It has undoubtedly been a phenomenal year for Massachusetts rock trio, PVRIS. 2017 for Lynn Gunn, Alex Babinski and Brian MacDonald has been jam-packed; full of tours, festivals and, of course, their critically acclaimed sophomore album All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell. We’ve gathered near enough everything PVRIS has been up to in 2017. This is PVRIS’ year in review.
The year kicked off for PVRIS when all their social media accounts changed to a new theme on the 17th February. Posts were made with the Roman numerals “II XX XVII”, which translates to “2 20 17″.
Three days later, on the 20th February, they revealed the surprise. The band announced a small European headline tour for May. Lead vocalist Lynn Gunn then tweeted that a new era had begun. This was just the start of the huge year that PVRIS had.
Near the beginning of March, PVRIS performed at a free show rally called “Never Going Back”. It was hosted by Planned Parenthood and Tumblr to bring community activism to South by Southwest (SXSW) and to inspire people to support Planned Parenthood. The event took place on the 12th March at Mohawk in Austin, Texas.
A few days later, it was revealed that PVRIS had featured on one of Circa Waves’ songs. The track, ‘Fire That Burns’, is originally taken from Circa Waves’ album Different Creatures. This time, however, there’s a hint of PVRIS’ magic on it.
Moving into April, the band performed at three different shows; Buzzfest in The Woodlands, Texas on the 15th, Z104.5 Edge’s Birthday Bash on the 19th at the Brady Theater in Tusla, Oklahoma and the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York on the 24th. Z104.5 Edge’s Birthday Bash saw the band play alongside Dreamers and open for The 1975.
The first time we were introduced to the second album was on the 26th April. After clearing their social media and changing their header images to an image of blurry, handwritten text, the band finally broke the silence. They posted a photo along with the hashtag “#AWKOHAWNOH”. The image reads, “We regret to inform you that the contents of this envelope bear unfortunate information and instructions regarding the second full length record of the band PVRIS.” The birth is 4th November 2014 and the rebirth is scratched out.
#AWKOHAWNOH pic.twitter.com/v2AUvelVZx
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) April 26, 2017
Two days later, PVRIS released a video, titled “All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell”, which teased the new album. The text at the beginning of the video is also written in the image above and is a poem by Emily Dickinson. Lynn Gunn directed the video alongside longtime video collaborator Raúl Gonzo. They also directed the rest of PVRIS’ music videos for the year together too.
Another two days later, on the 30th April, PVRIS premiered ‘Heaven’ on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show. This was their first single from the album.
The following day, 1st May, the band announced that their second album, All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell, would be out on 4th August. It follows up their debut album, White Noise, which was released in 2014. On the same day, they unveiled the music video for ‘Heaven’; less than 24 hours after it had been premiered on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show.
PVRIS’ first headline tour of the year kicked off at the beginning of May in the UK and mainland Europe. They originally had one date at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, but, due to popular demand, another date was added for the 5th May. During this tour, the band performed a new song, ‘Half‘, for the first time.
The three-piece had many in-store signing events throughout the year. One of these was at Banquet Records in London, UK. PVRIS were originally scheduled to do one in-store event but due to a huge demand, a second in-store event for the same day was added; they did two signings and two intimate acoustic gigs for fans.
Doing a 2nd in store gig @BanquetRecords May 6. On sale 6PM BST https://t.co/vvJ2RUvdR0 pic.twitter.com/eHghSyS7Sm
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) May 3, 2017
PVRIS have played a huge amount of festivals this year! After their European tour, they performed at XL 102’s Big Field Day in Richmond, Virginia on May 13th. They also played at Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which took place on the 19th May.
Beginning on the 20th May, PVRIS supported Muse and 30 Seconds To Mars on tour. We can’t even imagine what a huge and honourable moment this must have been for the band! The tour ran through until September, with other tours, one-off shows and festivals in between.
‘What’s Wrong’, the second single from All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell, was premiered on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 Show on the 13th June; just over a month after their first single, ‘Heaven’. The haunting music video for the track was released the same day.
