The Fray Bring Nostalgia and New Energy to The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA – August 24, 2025

On the second sold-out night at The Wiltern, The Fray turned back the clock for a 20th anniversary celebration that felt both timeless and fresh. The show was more than a concert—it was an anthem to our adolescence. Looking around the room, you couldn’t help but imagine where every person was when they first heard these songs: blasting from car radios, soundtracking teenage heartbreak, or defining pivotal coming-of-age moments. With an audience spanning generations, it was clear this music has never really left us.

Landon Barker opened the night with a hometown glow, closing out his final date on this run. Mixing his own hits with a few clever covers, he radiated confidence while keeping the energy approachable. “I Still Want You Back” was a standout of the set, its raw emotion landing as one of the night’s most memorable performances.

Next up, The Strike brought their infectious, ‘80s-inspired synth-pop sound that immediately elevated the room. Their latest material carried a sleek polish, with flashes of funky grooves and a saxophone solo that had the crowd in full swing. Pulling heavily from their new album, the set struck a balance between fresh direction and familiar hooks, and a cover mid-set had the whole room moving. Like Barker, The Strike closed their run on this tour in LA—leaving the stage buzzing with energy.

Then, with spotlights sweeping across the stage and pans to an eager crowd, The Fray took over. Hearing those unmistakable anthems two decades later was surreal, like opening a time capsule of the 2000s. Landon Barker reappeared to feature on a track, bridging old and new generations of fans. One of the night’s most poignant moments came when the band welcomed back their original drummer, Zack Johnson. The band reminisced on their early days working day jobs in auto body and ice cream shops—far from the packed theater they now commanded—making the moment all the more powerful.

For fans in their twenties like myself, the show carried a particularly unique weight. The Fray was the soundtrack of our childhoods—songs we grew up on, whether overheard in the backseat of our parents’ cars or played on repeat through our first iPods. A Fray concert 20 years ago was either something we were too young to imagine attending or a memory of being brought along by our parents. Seeing them now felt like rekindling a lifelong love for a band that shaped us without us even realizing it at the time.

“Over My Head (Cable Car)” transformed into a collective experience—the crowd’s voices swelling louder than the band itself, creating a goosebump-inducing power moment that captured exactly why this music endures. Nostalgia may have been the entry point, but what lingered after the final notes was the reminder that these songs are still very much alive.

Review and photography by Hannah Schneider