The Midnight at Palace Theatre (May 1, 2026)

It was 80’s night at the Palace Theatre on Friday as music from the decade played through the speakers like Van Halen’s “Jump” the Talking Head’s “This Must Be the Place” and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” Even movie soundtracks from the era like “Chariots of Fire” and “Back to the Future” were added to the playlist.

Some in the crowd came dressed for the occasion. A guy standing in front of me struck a similar pose to Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 album cover. A couple to his right were all punk with nose rings and Doc Martin’s, the guy even sporting a pork pie hat with a canary yellow feather, which may have been a blending of different dress codes. Still the atmosphere was set.

New Constellations opened the evening with their blend of 80’s synthwave and dream pop. They are a duo of childhood friends, Harlee Case on lead vocals and keys and Josh Smith on guitar. Their journey to the Palace can be a case of perseverance rewarded. Although childhood friends, they only formed their band in 2015 when Case put out a request on Instagram that she was looking for a musical collaborator. Smith answered and in 2021 their debut single “Hot Blooded” had reached over 50 million streams on Spotify.

New Constellations are supporting their debut album, It Comes in Waves, playing songs from it like “Believe Again” “Dandelion” and of course, “Hot Blooded.” Case said that she and Smith were so grateful to be playing the music they love and let the crowd know that they were finally able to quit their day jobs, which brought a round of applause.

New Constellations at the Palace Theatre

Next up was The Midnight.

Fun Fact: The Midnight is also a duo composed of Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle, who met at a writing workshop and bonded over their love of the 80’s synth-tinged musical score from Drive in which Ryan Gosling, wearing a scorpion jacket, plays a stunt driver by day and a getaway driver at night.

McEwan has stepped away from the touring portion of the band, so Lyle was joined on stage by Kwesi Robinson on drums, Oliver McEwan on bass, Rhett Shull on guitar, OBLVYN on synths and Justin Klunk on saxophone. As a collective they created a synthwave of 80’s music that had the crowd dancing and signing along.

The Midnight is supporting their latest album, Syndicate, but they reached deep into their catalog and played all the hits for their fans like “River of Darkness” with a sultry sax. OBLVYN broke out the keytar for “Comeback Kid.” And “Shadows” had a cinematic swell with a blistering sax solo that charged the crowd.

It was the third time The Midnight has played at the Palace, and you knew that another return was in the works as the crowd swayed their arms and sang to songs like “The Right Way” and the sweet “Gloria.”