A few days later, PVRIS began a tour in Australia, where they were supporting The Amity Affliction, along with Beartooth and Make Them Suffer. They went to four cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
During the Australian run, PVRIS hosted another in-store event. The signing took place on the 18th June at 24Hundred in Richmond, Victoria.
Heading into July, the band played a headline show at Old National Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana on the 5th. Then, on the 7th, they supported Awolnation at a concert in Stir Cove, Council Bluffs, Iowa. These shows made up some of the dates as a part of their summer tour.
Going back a few months to May, PVRIS performed ‘Half’ for the first time on their European headline tour. Fast-forward from May to July 14th, the band unveiled an eerie music video in the form of a visualette for the promotional single, ‘Half’.
All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell was originally going to be released on the 4th August. However, it was later announced on the 18th July that the release date would be pushed back to 25th August. This was due to last minute production tweaks, and it really was worth the extra wait! At the same time the new release date was announced, the tracklist for the album was revealed too.
#AWKOHAWNOH out AUG 25 pic.twitter.com/cRU4Jn6eua
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) July 18, 2017
During July, the festivals that PVRIS played at continued; they performed at Summerfest Music Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the 4th July, Atlantic City Beachfest in Atlantic City, New Jersey on the 12th July with P!NK, Mo Pop Festival in West Riverfront Park, Detroit, Michigan on the 29th July and Coors Light Concert Series in Artpark, New York on the 31st July with Blink-182.
At the beginning of August, the band dropped an additional promotional single from the album; another music video in the form of a visualette was released on the 3rd August for ‘Winter‘.
The festivals continued, where they played at Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands on the 18th August, Pukkelpop Festival in Hasselt, Belgium on the 19th August and Reading and Leeds Festival in the UK on the 26th and 27th August. PVRIS played at Reading and Leeds Festival two years ago, in 2015, where they performed on one of the smaller stages. However, this year, they were one of the bands to play the largest stage at the festival, the main stage! Whilst in the UK, Lynn and Alex performed a stripped back, live acoustic session at BBC Radio 1. They covered Brand New’s ‘Jesus Christ’, as well as performing their own tracks, ‘Heaven’ and ‘What’s Wrong’.
In the few days before their last festival in August, the trio released the single, ‘Anyone Else’, on the 22nd. Less than a day later, on the 23rd, they unveiled the music video to accompany the haunting song.
Lynn Gunn shared a touching, heartfelt message on Twitter, reflecting on ‘Anyone Else’ and what the song means to her:
https://twitter.com/LYNNGVNN/status/900468936847888384
As PVRIS’ highly anticipated second album was set to be released in a couple days after the release of ‘Anyone Else’, there were many in-store signing events lined up for the end of the month. One of these took place on the 24th August, a day before the album release day, at HMV Birmingham in the UK.
The album release day came and it was completely worth the wait! PVRIS’ second album, All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell, was ready to be heard by all, and it’s utterly phenomenal. The album peaked at number 4 in the UK, number 12 in Australia, number 41 in the US and number 4 in the US alternative charts. All chart positions for All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell top previous chartings for their debut album, White Noise. Lynn shared a touching note about the album, which you can read below:
A note from Lynn. #AWKOHAWNOH ?? pic.twitter.com/JsTFq0aAlz
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) August 28, 2017
On album release day, the band had two in-store events in London. One took place at HMV Oxford Street, where they did the signing as well as a short acoustic performance. The other took place at The Hippodrome, Kingston and was presented by Banquet Records. PVRIS played a short acoustic set, which was followed by a Q&A and the signing session.
The band then headed back to the US where a further two signings happened; the first one on the 29th August at Newbury Comics in Boston, Massachusetts and the second one on the 30th August at Vintage Vinyl Records in Fords, New Jersey.
Going in September, PVRIS continued their shows where they were supporting Muse and 30 Seconds To Mars. They also performed at some more festivals; Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington on the 1st September, Buzz Beach Ball in Kansas City, Missouri on the 9th, Music Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia on the 16th and Life Is Beautiful Festival in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the 24th.
