From a new album, festival appearances, and multiple tours, 2018 has been a busy year for State Champs. Heres a look back at some of the highlights.
In April, State Champs announced that their new album ‘Living Proof’ would be released on the 15th of June. To go along with the announcement, the group released the album’s first single, ‘Dead and Gone’, a strong, fast pop-punk track that left fans excited for the rest of ‘Living Proof’.
Second single ‘Crystal Ball’ was released at the start of May. The single was a mix of what fans have come to love about State Champs because it had nods to hit ‘Around The World And Back’. With catchy lyrics that were easy to sing along to, it was certainly a hit.
Also in May, State Champs headed to the UK to play the main stage at Slam Dunk Festival, which was a fun and energetic set from start to finish. With crowd surfers from the start, the audience had amazing energy and the new songs from ‘Living Proof’ was as welcomed as old material.
The group also dropped a third single, ‘Mine is Gold’, and announced a UK tour for October 2018.
The video for ‘Our Time To Go’ was released on the 10th of June and it was a sci-fi inspired video that involved an alien meeting a human. Coupled with the emotional lyrics of the song, such as “Broken pieces can mend/Not a second to waste/Life won’t wait for you now/This is our time, our time to go,” it was a massive hit between fans.
Later in June, ‘Living Proof’ was finally released.
Over the summer, State Champs joined the last Warped Tour and also posted a four-part YouTube series titled ‘Breakfast with Champs’ that featured different guests from other bands performing on the tour.
In October, State Champs made a surprise performance at the end of a Neck Deep show in Iowa. A few weeks later, Neck Deep headed to the Manchester show Of State Champs Living Proof tour in the UK to repay the favour. They surprised the crowd at the end of the State Champs set. Both performances were full of energy and certainly a treat for the two lucky audiences those nights.
The Living Proof tour in the UK and Europe went with a bang. A strong energetic set list saw the crowds barely stand still, creating an electric atmosphere for everyone there. It also included some slower and more emotional moments, such as lead singer Derek DiScanio taking the stage solo for ‘If I’m Lucky’.
State Champs have ended the year playing a couple of one-off shows playing ‘The Finer Things’ in full, followed by a mix of songs from older albums and ‘Living Proof’.
As a successful 2018 ends and with more shows and festival appearances already announced for 2019, we can’t wait to see what’s to come.