Despite the fog and rainy weather outside of the Ulster Performing Arts Center, it was the delicate sound of thunder rumbling from inside that had fans captivated during Explosions in the Sky’s performance on Thursday, April 10th. Making their Kingston debut more than 25 years after forming, the Austin, Texas post-rock icons delivered a show that blurred the line between concert and catharsis.
With their signature brand of sweeping and lush cinematic instrumentals, the band took the audience through an emotional nine-song journey that felt both epic and intimate and was as emotionally stirring as it was sonically precise. Explosions in the Sky didn’t need words to communicate on this night, their music spoke loud and clear.
Opening the evening was Exit Angles, a high-energy DIY punk band based out of Wheeling, West Virginia. Consisting of Jay Demko (guitar/vocals), Ella Jennings (bass), Isa Hufton (guitar) and Brian Wolf on drums, the quartet played loud and proud and wasn’t afraid to speak their mind on current events. Jumping around the stage and urging the audience to be their most unapologetic self while striving to see “the real” in others, the band shouted their way through songs like “Empty This,” “Sick and Tired,” “They Want a War,” and “Iterate.” Frontman Jay Demko would later pull double duty, also performing backing guitars and keyboards with Explosions in the Sky, a role he’s been filling since 2019.
Following a brief intermission that saw most of the attendees hanging out in the lobby since no drinks were allowed inside, a dense fog slowly crept over the entire venue. If Exit Angles set the mood, it was Explosions in the Sky’s entrance that truly redefined the atmosphere. As the thick wall of fog filled the stage, the band emerged as silhouettes—barely visible. The anonymity only heightened the mystique as EITS members Mark Smith, Michael James, Munaf Rayani, and Chris Hrasky, along with Jay Demko each took their positions with clear intentions of taking us somewhere else entirely.
Welcoming the audience to Kingston with a few kind words and reminding them it was “still a rock show” Rayani would give a special shout-out to some family members in the crowd, Leo and Farrah, who were seeing the band for the very first time. Fitting then, was the opening song selection of “Loved Ones,” a track from Explosions in the Sky’s most recent studio album End.
Over the past two and a half decades, Explosions in the Sky have carved out a unique space in the post-rock genre, revered for their ability to craft narrative without words. Their music, often associated with film scores (most notably Friday Night Lights), resonates with listeners through dynamic shifts, textural layering, and emotional gravity. As always with EITS, there were no vocals—only layered guitars, dynamic percussion, and arrangements that moved like waves, cresting into thunderous climaxes before dissolving into whispering calm. The result was surreal and life-affirming and pulled the audience into a dreamlike grasp and didn’t let go.
With the whole rooms complete attention, each song felt like a journey: delicate passages building shimmering guitars into waves of distortion and light, the band’s interplay so tight it felt telepathic. Explosions in the Sky would play a pair of coveted songs from 2007’s brilliant All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, “The Birth and Death of the Day,” and a powerful rendition of “Catastrophe and the Cure,” which had the audience howling in delight before seamlessly segueing into the beautifully introspective “Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean.”
“Peace Or Quiet” would be the second song from 2023’s End to make an appearance. Despite initial widespread speculation this would be the final tour for Explosions in the Sky, the band has gone on to clarify the album title and subsequent tour comes from “the concept of an ending—death, or the end of a friendship or relationship”, and does not imply that it would be the final chapter of the band.
Going back to their earliest days of How Strange, Innocence, “Magic Hours” would be the only song played from EITS’s 2000 debut album. With their faces barely visible, reduced to silhouettes swaying and surging with every movement of the music, the visual minimalism pushed all focus toward the sound—a powerful decision that paid off tenfold. With each song, the band built vast sonic cathedrals—crescendos swelling to cathartic peaks before dissipating into delicate fragments. The venue’s acoustics lent a crystalline clarity to their sound, and even though the hall was filled with seated rows, the urge to stand and sway was irresistible for a select few in the crowd.
One of that absolute standouts of the night was the song “Your Hand in Mine,” the closing track from 2003’s The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place. “The Fight” would be the final song from End to make an appearance, while the band opted to close their mesmerizing performance with “The Only Moment We Were Alone.“ A fluid, immersive set that captivated from beginning to end.
It wasn’t a show to watch so much as to feel. Each track pulsed with raw emotion—some mournful, some euphoric—pulling the audience through a collective, introspective journey. Despite the lack of lyrics, the message was clear: here was a band that still finds beauty in tension, release, and the spaces in between. Explosions in the Sky’s ability to evoke narrative and feeling without a single word remains their greatest strength, and in the acoustically rich space of UPAC, the sound was nothing short of spectacular. Explosions in the Sky didn’t just perform music in Kingston—they conjured an experience. One that left the fog clinging not only to the stage but lingering somewhere in the hearts of everyone who witnessed it.
Explosions in the Sky | April 10, 2025 | Ulster Performing Arts Center | Kingston, NY
Setlist: Loved Ones, The Birth and Death of the Day, Peace or Quiet, Catastrophe and the Cure, Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean, Magic Hours, Your Hand in Mine, The Fight, The Only Moment We Were Alone
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