It’s no small feat to play at Lollapalooza, and Meet Me @ The Altar’s performance at the BMI stage on Saturday shows that no stage is too small for this pop-punk band to attract a boisterous crowd. 

The Florida-based trio took to the stage early Saturday afternoon, performing at the relatively large crowd compared to the standing space. At one point, lead vocalist Edith Johnson asked the crowd, “Who already knows who we are?”

The band seemed surprised after several hands shot up, going on to play an energetic set that attracted more and more festivalgoers to the scene. By the set’s end, the number of audience members had increased substantially, many throwing up hand horns — a popular rock ‘n’ roll gesture. 

After the performance, Johnson, bassist Téa Campbell and drummer Ada Juarez took a moment to reflect on the show, including festivalgoers’ reactions to their set.

“I think they took it really well,” Campbell said. “We played a lot of new songs, which is nerve-wracking, but it turned out pretty cool. There were a lot of people there, which we didn’t know what to expect, and it was just a great time.”

Johnson agreed, saying she noticed a large number of people bopping their heads in the audience. 

“That’s always a good sign,” Johnson said. “You can tell if someone really likes you if they’re head-bopping. You can’t fake the head bop.”

Looking back, Juarez said she felt satisfied with the trio’s performance after their set ended, prompting laughter and agreement from her bandmates. 

At one point during the set, Johnson told the audience that the band recently finished writing its debut album. It wasn’t an easy process, she explained, because there were so many directions in which the band could have taken the LP. 

In terms of the album’s composition, Campbell said the band aimed to create “really solid songs,” with heavy pop-rock vibes drawn from influences like Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Green Day. 

“Whether there are tracks or we’re just playing with just our instruments, we wanted (the songs) to hold up,” Campbell said. “We really went for that early 2000s vibe, definitely, in these new songs.”

This pop-rock vibe was showcased in the trio’s BMI set during their performance of “Kool,” an unreleased tune about having a crush. The tune was well-received by the audience, who cheered and danced to the tune. 

For the last tune at the BMI stage, the band played one of its older songs, “Garden,” to the delight of festivalgoers who bopped their heads, raised hand horns and jumped along to the tune. 

Looking toward the future, members of Meet Me @ The Altar said they have high hopes, emphasizing how the band has no plans to slow down its mission to climb the ranks of pop-punk legends. 

“We are going to be working the next 10 years,” Campbell said. “Like, if things go according to our plan, we will be right up there with Green Day and Paramore.”

Johnson and Juarez agreed with Campbell’s sentiment, saying they hoped Meet Me @ The Altar will be a household name in 10 years’ time. 

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