After spending much of last year working on their latest studio album, Forever Now, the San Diego rock quintet Switchfoot is back out on the road for an extensive headlining tour that also brings veteran rock outfit Anberlin in tow. The end result is a tight, unforgettable night of music.

On Saturday, October 3, 2026, the Forever Now Tour descended on Philadephia's Fillmore, bringing rock and roll to one of the City of Brotherly Love's top spots. Doors opened at 7pm, and the show didn't get rolling officially until 8pm. Anberlin's stage setup was more so the front half of the stage, with a large Anberlin banner hung in the back, and a row of standing lights just behind the guys, flanking the drum set. (This made the drums from Nate Young almost impossible to see.) It was a modest setup, but it worked for the band's vibe. Honestly, it's been 12 years since I last saw Anberlin perform live in person. I saw their "Final Tour" in November, 2014 at the TLA in Philly, after they had decided to officially disband -- and before their reunion around 2019. The band would go on to do a series of livestream shows, especially during the pandemic, all until frontman Stephen Christian decided to officially retire from the road in 2023... introducing Memphis May Fire's Matty Mullins as his replacement. Anberlin sounds quite different with Matty at the helm, and it's been a bittersweet transition. I've enjoyed a few of their new songs with Matty, but the entire re-recording of their Never Take Friendship Personal album -- retitled Nevertake -- featuring Matty on vocals, is a strange thing to get used to. (And the shift from Stephen to Matty was only made more complicated by the band trolling any fans who voiced their struggle with the change on social media.) But Anberlin with Matty is here to stay, and listeners either have to get on board, or hold tightly to those older recordings.

But I was pleasantly surprised by this new version of Anberlin. It still doesn't quite feel like the Anberlin I know and love so much, but one of the things that sold me with this live show was Mullins' infectious joy on stage. The man is clearly having the time of his life as the band's lead singer. Clad in the band's new Anberlin windbreaker (which was also available at their merch table), Matty moved about the stage from song to song, smiling relentlessly and engaging with fans. He was having an absolute blast up there, and it was hard not to enjoy it right alongside him. The guys opened with the fan favorite "Paperthin Hymn," and from the start it was an adjustment not hearing Stephen Christian's trademark vocals. But it definitely helped that they opened with a song we've already heard Matty sing before. "The Resistance" was next - another solid live offering, but one that Stephen really owned with the way he sung it. "Never Take Friendship Personal" followed, and then Matty introduced a new song, the recent single "NEVERAFTER," from their upcoming new record, CURRENCY. He then introduced the next song as being the first one he'd ever heard from Anberlin, and excitedly performed "Readyfuels" from their debut album. A pair of cuts from CURRENCY followed, with "HIGHSTAKES" and "GRAVITY," and then they wrapped their set with two classics, "Godspeed" and "Feel Good Drag." Stephen is still missed, but I definitely enjoyed this current line-up's performance regardless. And the rest of the Anberlin guys were clearly giving it their all from start to finish. Their set was over around 8:36, and then a lengthy set change was underway.

I was surprised to see crew still moseying around the stage, tweaking things for the headlining set past 9pm. But around 9:09pm, the lights darkened and some intro music began playing. Lights shone on the large "Forever Now" tour banner at the back of the stage that mimicked the newspaper headline aesthetic of the album, and with the guys silhouetted in darkness, they ripped into the opening riff of Forever Now's lead-off track, "Wake Up, Mr. Crow."

The guys didn't slow up for a second as "Mr. Crow" wrapped, continuing with fan favorite "Stars" and then surprising probably everyone with "Oh! Gravity." from their 2006 album of the same name. They then shifted back to new songs, playing "YFWYA," with frontman Jon Foreman stepping down from the stage and wading into the audience. He then asked the audience members to crowdsurf his guitar and mic stand from the stage to the back so he could continue performing the song. "The Shadow Proves The Sunshine" was another surprise, and the band started it while Jon was still in the crowd. Foreman talked about how important Philadelphia is to the band's history -- how it was where they played their first-ever headlining show -- and then made his way back to the stage for the rest of the song. Throughout the night, they ended up starting a new song with a sliver of a classic song to lead into it. "Love is the Movement" served as a little intro into the emotional rocker, "Natural Causes," where Jon even paused to reflect on several meaningful losses he experienced this year. He then encouraged the audience to cling to those close to them before finishing out the song. "Beautiful Life" was an appropriate follow-up, and then Foreman sang into his guitar as they tore into "Mess of Me," following it up with a snippet of "Needle and Haystack Life" before new song "Absolution." For "Shake the Dust," Jon waded through the audience again, but then even climbed the side of the balcony, pulling himself up to sing along with fans there. It's something he frequently does at shows, but it was still a really cool moment to watch. He returned to the stage to introduce his trusty band members, and then he started taking requests from the audience, first performing "Learning to Breathe" before morphing it into "24." A snippet of "Beloved" from Interrobang followed, and then the band moved right into "Dare You To Move," where Jon called for the lights to go down and the cell phones to come out to shine throughout the crowd. A simplified rendition of "The Butterfly Effect" began next, and just as the song seemed like it would escalate toward its "Mr. Crow"-esque callback crescendo, the guys shifted into "Where We Belong," a perfect ying to the yang that is "Butterfly." Confetti exploded into the air during the song, too, and it felt like an appropriate way to end the main part of the set. They waved goodbye and left the stage, but the lights stayed dim for a bit. The audience continued to cheer and then the band returned to tear into "Dark Horses" and a rocking rendition of "Meant To Live." More confetti shot into the air to end the night as the guys united to take a bow and exit the stage one last time.

I can honestly say I've seen Switchfoot live many, many times since first seeing them live around 2000 at Purple Door Festival. It's been incredible to see them grow as a band and as artists, but also as performers, too. This show was an absolute blast and I truly loved getting to hear a good chunk of the new album live in person. (They had livestreamed a performance of the entire album from start to finish back in July which was also awesome, but it's a totally different experience to see and hear it in person.) If you enjoy Switchfoot, do not miss this tour if you can make it out to it!

-- John DiBiase, 10/7/26