Papa Roach stormed into Bridgeport as their Rise Of The Roach tour hit Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater. Rise Against and Underoath opened the night, which may have been the most crowd-fueled energy of all the shows I have seen here. This was a beautiful Connecticut night for a concert.
Papa Roach – Rise Against – Underoath
Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport – 10 September 2025
Words And Photography: Jody Wilk
Underoath
First up were Underoath, who would start off the night of adrenaline and high-energy music. They are from Florida and feature only one original member, the drummer and clean vocalist, Aaron Gillespie.
The current lineup consists of Aaron Gillespie on drums and clean vocals, Christopher Dudley on keyboards, Timothy McTague on guitars, Grant Brandell on bass, and Spencer Chamberlain on lead vocals.
These guys had the crowd on their feet on the first night of the second leg of the tour. Underoath had a great stage presence and performed like rock stars.
Keyboardist, Christopher Dudley gets the award for most animated keyboardist ever. Underoath played a seven-song set and ended the night with a new song, Generation No Surrender. They got the crowd chanting “Generation No Surrender, they’ll have nothing to remember.”
It only took two times before the crowd repeated the lyrics loud enough for them to continue with the song. 
Rise Against
Punk band Rise Against from Chicago were the next crowd pleaser. Rise Against is known lyrically for covering topics such as politics, animal rights, and the environment. Vocalist Tim McIlratch informed us that this was their first time playing in Bridgeport, CT.
They hit the stage running with a bunch of pyro and CO2 cannons and a pit full of fans anxious to get some aggression out by moshing and even some crowd-surfing.
During Give It All, Tim was up on the railing of the pit and sang to the crowd, giving them some love through handshakes and fist-bumps. 
Rise Against played a 11-song set of rocking songs spanning their career.
Tonight was the live debut of the song Ricochet from the album of the same name, which was just released in August this year. They ended the set with probably their most popular song, Savior. 
Papa Roach
Last up was what the fans came to see. The venue was packed, and the openers really got everyone heated up and ready for Papa Roach. Papa Roach had the stage loaded full of pyro, CO2 cannons, and video walls that would be going throughout the night.
Unfortunately, they were not approving media photographers; only a band photographer and a house photographer were allowed to capture the performance.
After a giant white curtain with a black roach on it dropped, they opened the set with the first song of the night from their forthcoming album of the same name, Even If It Kills Me. These guys really know how to get the energy in the crowd up.
I cannot even explain it. I do not think I have ever been to a concert that had the crowd so hyped up, other than maybe Kiss’s Final Tour. Jacoby Shaddix, the lead singer, commented that it was Wednesday night, but that it felt like a Friday night with all of the energy in the crowd. Several times he asked the fans to “open up the pit”, and they obliged, getting a circle pit going as well as some crowd surfing.
They played a 16-song set of their most popular songs including a few special dedications. They dedicated Forever/In The End to Charlie Bennington of Linkin Park, Stone Temple Pilots, and several other bands, and to others we have lost. And then, after Leave A Light On (Take Away The Dark), they had a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk, an American political activist who was murdered earlier in the day.
Papa Roach also performed their live US debut of BRAINDEAD for their fans in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from their forthcoming album, Even If It Kills Me.
A five-song encore included a bass solo and a medley of Blind/My Own Summer (Shove It)/Break Stuff/Chop Suey, to which the crowd was going wild. I do not think there was anyone who was not at least banging their head or pumping their fists in the air. They ended a night of fire and adrenaline with Last Resort.
The Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater provided a great venue for a high-energy night of rock and Metal with The Rise Of The Roach Tour. You can catch this tour running through 18 October 18 in the United States and then in Canada, but with different opening bands.
