Concert Review: Dispatch | Cleveland, OH | 06.27.25

The heat didn’t stop the crowd from showing up in full force on Friday night (June 27, 2025) for John Butler and Dispatch at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater. The bands delivered a nostalgic night of both reunion and revelation. While it was a night of social messaging, roots rock, and sweltering heat, it was also one of community and collaboration. 

G. Love and Donavon Frankenreiter opened, and rather than playing two separate sets, they instead played together, sitting on the others’ set. The first features mostly acoustic Frankenreiter songs, and the second features electric G. Love songs. Both of them have an endless catalog of ever-catchy tunes, which made the sets feel like a greatest hits medley. Songs like “It Don’t Matter,” “Free,” “Cold Beverages,” “Baby’s Got Sauce,” “Rodeo Clowns,” and many more reminded one of just how fun both of their songs can be. The surfer and the blues rap hype man made for a great pairing. 

John Butler Band delivered its blend of roots-rock fusion and fretboard wizardry. Butler, supported by a band rather than the trio he is more commonly known for, was armed with his battered twelve-string and that unmistakable slide guitar tone. He roared through a nine-song set that was equal parts meditative and incendiary. 

“Ocean,” his famed instrumental piece, brought the audience to a contemplative plane for the entirety of the ten minutes. If a ten-minute solo acoustic instrumental sounds dull, this was anything but. However, before he started the song, he went on a very long venting session about the Gaza genocide, the current state of the world, and the leaders in power. He might have even started to lose the crowd a bit, whether they were on his side or not. He even claimed he was not there to entertain. He was there to feel what it’s like to be human.

He introduced the song. He said that it was a prayer. Even if he didn’t pray to anything specific, it was a meditation. The song sort of functioned in that way. One might lose oneself for a bit and zone out. It’s easy to let yourself get wrapped up in the peaks and valleys, or not. Yet, it had the staying power to keep bringing you back in. If he had lost anyone in the buildup to the song, by the end of it, everyone was on their feet cheering. This was for an instrumental! 

He played other gems too, like the ode to marriage, “Trippin on You,” which featured a great keyboard intro. The band’s dynamic interplay made each track feel elastic and alive, stretching songs into extended jams without losing emotional grip. Butler’s voice, equal parts gravel and silk, cut through the evening air, and the crowd responded in turn. It was a reminder that Butler remains one of modern roots-rock’s most overlooked heavyweights. 

Dispatch opened strong with “Circles Around the Sun,” cascading into crowd favorites like “Skin the Rabbit” and “Painted Yellow Lines.” The band navigated through their catalog, seamlessly transitioning into a soul-stirring cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio,” the entire band joining in for the harmonies. The song felt extra poignant given the night’s common thread of political and social issues. It was possibly the highlight of the evening, aside from the encore, Bob Dylan cover, “Like a Rolling Stone,” which featured Butler, Frankenreiter, and G Love. 

This reviewer is one to always bemoan the lack of cover songs present in the modern concerts, so to see Dispatch cover so many bands, like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, State Radio, The Rolling Stones, and Dylan, amongst their own classic and new songs, was a treat. But the choices didn’t feel haphazard either. They traced Dispatch’s musical DNA, linking their earnest folk-rock to the lineage of socially aware songwriters.

The chemistry between singers Chadwick Stokes and Matthew Embree was as present as ever. Natural, uncalculated; filled with shared smiles and an undercurrent of brotherhood. Their stripped-down delivery felt intimate, but not afraid to really rock out in the amphitheater setting when needed. One could tell they are a band that still values connection over production gloss. They would take solo breaks and grin at each other, running across the stage to jam together. 

There were some hushed moments, like the first half of “Only the Wild Ones,” the fireflies just beginning to light up the night, but those built into perfect percussion bliss that really got the crowd grooving. Speaking of percussion, “Whisk Me Away,” from the month-old album ‘Yellow Jacket,’ featured some pretty stellar percussion as well. 

Stokes swapped guitars like any rock legend, but they were more fun than flash. One was built of old Castrol oil cans. He explained that a father and son in front row had given it to him and how it was modeled after one he had many years ago that had fallen apart. 

Thus, the tone of the evening was not entirely social issues with a negative bent. It much more about celebration and about the power of music bringing communities together. It was upbeat and energetic, even in the oppressive heat.