THE RUNAROUNDS LIVE!! | RITZ
Coverage by Larissa Blankenship
A steady roar could be heard from outside The Ritz in Raleigh, NC on February 21st. Inside you would find very little standing room as the venue was packed wall-to-wall with fans waiting for The Runarounds’ sold-out show to begin. The band stopped in Raleigh as part of The Minivan tour and absolutely brought the house down. To anyone who might not know this group may look like a new indie rock band hitting it big, but The Runarounds have an unorthodox beginning. The group was originally formed in 2020 to perform on an episode of the Netflix hit show Outer Banks. The five members, who now have their own show on Amazon Prime titled The Runarounds, played the part of a house band in an episode of Season 3. In their spinoff series made by Outer Banks co-creator Jonas Pate, the group play recent high school graduates from Wilmington, NC who are trying to make it big before the summer ends. The real-life and on-screen band is made up of five members: lead vocalist and guitarist William Lipton (playing Charlie Cooper), vocalist and guitarist Axel Ellis (Neil Crosby), bassist Jesse Golliher (Wyatt Wysong), drummer Zendé Murdock (Bez Willis), and guitarist Jeremy Yun (Topher Park). Their on-screen chemistry as a band translates into a tangible energy that was incredible to watch live.
As the lights dimmed, the crowd began to chant the band’s name, eager for them to step onto the stage. While waiting, I heard a group of fans at the barricade excitedly talking as the band members could be seen coming down the backstage staircase, naming and raving about each member as they appeared. The night started off strong with “Ghosts”, which is the track that boosts the group’s popularity in the series. Spotlights lit up each member as they sang their parts and smiled, looking out over the crowd. Murdock appeared to be having a great time keeping the tempo and rocking out on the drums. Each song that played was met with loud cheers and fans jumped in time with the music, singing every word back to the band. The group played many of their songs from the show including “Minivan” and “Shoelaces” and closed out the night with a two-song encore.
If you missed their Raleigh stop, you can catch the band on tour through June of this year or check out the series. The show currently has one season on Amazon with no current announced release date for a season two, but based on their live performance The Runarounds have proved they are not slowing down anytime soon.
