The Fray Takes Over Saint Louis Music Park

Jul 18

Written By DaCiya Solice

by DaCiya Solice | July 11th, 2026

All images are from The Fray’s - Summer of Light Tour in St. Louis, MO on 7/11/26.

Fans began to arrive well before doors opened for an evening featuring Colony House, Dashboard Confessional and The Fray at Saint Louis Music Park in Maryland Heights, Missouri on July 11th, 2026. The heat was noticeable outside the open air amphitheater but the venues offered food trucks and cold drinks before the concert started along with merch. My first stop was to get some merch of my own to which I got lucky and was able to get a signed vinyl from The Fray. I spent some time chatting with other fans about some of our favorite songs from the band and how we were introduced to them. It was nice to see people of all ages coming out to enjoy the show. The venue staff was friendly and created a welcoming atmosphere. Even during the concert when a fellow attendee had an emergency during Dashboard Confessionals set the staff quickly took control of the situation and got that person medical attention and to a cooler area.

Colony House has a chill and calm stage presence. Throughout the set of songs the lead singers Thad a good message to connect the meaning of the songs with personal experiences. Some songs I really enjoyed were “You Know It” and “Ok Ok Ok Ok” . The energy was the climax of their set. Colony had so much energy throughout their whole set and never once did it die down. Their overall musicianship was amazing to hear live and they gave their drummer room to shine which is something I really enjoyed. Near the end of their set the guitar and drums had their own little solo to which the crowd enjoyed. They closed out with a small snippet of their song “You Know It.”

Dashboard Confessional set left me in complete awe during the show mentioned seeing kids in the crowd and he found a young boy around 10 and asked if it was his first rock concert to which he was and he started explaining what a television was which made the crowd laugh. he spoke to the crowd about a party in NYC where he kissed a girl from Saint Louis and tied it back into the song because she told him it was going to be alright and it led into a snippet from their MTV Unplugged Just Breathe. Near the end of that song the guitarist had a brief moment of a solo which left me speechless and the crowd was too, I wish it was live recorded so I could hear it over and over again. The crowd was so good at staying on beat that Chris Carrababa the lead singer, audition the the crowd together to be recorded to be on their album for the song “No More Bad Days” was followed by “Vindicated” which is a favorite of mine and would recommend for everyone to listen to. By the end of their set during Hands Down the energy was through the roof. I’ve honestly never seen a guitarist with so much energy he was running and jumping into spins. That moment was the best ending to a set yet!

Headlining the show at Saint Louis Music Park, The Fray took the stage to an enthusiastic crowd starting off strong with their song A Light That Waits. As I was in the pit for the first five songs I got the full experience of frontman Joe King's energy. He was constantly moving across the stage through the fog and strobing lights, engaging with the crowd and bring the show to new heights. One of the evenings more heartfelt moments is when King invited a young fan on stage with the band for part of a song and sung directly to her creating a memorable moment for her. The crowd was very engaged especially for songs like “Look After You” and “My Head (Cable Car)” with many singing along throught their performance and even standing at the barricade for the whole set. The venue was mainly seated so it was great to see fans actually standing up and engaging with the performance.

Whether fans came out for Colony House, Dashboard Confessional or The Fray, the night offered a little bit of something for everyone. There were heartfelt moments to engage with fans, nostalgic favorites and there were also high energy segments to get the crowd to their feet. Such a welcoming venue at Saint Louis Music Park made it a night to remember for a summer concert