Underoath had no business debuting Define the Great Line at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It was 2006, it was metalcore, it was on Tooth & Nail, and Spencer Chamberlain was screaming like the room was on fire. It got there anyway — 98,000 copies the first week, gold certification, a Grammy nomination for Best Short Form Music Video. Twenty years on, they’re bringing it back in full, and Houston gets the show the night before they close the whole thing out in Tampa.
About the Show
The Define the Great Line 20th Anniversary Tour launched November 5 in St. Louis and covers 28 cities before wrapping December 18 in Tampa, the band’s hometown. The album, produced by Matt Goldman and Adam Dutkiewicz and released June 20, 2006 on Tooth & Nail, pushed Underoath toward heavier instrumentation at a moment when metalcore was bending toward a slicker commercial sound. The No. 2 debut was the kind of number that tends to rewrite who gets taken seriously.
Keyboardist Chris Dudley put the album’s impact plainly: “What this album has meant to us, and so many others, over the past 20 years is hard to quantify. It gave us permission to be ourselves.” He described devoting an entire tour to presenting the record in the best way it has ever been performed as an aspirational goal. The Florida band, formed in 1997 in Ocala and back since a 2015 reunion after disbanding in 2013, logged another Grammy nomination with 2018’s Erase Me. This tour is a return to the foundation.
Supporting in Houston: August Burns Red and Atreyu, both on all tour dates, plus Emery. That’s a four-band bill worth noting — Burns Red and Atreyu carry their own weight on this circuit. The record includes notable tracks like “Writing On The Walls,” “In Regards To Myself,” and “You’re Ever Inviting.”
Venue & Logistics
Bayou Music Center is at 520 Texas Ave. in downtown Houston. The venue sits in the same routing tier the tour has been playing throughout: the Hollywood Palladium in LA, the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, the Brooklyn Paramount. Doors at 5:30 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. All ages.
Tickets
Tickets start at $85 via Ticketmaster. General on-sale began June 12. VIP upgrade packages ($150, requiring a separate general admission ticket) are available at underoath777.com and include meet and greet, an exclusive vinyl variant, a custom washed t-shirt, early venue entry, and first merch table access. Buy tickets