“How high can we go?” sang Pat Bilodeau, drummer and one of three lead singers in The Warhawks, on December 4th at the Foundry in Philadelphia. If this show is any indication, then the sky’s the limit for The Warhawks.
Gloucester City, NJ’s finest, The Warhawks, are now one of those “overnight sensations,” but their origin story begins over a decade earlier. Bilodeau shares songwriting and lead vocal duties with his brother, John Bilodeau (guitar, vocals), and their cousin, Matt “Mo” Orlando (guitar, vocals), with childhood friend Tom Lipski (bass, vocals) rounding out the quartet. (Lipski was unable to attend the show, so the band’s friend, Zach Tyler, of the local band Dead Flowers, filled in admirably) This shared history, built on close relationships, is part of what makes the Warhawks special, though it doesn’t hurt that they write compelling rock music with honest lyrics delivered in perfect harmony. Their earnest sing/shout-alongs, replete with “whoa-oh-ohs” and harmonic guitar leads, evoke many of their influences, from Arctic Monkeys to The Hold Steady, Japandroids to The Strokes, and Weezer.
Throughout 2024, the Warhawks released their latest album, The Wellness Check, in three groups of three songs via Philadelphia’s Blue Collar Records. This is their first collaboration with producer Aaron Sprinkle, and it’s going well: two of their songs, “Domino” and “Parade,” have hit #1 on iTunes, and they’ve received attention both in the US, both locally (WXPN) and nationally (SPIN Magazine), and internationally, including Billboard Argentina and upcoming coverage in the UK. The media attention is both well-earned and well-deserved.
The band gave the hometown audience all they could have wanted from a live show. Their high-energy set included songs written by each of the family members, giving everybody an opportunity to shine. Playing his Jazzmaster through a well-loved VOX amp, John took the band through “Secondhand Promised Land” and “Parade,” with Mo playing his tobacco burst Les Paul through a Mesa/Boogie as he led the crowd through the anthemic “Domino.” In a true rock ‘n roll moment, Mo’s Les Paul shattered as he played it. (Fortunately, he had a backup Les Paul on hand.)
What you see is what you get with The Warhawks, who offer a rare display of genuineness in a world where originality is in short supply, and the line between fact and fiction is getting blurrier by the day. The Warhawks promise to fill in what’s missing in modern rock music, as they’ll continue to prove when they release their Sprinkle-produced follow-up in 2025.
Photos by Cecilia Orlando
One Response
This band is awesome. I had the pleasure of going to one of their concerts and it was spectacular. I also had the pleasure of working with John Bilodeau and he is truly a great human being and deserves all that is coming to him and the band. Congrats!!!!!