Eazy, but those thinking he’s just a voice against good beats need only see him live once to know there is more than meets the eye. Mills is a performer first and foremost, and even if you don’t appreciate his style of music you can sense his passion and energy when he hits the stage. Now backed by a more complete live band his sets are sounding more ferocious than ever, but be careful: He may steal your girlfriend.

Written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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