Flyleaf W/ Lacey Sturm Celebrate 20 Years With Sold Out Wellmont Theater

For a band, selling out a show is a great feeling. But selling out an entire 18-stop North American tour? That’s no easy feat. For Flyleaf, they must have felt “Fully Alive”. This night brought us back to Montclair, New Jersey, home of the historic Wellmont Theater. The 2,500-capacity venue played host to another sold-out crowd. A unique aspect of this tour was its rotating lineup of opening acts, with 19 different bands filling support slots depending on the city. This particular night featured Convictions and Young Other.

Young Other

Worcester, Massachusetts modern rock band Young Other was first to hit the stage. Their raw energy and powerful vocals drew comparisons to bands like Shinedown, Alter Bridge, and Rival Sons. The band described themselves as “modern rock with a Seattle twist,” which felt fitting given the grunge-inspired aspects of their sound. Their set consisted mostly of songs from their 2025 album ‘Enlightenment’ but also included their newest single, “Alone In This,” which had been released just last month.

Young Other is: 

Dale Belliveau: Vocals

Brandon Hursey: Guitars

Devin Sevin: Bass 

Kyle Shays: Drums

Young Other Setlist 

Beacon

Alone In This 

Love Again 

Between The Few 

Cabin Fever 

Iron Horse 

Convictions 

Convictions took the stage next. The four-piece Ohio metalcore band was easily the heaviest act on the lineup. Their take-no-prisoners breakdowns took the crowd on a wild ride, and the audience did not disappoint. Waves of crowd surfers, circle pits, and nonstop energy made this the most animated the crowd had been all night. Vocalist Michael Felker’s guttural screams were complemented by guitarist Quinton Dreier’s clean vocals, making the band a perfect archetype of modern metalcore.

Convictions is: 

Michael Felker: Vocals 

Quinton Dreier: Guitars, Clean Vocals 

Patrick Shekut: Guitars 

Zach Schwochow: Drums 

 Convictions Setlist

The End is Nigh

Stigmata

Sleeping Lotus

 Hurts Like Hell

The Fear of God

Hurricane

The War That Followed Me Home

Teeth

The Price of Grace

Metanoia

Flyleaf 

Headlining a sold-out tour was something Flyleaf fans may not have expected in 2026. Formed in 2002, the band grew exponentially until 2012, when vocalist Lacey Sturm shockingly departed. A replacement singer and the band’s eventual hiatus in 2016 left many wondering if this was truly the end. Years later, the band surprised fans by teasing not only their return but also the return of Sturm. Dreams became reality in 2023 when Flyleaf played a reunion show in their hometown of Belton, Texas, followed by festival appearances in 2025. All of it led to this moment, with nearly 2,500 fans waiting for the band to take the stage.

The stage grew dark and was soon flushed with red as Chevelle’s “The Red” echoed throughout the venue in its entirety. The song served as a nod to Flyleaf’s late front-of-house engineer, Rich Caldwell, who tragically passed away in 2012. He had regularly used the song to test venue PA systems while on tour. Hues of orange and red continued to line the stage as periodic flashes of light masked Flyleaf taking their places. They opened with “In the Dark.”

The best way to describe Flyleaf was imperfectly perfect. A little chaotic. A little messy. Yet it was exactly what fans had grown to love. Lead guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya’s locked-in demeanor held everything together alongside drummer James Culpepper, perfectly balancing bassist Pat Seals’ larger-than-life charisma and Sturm’s determined yet enigmatic presence.

Sadly, one thing missing throughout the night was stage banter. Flyleaf seemingly ripped through 18 songs one after another with very few pauses. I’d be remiss not to mention that Sturm did engage with the crowd physically, waving and pointing to fans throughout the night. However, it wasn’t until “Fully Alive” that she addressed the audience, sharing how grateful she was to have Bhattacharya on stage after his motorcycle accident. At one point, they weren’t sure if he would ever step on stage again, let alone hold a guitar. Before “All Around Me,” Sturm also spoke about her faith, leading into one of the night’s biggest moments. Nearly everyone in the sold-out Wellmont Theater sang every word back to the band, creating a sendoff worthy of a sold-out 20th anniversary tour.

Flyleaf is: 

Lacey Sturm: Vocals 

Sameer Bhattacharya: Lead Guitars

Pat Seals: Bass

James Culpepper: Drums 

Jared Hartmann: Rhythm Guitar

Flyleaf W/ Lacey Sturm Setlist

In the Dark

Chasm

Again

Fire Fire

Beautiful Bride

Great Love

Cassie

Freedom

Stand

Cage on the Ground

This Close

Saving Grace

Call You Out

 Fully Alive

 Sorrow

 So I Thought

 I'm So Sick

 All Around Me