Cartel Chroma 20 Year Anniversary Tour Swings By Phoenix
Cartel | The Van Buren | Phoenix, Arizona
October 12, 2025
Photographed by Jennifer Elle
This show almost didn’t happen. Two of the three bands had blown out tires on their way to Arizona and it was unsure if they would be able to make it to Phoenix on time. Thankfully, despite the bad luck on the road, Cartel’s highly anticipated Chroma 20 Year Anniversary Tour was able to be experienced by the eager fans inside The Van Buren.
While waiting for Cartel to take the stage, Macseal kept the crowd engaged with their opening set. Macseal consists of Ryan Bartlett (vocalist and guitarist), Cole Szilagyi (vocalist and guitarist), Greg Feltman (guitarist), Justin Canavaciol (bassist), and Francesca Impastato (drummer). Macseal is an indie rock band with emo influences who have been playing together in Long Island since 2014. They joined Cartel for part of the Chroma 20 Year Anniversary Tour, from Minneapolis to Austin. Goalkeeper will take over the opening slot for the last few dates on the tour.
Macseal began their set by playing “Sure Thing, Shelly” which got the crowd moving and ready for the night. Dedicated fans were singing along, gripping the vinyls they just bought at the merch table. During “Easily Undone”, the entire crowd raised their arms and swayed side to side to this indie rock hit off of Permanent Repeat, the band’s latest album. This song specifically reminds me of a mid 00s coming of age movie or show. Macseal ended their set with “Next to You”, their highest streamed song from their Yeah, No, I Know EP. The crowd jumped around to their upbeat hit song and were definitely warmed up for the rest of the show.
I saw Macseal with Mom Jeans last year and I was really glad to see the hand-drawn photo of Harry Styles on stage again. It is always a pleasure to hear Macseal live, as I am instantly transported to the time I was listening to “Harry” while taking the LIRR to their show. They were technically the first band I ever shot on my camera and they will always hold a special place in my heart.
It was also nice to see that Ryan was wearing a Hunny hat and Justin was wearing a Cartel hoodie while on stage. Bands that are on the same tour do not always get along, so it makes it that much more special to see Macseal loudly support their fellow touring bands. Modeling the merch on stage was a fun way to encourage fans to do some shopping after the concert was over.
Setlist:
Sure Thing, Shelly
Harry
Easily Undone
Luckily for Some
Four Legs
Beach Vacation
5:45 AM (Not Fun)
Next to You
MACSEAL
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When kicking off this tour, Hunny got stuck in Flagstaff for a few days with their newly renovated shuttle bus, missing the first few dates in the south and east coast. On the way to Phoenix they got locked out of their van and blew a tire. With all of the travel woes while in Arizona, Jason explained it was a sign that they are either meant to stay in Arizona forever or never return. After the show he proclaimed it was one of his favorites of the tour so hopefully that translates to future Hunny shows for us local fans.
Hunny just released Spirit!, the band’s third album but first one solo by frontman Jason Yarger (vocalist and guitarist). Despite being the first album without former bandmates, Kevin Grimmett and Joey Anderson were involved with its recording, writing, and production. Hunny shows still hit the same even though fans will notice some new faces on stage. Jason’s friends Oliver Cooper (drummer) and Sam Wilkerson (bassist) joined him on the Chroma 20 Year Anniversary Tour.
Hunny kicked off their set with a new song from Spirit! called “Xing guard". Fans cannot contain their excitement to hear this song for the first time live. “Change Ur Mind” also graced the setlist which is a song from Hunny’s first album Yes.Yes.Yes.Yes.Yes. Jason never played guitar live on this one so he had to figure out a new line for these shows.
During a pause in between songs, a fan screams that he loves Jason’s guitar which prompts him to make a shout out to Nelson Guitar Werks. Bruce Nelson makes custom guitar builds in California and Hunny is a frequent customer.
Jason said “This next song is for jumping if you can. I am old so I understand if you can’t.” Jason if you are reading this thirty-four is not old and your fans LOVE jumping to every single song! Despite the slightly older age demographic in the crowd, people were already off of their feet before the d drop of “solo”.
