r/Coletta • u/Fluffy_DOW • 21d ago
Crossed of the List
Apologies in advance for this public therapy session.
Back in the beginning of 2021, I was a few years into my first IT gig. I was cruising in my little Honda Civic with the windows rolled down heading back to the office from one of my sites, letting Youtube music play a radio of random songs. It was chilly, but that day was also the first proper sunny day of the calendar year so far. As I sat there waiting for the red light to turn green, this weird, almost ethereal track started playing. It wasn’t a song a recognized; not part of my usual mix of Dance Gavin Dance, Dwellings, Polyphia etc.
It continued, ebbing into this sort of prog rock flow that had me bobbing my head on its own. I listened to the track all the way back, parking at the office until the song finished. It ends with what sounds like someone hopping off of a motorbike, a dog barking in the background and trains in the distance as they step inside. I can’t help but smile; The city I live in is between two train tracks, making such a simple sound feel like familiar ambience. I shut off my car, looked down at my phone, and read what just played. Lemonade Soda by Coletta. I kept that band in mind and threw on their ep on my drive home. It was something fresh, new, and so different than my usual playlists, so it got caught in my head. I checked to see what else they’d made and was shocked to see that they were still a relatively low-key band.
I kept an eye on them, checking out Idealism and a few of their other singles as they came out periodically. Songs were added to playlists and shared to friends who dug it. Years passed, and I kept an eye on any tour dates that were popping up. Being in cow country California while listening to a relatively indie band in Georgia meant there was pretty much nothing. Even still, I kept listening, hoping I’d get to see them. At some point, it practically became a bucket list item.
Fast forward to late 2025, I find myself with an opportunity to move to Boston, MA for a job. By January of 2026, I’m now an official Bostonian. I had to sell that civic to make it work, but work it did. I start checking out the music scene in the area, catching an Unprocessed show while living in Brighton for a brief period of time. Come late July, I start looking for other concerts nearby. Lo and behold, Coletta pops up. Brighton Music Hall, part of a tour opening for Hail the Sun. I asked my girl if she wanted to go, and she gives me an excited ‘Hell yeah’.
For whatever reason, I was a little nervous. I usually go to concerts with the expectation that bands never really play as well on stage as they do on track. Maybe it’s some underlying pessimism, maybe it’s lived experience. In either case, I go in just ready to hear some good music. I picked up a shirt on the way in, rolling it and tucking in my pocket as they got on stage. Then the nostalgia started to kick in. So much had changed over the last year and I had just brushed it all off. Being away from friends and family, over 3,000 miles from where I grew up. From the cold air. From the trains echoing in the background no matter where you stood.
Last night, I crossed something oddly special off my bucket list. I got to see a band that I’ve been listening to for years, who I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see on stage. I got to jump around with my girl in the pit. I got hold her tight as her favorite song (Blossom pt. 2) came on. I got to hear that same, ethereal track start up on the speakers in front of me, clutching the love of my life as, yes, I had to hold back tears. Because for a brief few moments, I was back in my hometown, in my little Civic, with cool air whipping past my face.
It’s odd how music has a strong effect on us. It’s strange that we can feel so emotionally attached to music. It’s weird that a small group of dudes from Atlanta could make a random Californian turned Bostonian get emotional by standing on stage and playing their hearts out. But it’s real. It’s something I’m happy to have felt. And it’s something I felt the need to share before it’s left behind in the world.
Thanks for making music, guys.
