Sonic Lunch has rarely been as packed as it was in its second to last show of the 2024 season, August 22. Fans from all over traveled to Ann Arbor to see Andrew Horowitz joined by Bora Karaca, Ross Federman and Illicit Ghost. As always, Sonic Lunch delivered in creating a one of a kind experience in Liberty Plaza as the band took the stage as the opening act of Antwuan Stanley.
Horowitz and Federman were a part of the iconic band Tally Hall, which Karaca was also involved with. Tally Hall is an Ann Arbor-based band that many may have thought they would never have the chance to see live since the band broke up over a decade ago. While it was not a full reunion with all original band members, fans were clearly thrilled to see a couple of the bandmates together playing some of their old hits.
With the hopes of seeing something special happen, fans new and old gathered together on a Thursday morning — some arriving hours before the show began in pursuit of a front row spot. The excitement lingered all day long at Sonic Lunch as crowds lined up for hours after the show to meet the performers.
Attendee Lad Streyer said, “I had never heard of the band. I haven’t missed a Sonic Lunch in about three years. I am not used to coming here and seeing this kind of reaction for the opening act. Typically, when I walk up 15 minutes before everything starts, people are wandering in and everything. But today, it is just jam packed all the way to Liberty Street. So, I went to one of the people from the Bank of Ann Arbor to ask what was going on and he told me that there were people here from all over the country … for this show,”
When Matthew Altruda, curator of the Bank of Ann Arbor’s Sonic Lunch, asked the audience to make some noise if they were not from Michigan, excited screams radiated from throughout the plaza. Some of the attendees came from as far away as Saudi Arabia.
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Lilli Moline was in third grade when she first found Tally Hall. Now 13, Lilli had convinced her mother Connie to drive five hours from Illinois to see the band live.
“I feel like they’ve made me a better person. They’ve just made me connect with music, honestly,” Lilli said just after meeting the band members at the signing booth. “I listen to them every day and I feel like they’ve definitely changed my life in more ways than one.”
The band has a lengthy Ann Arbor history. As lead singer Andrew Horowitz pointed out, the band formed at a house in the city over a decade ago. Even after years of inactivity, the Tally Hall fan base is as attentive and enthusiastic as ever.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