Hunny ended the set with their highly streamed “Vowels” and new Spirit! song “I can see my house from here”. Jason explains how excited he was to be on tour with Cartel as Chroma was a big part of his high school soundtrack. It must be so rewarding to be able to say you actually did the thing and opened for a band that shaped your adolescence. It is proof that dreams do indeed come true!
In typical Hunny fashion, on stage was a small TV playing an anime VHS, a Scooby Doo stuffed animal, and a beagle stuffed animal, which represents Jason’s dog Ernie. All of their equipment is covered in stickers, bringing the most personal touches on the road with them. My favorite detail being an old, fading “Hunny Play Loud.” sticker.
Setlist:
Xing guard
Halloween
Televised
waterfalls
Change Ur Mind
kick ur teeth in
title track
Lula, I’m Not Mad
JFK
solo
Vowels (and the Importance of Being Me)
i can see my house from here
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Cartel is made up of Will Pugh (vocalist), Joseph Pepper (guitarist), Nic Hudson (guitarist), and Kyle Adams (drummer). Joining them on stage for this tour is Kevin Mahoney (bassist) who is the bassist for Joywave. Cartel is a pop punk alt rock band who released their first album Chroma in 2005. They rerecorded Chroma in 2025 to kick off their 20 Year Anniversary Tour that started in Charlotte in September and will finish in Atlanta on October 25th.
Fans watched the crew prepare the stage for Cartel, anxiously awaiting the big moment when the band would walk out. Suddenly the music stops and Will, Joseph, Nic, Kyle, and Kevin take their spots at their instruments. The fans on the barricade are grinning ear to ear, the moment they waited for is finally here. The front of the stage is lined with rotating lights, bringing the beautiful colors of the Chroma cover art to life. Cartel starts their set off with “Let’s Go”, “Faster Ride”, and ”The Fortunate” before playing Chroma in full. The band comes back to play an encore before saying goodbye to their dedicated Phoenix fans, some that have been here supporting them since 2005.
Every single band member had the utmost energy on stage which hyped up the already excited crowd. Will, Joseph, and Nic utilized the entire stage, coming as close to the edge of the stage as possible. It really brought the audience into the show and minimized the physical distance between the artist and fans. The entire stage, even the back corners, were used by the band members as they danced around and brought the energy up in the venue. It is so refreshing to be in a crowd of all ages unified by music. There were even two groups of young children on either side of the barricade. It truly was so beautiful to see how an album that debuted twenty years ago resonates with kids that haven’t even reached double digits yet. As Hunny pointed out, the crowds for these shows are primarily in their thirties and beyond, but that did not stop the sea of arms bouncing to “Honestly.”
At the end of the show, Will made a huge descent from the stage and climbed to the barricade’s edge, holding the hands of those lucky ones at the front row. It is such a privilege for an artist and a fan to connect, especially through physical touch, during a show. The end of “Deep South” holds so much special meaning with the entire audience and it was the perfect way to conclude this show.
Despite a seemingly series of unfortunate events with the tires on the I-10, their luck turned around for Macseal, Hunny, and Cartel and they were all able to put on an unforgettable show for their Phoenix fans.
Their set evoked nostalgia out of every thirty-something fan in the crowd who used to play Chroma on their mp3 players, MySpace profiles, and blast the cd out of their boomboxes. These fans got to experience music in the best possible way before social media became accessible to everyone 24/7. Instead of streaming music while texting friends, at the height of Chroma, music was the background noise of hanging out with friends, being completely present in the moment. It is almost a lost art now, since there are so many distractions that prevent people from creating pure memories that last a lifetime. It is truly so special that Chroma serves as a time machine for all of their fans because for 57 minutes and 24 seconds they can live in a simpler time.
Cartel has a strong devoted fan base that will without a doubt show up to the 40 year anniversary tour; if put on, the fans deliver. The nostalgia is strong and will always be a feeling people will crave, even if it is just to feel the mid 00s air for a couple of hours. The next generations of Cartel fans are already here and ready to rock out to whatever is next for the band.
Setlist:
Let’s Go
Faster Ride
The Fortunate
Say Anything (Else)
Honestly
Runaway
Burn This City
Save Us
Luckie St.
Settle Down
Matter of Time
If I Fail
The Minstrel's Prayer
Q
A
Perfect Mistake
This Is Who We Are
Fan Voted Song
Deep South
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