‘The Pale Moonlight Tour’ Featuring Dayseeker, Northlane, Wind Walkers, and sace6 — Sacramento, CA — 5.28.26

Dayseeker are currently riding one of the biggest waves of their career. The band have been on the road seemingly nonstop since the release of their latest album ‘Creature In The Black Night’. Following their European/United Kingdom tour, the Orange County metal stars have embarked on their North American leg, The Pale Moonlight Tour, bringing along a lineup that showcased both established names and some of the most promising rising acts in heavy music. On May 28th, the tour stopped at Hard Rock Live in Sacramento, CA for a stacked night featuring sace6, Wind Walkers, Northlane, and Dayseeker.

Kicking things off was sace6, a band I’ve never managed to catch live before despite hearing plenty of buzz around them. After finally seeing them in person, it’s easy to understand why their name keeps coming up in conversations about the next wave of alternative heavy music. Their blend of R&B-inspired melodies, modern metalcore, and emotionally charged songwriting gives them a sound that feels genuinely unique among today’s heavy bands. While many artists attempt to fuse genres together, sace6 makes it feel effortless. Their performance immediately won over the early crowd and left me wanting to dive even deeper into their catalog. If you haven’t checked them out yet, now would be a good time to fix that. Start with “ego”.

Next up were Wind Walkers, the band I probably had the highest expectations for heading into the night. Thankfully, they lived up to every one of them. Over the last few years, the Massachusetts band has built a reputation for crafting some of the catchiest songs in modern alternative music, blending massive pop hooks with heavy instrumentation in a way that feels both radio-friendly and authentic. Their set was packed with energy from start to finish, but what stood out most was the crowd reaction. Everywhere I looked, people were singing along. Not just the younger fans either; I spotted plenty of older concertgoers belting out lyrics right alongside everyone else. Outside of Dayseeker, Wind Walkers may have had the most crowd participation of the entire night. Hearing personal favorites “Hangfire” and “Bodybag” live was a definite highlight, and by the end of their set it was clear the Sacramento crowd was just as excited about the band’s future as I am.

Direct support came from Australian metalcore veterans Northlane. By the time they took the stage, the room was fully packed and ready to go. Over the years, Northlane have built a reputation as one of the most consistent live bands in modern metalcore, and this performance was no exception. Their set featured a healthy mix of fan favorites and newer material, including a performance of their latest single, “Evian”. For me personally, the highlight came during “Dante” from the band’s 2024 EP ‘Mirror’s Edge’. From start to finish, Northlane delivered exactly what you’d expect from a band operating at their level.

Dayseeker transformed the Hard Rock Live stage into a visual extension of ‘Creature In The Black Night’. Artificial flowers lined the front of the stage while 4 towering pillars were placed in the four corners of the stage, all accompanied by a massive LED wall. Positioned front and center sat a coffin. Opening with “Pale Moonlight”, Dayseeker wasted no time introducing fans to the new material. Roughly half of the setlist came from ‘Creature In The Black Night’, including performances of “Shapeshift”, “Crawl Back To My Coffin”, “Forgotten Ghost”, “Bloodlust”, “Nocturnal Remedy”, “The Living Dead”, and the title track “Creature In The Black Night”. While the new songs translated incredibly well live, the band made sure longtime fans weren’t left behind. Staples like “Without Me”, “Homesick”, “Burial Plot”, “Sleep Talk”, among others generated some of the loudest crowd reactions of the night.

One of the evening’s standout moments came during “The Living Dead”, when Dayseeker brought out sace of sace6 to perform the guest vocals live. Seeing the tour’s opener return to the stage was one of several reminders of how much talent was packed onto this lineup.

The band also surprised fans with a cover of My Chemical Romance’s “The Ghost Of You”, which fit surprisingly well within Dayseeker’s atmospheric and emotional style.

After leaving the stage briefly, Dayseeker returned for an encore performance of “Neon Grave”, bringing the night to a fitting conclusion. Between the ambitious production, strong mix of old and new material, and the chemistry shared across the entire lineup, The Pale Moonlight Tour felt like a showcase of both where modern metalcore currently stands and where it’s headed next. From rising acts like sace6 and Wind Walkers to established names like Northlane and Dayseeker, the night served as a reminder that the genre’s future is in very good hands.

sace6

Wind Walkers

Northlane

Dayseeker