Seven different bands from across Arkansas and beyond performed over the course of two nights at Full Moon Records Jan. 27 and 28.
On Friday, Jan. 27, four metal bands took the stage — which was built the day before by Full Moon Records owner Justin Dunn — and played to a packed house. Doors opened at 8 p.m. and within 15 minutes the all-ages show was sold out.
Open Kasket, a Little Rock death metal band, opened the show, followed by Condemn, a metalcore band also from Little Rock. Third was Morbid Visionz, another Little Rock band that recently released an EP titled “Cycle of Cessation” under Maggot Stomp, an independent record label in California that focuses on releasing death metal from all over the United States.
The headlining band that night was Zashed. Self-described as “Searcy shed metal,” Zashed traveled from the aforementioned Searcy to play a ferocious 35-minute set to close out the show, ending with an encore.
The Conway crowd couldn’t contain their excitement; people formed mosh pits and crowd-surfed across the room throughout the night. One audience member even traveled from Memphis, Tennessee to catch the show after seeing Zashed perform there two days earlier.
Jackson Edwards, vocalist for Zashed, spits energy into the crowd at Full Moon Records.
Full Moon Records has been hosting concerts in some capacity a couple of times a month since summer 2022, starting with live music at its outdoor vendor markets, but Friday marks its first metal show, further establishing its status as a refuge in Conway for more alternative or extreme bands to play shows.
Evan Grove, vocalist of Morbid Visionz and longtime member of the Arkansas music scene, expressed his support for Full Moon Records and the work Dunn has been doing to turn it into a live music venue.
“I think what [Dunn] is doing here is facilitating something more like a community,” Grove said. “It’s cool seeing a younger crowd coming and being excited about shows.”
Excited might be an understatement based on the size of the crowd that came out. It’s clear that there’s a demand for metal shows in Conway that other music venues aren’t meeting.
Zashed vocalist Jackson Edwards leaps in the air during the band's performance.
Jackson Edwards, vocalist for Zashed and a communications major at Harding University, said the crowd on Friday was the “best we’ve had, easily.”
“That show was something special, it was really something special,” Edwards said. “I think without [Full Moon] it would be harder to get anything other than a house show in Conway.
“I don’t see us being able to book, like, a music venue in Conway … The music venues they have in Conway aren’t going to be playing heavy music,” Edwards said.
Kurt Lunsford, a Little Rock music photographer, uploaded all four sets from Friday’s concert to his YouTube channel, @KurtLunsford, where they can be viewed for free.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, Full Moon Records slowed things down a bit and hosted three rock bands, each with their own distinct sound which made for another excellent night of music.
Makeshift Tapedeck, playing for the first time in Conway from Monroe, Louisiana, opened the show with an energetic set of catchy, poppy tunes.
Pett, from Little Rock and also making their Conway debut, went on next and took the audience on an entrancing auditory journey of intricately-arranged songs drenched in dreamy reverb.
Finally, Full Moon Records alums Sonic Fuzz closed out the entire weekend of shows with songs full of earworm hooks, crunchy indie rock guitar tones and the occasional improvisational excursion.
Several audience members enjoy the concert at Full Moon Records on Friday, Jan. 27.
All seven bands that played this weekend have music out on major streaming platforms and have active social media where their next shows and upcoming projects can be found.