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The Districts Come Home For First Headlining Show At Electric Factory

By Michael Cerio

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Districts play rock music with explosive enthusiasm. As guitarist Pat Cassidy beats at the guitar, singer Robbie Grote attacks the mic crouched and poised to deliver lyrics or an uppercut - whichever is needed. On this night at Electric Factory in Philadelphia the stage is filled with intensity. Final notes reverberate through the room, but as the fuzzed hum dies down and the crowd erupts after each song, these four young men transform back to mild-mannered and appreciative.

Struggling to find the words Grote thanks the crowd. "This is a dream come true" he says with an overwhelmed bashful smile.

With their oldest members being twenty-one, a night headlining Electric Factory is an impressive milestone. For The Districts it is downright sentimental. The band originally from Lititz, PA have called Philadelphia home for the past three years and have called the Factory a destination for far longer. "I think we all have been to a million shows here so it's gonna be exciting" explains Cassidy before the show.

"Dr. Dog was one of the early ones we came down for a lot" remembers Grote. "No actually in like middle school or something I saw State Radio" he laughs thinking of his first time here.

The Lancaster County band has had a big year with the release of their album A Flourish And A Spoil, a critically acclaimed collection that has taken them all across the globe. "Tokyo was crazy" smiles Cassidy. "We did a lot of karaoke, ate some ramen and what not" adds Grote.

Their hometown headlining spot marks the end of their U.S. tour, then one more week in Europe and finally the chance to be home - unwind and start writing the next chapter. "We've been touring so much so we're like really excited to create and do the other side of it. We've been trying to work on stuff but when you're home for two weeks there's not much time to actually get down and write really hard" describes Grote. "I think we're gonna take like a week or two to chill and then just start writing."

As you watch them perform it's easy to forget that they are not far removed from high school. Away from their in-concert swagger they remember skipping school and going to Shady Maple like it was yesterday, because it almost was. For all of the muscle The Districts squeeze out a speaker, away from the stage they are young, kind, and excited to be here - like they are on the best summer vacation ever.

Click below to hear more from The Districts, or watch the full interview here.

 

The Districts

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