Florida-born American alt-rock band Anberlin recently wrapped up their first tour of 2025, starting the year with a celebration of the 20th anniversary of their second record, “Never Take Friendship Personal.”
From February to April, the band performed the album on stages across the United States, followed by an encore of a few of their other popular songs.
Accompanied by supporting bands The Dangerous Summer and Copeland, their tour stopped in Atlanta at Heaven at the Masquerade on April 3.
Anberlin has had a presence in the emo and pop-punk music scene since their formation in 2002, signing to a record label within their first year as a group and reaching the top 20 of the Billboard 200 in just five years with the release of their third album, “Cities.”
Despite their long history, which includes a hiatus from 2014 to 2018, long-time fans can see most of the original members still rocking out onstage.
Founding musicians Joseph Milligan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Deon Rexroat (bass), and Nathan Young (drums, percussion) all still share their energy and passion with live audiences.
Rhythm guitar player Christian McAlhaney, while not part of the original lineup, has been a part of the band since 2007, having a solid place among the group nonetheless.
The biggest difference fans will notice when seeing Anberlin perform live is the absence of original lead singer Stephen Christian, who took an indefinite hiatus from touring in 2023.
Upon Christian’s announcement, however, he reassured fans that he was not quitting the band altogether, just taking a step back from the touring aspect.
As part of the same announcement, the band revealed the musician they had chosen to fill in for Christian: Memphis May Fire’s Matty Mullins.
A self-proclaimed long-time fan of Anberlin, Mullins was excited for the opportunity and began touring with the band as their live lead vocalist in 2024.
In his own post, the metalcore singer reassured Memphis May Fire fans that MMF would still be his first priority and that tour schedules were specifically arranged to allow him to tour with both bands without conflict.
He also introduced himself to Anberlin fans, telling them that he was in no way going to try to become or replace Christian, but rather make sure that audiences still got “110%” of the passionate energy they go to Anberlin shows expecting.
Their Atlanta show was certainly a reinforcement of that promise.
Following The Dangerous Summer, indie-rock group Copeland commemorated their album “In Motion,” also celebrating a 20th anniversary, by playing the album in lieu of their typical assortment of songs.
Copeland’s lead singer, Aaron Marsh, had appeared with Anberlin on their album “Cities,” and many fans of one band overlapped with the other.
As each band played, fans steadily filled the room until the time had finally come for the headlining act.
Each member of Anberlin took the stage to raucous applause.
Instead of a standard backdrop with the band logo printed on it, the stage was set up with a clean white curtain and LED lights, reminiscent of the simple white and light blue color scheme of the “Never Take Friendship Personal” album cover.
Mullins was the last to join the band, running on to start the opening number, the album’s titular song.
Greeting the crowd, he shouted, “My name is Matty Mullins and these guys behind me, they’re called Anberlin!”
There were several points throughout the show, his introduction included, in which Mullins separated himself from the official full-time lineup of Anberlin, talking about how excited he was to celebrate their accomplishments with them.
It was a subtle, yet noticeable commitment to his promise not to replace Christian as the band’s lead singer.
Despite this distinction, he still performed among the other members with enthusiastic and natural chemistry, smiling genuinely throughout their set.
Mullins has a different voice than Christian, but one that still lends extremely well to Anberlin’s genre and sound.
Often including significantly more of his harsh screams in MMF’s music, Anberlin’s comparatively softer style utilizes Mullins’s strong, clean vocals, with a sporadic scream here and there.
A general consensus from many fans on social media is while Mullins may not be Stephen Christian, he certainly does Anberlin’s music justice, in both sound and spirit.
After playing through “Never Take Friendship Personal,” Mullins thanked the crowd and the band left the stage.
In typical concert fashion, however, they did not stay offstage for very long, instead returning for a four-song encore from some of the band’s other albums.
Two of the songs, “Seven” and “High Stakes,” featured Mullins on the recorded versions.
Anberlin’s 20th Anniversary tour for “Never Take Friendship Personal” was a nostalgic experience for many fans who had been listening to the band since the beginning.
Mullins and the official Anberlin members performed a passionate and energetic set; their love for the music and playing was evident not only in how good they sounded but also in how happy they looked.
Following his travels with Anberlin, Mullins is hopping back on the road with his band, Memphis May Fire, for the Shapeshifters tour from April to May before picking back up with Anberlin for their summer performances.
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