Hodi’s Half Note welcomed four entertaining acts to the stage on Thursday, Sept. 29. All the acts brought their own unique styles to their sets.

The night started with Hypnotic Vibes. Forming in northern Colorado, the band promotes positive energy through their music and lyrics. The music was a mix of reggae and rock; the transitions between these genres seemed abrupt.

The band, including trombone and trumpet players, had catchy, good music, but the vocals of the band detracted from the catchy beat. The vocals and music seemed to not be in harmony with each other.

Next, The Magnetic Wars’ performance felt like a knock-off Twenty One Pilots show performed by a contemporary church worship band. Hailing from Fort Collins, the two-piece band had a lead vocalist who played the keyboard and a drummer. The best part of the set was the bands cheesy cover of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

The Denver-based band, Rumours Follow played an irresistibly catchy set of synth-filled jazz, funk and rock music with ’80s and ’90s flair. Flamboyant lead singer, Nick Sanders switched back and forth from his normal vocal range to an impressive falsetto strangely reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper. Sanders’ sassy stage presence entertained the crowd.

The crowd dwindled in numbers as the night went on. By the time The Unlikely Candidates Graced the stage, the crowd was diminished but was intimately mobbed around the stage in anticipation for the band’s performance.

The Unlikely Candidates make it a priority to provide energetic performance even under rough circumstances. Lead singer, Kyle Morris performed the set without holding back while doctoring a torn ligament in his foot. Limping onto the stage, Morris unsteadily floated around the stage as he performed energetically despite the situation.

Morris looked fondly back on the show.

“It was good,” Morris said. “It was sweaty. It was very rambunctious. It was maybe slightly dangerous to my health.”

Throughout the night, the band played solid rock songs with fun lyrics as the crowd danced to the songs. Artists including Bob Dylan and the Strokes inspire the band’s music.

“The Strokes are just really cool, and they have really simple but catchy awesome songs,” Morris said. “They’re kind of like what we aspire to be.”

Cole Male is a guitarist in the band. According to Male, Denver is home to the band’s largest fan base. Both Male and Morris are glad that the fan-base is mostly in Colorado due to their admiration for the state. Morris said he loves “all the awesome things that are legal here,” the friendly people and beautiful scenery.

“I love Colorado because everyone loves us here,” Morris said. “I could not pick a better place for us to have out biggest market.”

The band has been touring for years, yet they do not find playing their crowd favorites to be tedious.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Morris said. “The thing is we’re so wild on stage that you can get into the moment and not really the music is muscle memory. If you ask me what the lyrics to my songs were I would not be able to tell you, but when I’m up there, I know them because it’s all muscle memory. The music is part of the movement.”

“The music is never old at all,” Male added.

The band’s passion and love for their music was translated to their performance. Morris passionately sang to the audience, giving out hugs and private serenades to members of the audience. He apologized for the sweat he was spewing all over the front row of the crowd that was in what he referred to as the “splash zone” because he was performing so close to the edge of the stage.

According to Morris and Male, music appeals to almost everyone and helps to connect people.

“It stimulates every part of your brain and soul,” Morris said. “It’s something that everyone is into.”

The band embraced the musicality of the classic rock genre of the 60s and 70s. Many fans are attracted to this incorporation of an old music style. According to Morris, older fans often compare the band to Jim Morrison and other famous musicians. Although he finds it laughable, it is one of his favorite comments to hear from fans.

The Unlikely Candidates performed their new unreleased single “Ringer.” The crowd loved the new single as they danced to the catchy tune. The song is about the importance of marrying an awesome girl. According to Male, the single will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Filled with many different genres of music and different levels of stage presence, the concert at Hodi’s was overall entertaining.