Amongst all the festivals, PVRIS headlined their huge North American tour throughout September and October. A portion of the ticket sales went to The Ally Coalition to support LGBTQ equality. The tour began on the 22nd September at The Novo in Los Angeles, California and finished up on the 22nd October at the Riveria Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. During this time, PVRIS performed at HRVST Festival in Buffalo, New York on the 14th October.
After their massive North American tour came to a close, the band then supported Paramore in Mexico City at Palacio De Los Deportes on the 23rd October!
Similarly to their collaboration with Circa Waves, PVRIS covered Tegan and Sara’s ‘Are You Ten Years Ago’. The cover is a part of Tegan and Sara’s 10th anniversary of The Con. 14 LGBTQ or LGBTQ ally artists were approached to cover the songs through their own interpretations. The Con X: Covers was released on the 20th October, with proceeds going to the Tegan and Sara Foundation.
On the 31st October, PVRIS performed at BBC Radio 1 Rocks Show at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios in London. Arcane Roots, Architects, Enter Shikari, Marmozets and Neck Deep were also a part of the line-up. The band performed ‘Heaven’, ‘Separate’ and ‘You and I’, as well as a special cover of Foo Fighters’ ‘Everlong’.
For near enough the whole of November, the band toured in Europe. They headed to mainland Europe first, then travelled to the UK nearing the end of November to finish up the tour. Throughout this run, and on the headline North American tour prior, PVRIS asked for volunteers to join The Ally Coalition in the fight for LGBTQ equality.
Many exciting things happened during this tour; it was PVRIS’ first time in Ireland, they sold out the UK part of the European fall tour and played their biggest headline show to date at London’s O2 Academy, Brixton. What a way to bring the tour, and nearly the year, to a close!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcJI1DoBqf2/
One of the last events PVRIS performed at for this year was Riptide Music Festival. The event took place in Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida on the 2nd December.
Throughout the year, PVRIS took part in many interviews and features, including interviews with i-D and Fault Magazine. The trio played CBBC’s 5 Second Challenge and Say What, as well as CBC Music’s Jam or Not a Jam. They also met some of the cast in the School of Rock UK Musical and played How Well Do You Know Your Bandmates with Billboard. If you follow Brian on social media, you’ll probably have noticed his interest in film photography. He’s set up a website where some of his film photos are available to purchase, with some of the proceeds being donated to different charities. Lynn has also made a remix of Lights’ song ‘Giants‘, written pieces for pride month and coming out day, and recorded a video for Genius on the meaning of ‘What’s Wrong’.
Earlier on in the year, Lynn won the Best Vocalist Award at the 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards (APMAs). She was in a category with some tough competitors, but after a fan vote Lynn came out on top. Later on in the year, PVRIS were crowned as Artist Of The Year in the 2017 Rock Sound Awards.
There’s no doubt in saying PVRIS have had a huge year, and they’ve already got plans for 2018!
PVRIS will take on their North American tour during February and March next year.
After the tour, the band will be heading to Mexico City on March 17th to perform at Vive Latino Festival. They’ll then be back in the UK for Slam Dunk Festival on May 26th in Leeds, May 27th at Hatfield Park and May 28th in Birmingham. Tickets for the tour and both festivals are available here.
Mexico City! See you in March @vivelatino Tickets: https://t.co/fWu4rEaA4D #VL18 pic.twitter.com/l5EKvaOXE7
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) November 7, 2017
ICYMI! UK we will see you again in May @SlamDunkMusic Festival. #SDF18 Tickets: https://t.co/l9Zc3ZFagU pic.twitter.com/nJphduR8hT
— PVRIS (@ThisIsPVRIS) December 11, 2017
PVRIS have been all over the globe in the past 12 months or so and it doesn’t look like they’re going to be slowing down anytime soon! Thank you, PVRIS, including everyone involved behind the scenes, for an incredible year. 2017 wouldn’t have been the same without your stamp on it, and we couldn’t be gladder of all your achievements this year. Here’s to another phenomenal year!