Wheatus Tour: Open Arms, Shout-Outs, and Mental Health Realness

Holy poop—Wheatus. I was lucky enough to meet them last year on tour with Bowling for Soup, and I’m honestly just as lucky to be joining them again. From the moment I arrived, it was open arms, smiling faces, and the instant feeling of family. Wheatus travels as a tight-knit unit, and I'm perfectly happy playing the role of the distant cousin who only shows up at family reunions. I am truly just obsessed with them as people. 10/10 no notes. GO SEE THEM.

Also on tour is John from Keep Flying, handling merch like a boss. (Consider this your official reminder that Keep Flying has a new album coming soon—seriously, check them out and their recent catchy-as-hell single.)

KEEP FLYING's NEW SINGLE - MISTAKES

PRE-ORDER KEEP FLYING'S TIME AND TIDE

Opening these Wheatus dates has been Punchline. As someone who proudly claims Pittsburgh as a home base, it's pretty damn awesome sharing space with them. They're also teasing new music, and from what I've heard, it's killer. 

CHECK OUT PUNCHLINE'S PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

CHECK OUT PUNCHLINE'S PODCAST ON APPLE

Tour Diary (So Far):

• Night One: Cambridge, MA @ Middle East–Sonia Live. Right off the bat, two people swabbed before Punchline even took the stage. If you’ve never been to a Wheatus show, here’s what it looks like: The crowd literally just shouts out song titles, and Brendan and the band are like, “Okay, yeah!” and jump right in. It’s wild, unpredictable, and engaging AF. They will always play Teenage Dirtbag - and the first album but other call out songs they will add. It is wild.

• Night Two: Asbury Park, NJ @ Wonder Bar. Wonder Bar is iconic. The venue, the vibe—so much punk-rock history. Jersey crowds can go either way for us, and despite what felt like some pretty hard communication barriers, we still got 3 new sign-ups. Not our easiest night, but still moving forward.

• Night Three: Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Theatre This crowd was incredible—so many folks knew PRSL from Sing Us Home Fest and expressed genuine love for what we do. Punchline and Wheatus gave us a shout-out from the stage, and the immediate impact was clear—three new swabs right after. We passed out Narcan and talked harm reduction all night.

• Night Four: Washington, DC @ DC9. My initial impression: the venue’s adorable but tiny, and we're tucked into an awkward corner of a separate bar area. Definitely not ideal. With a rough night looming, I’m now second-guessing tomorrow’s day off hotel stay in Richmond, something I can't even cancel at this point. Financial stress is real. Then I look back on the night - we had the BEST night of swabbing of the tour with 8 added literally doubling the swab numbers for the tour.

A Moment for Mental Health: "It's Okay Not to Be Okay"

We will be reprinting the "I go to Therapy" shirts. We might go with a "Therapy is Cool" as a newer design along with this one.

This tour has been amazing so far with 16 swabs, but honestly, I’m struggling. I’m doing my best to stay upbeat—but if you know me, you know sometimes my light dims. Physically, I've been hurting badly—thankfully, changing shoes helped immensely (turns out, shoes matter, who knew?).

Mentally, though, it’s been heavy. I’m battling a lack of communication that makes me feel disconnected, like a burden. Touring means I'm not around enough to be part of people's everyday lives, and that loneliness can cut deeply. I crave genuine connection, and when it doesn't happen, the isolation feels overwhelming. I also just have some people who are not the best at communication. There are times where there is just straight silence and it drives me BONKERS.

Then comes the roughest mental wave—right now, I’m dealing with that time of the month when my body and brain decide to double down on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. I cry easily. Everything seems hopeless. My brain is being, quite honestly, a giant dick.

But I keep reminding myself that we'll prevail.

I hate that these blogs seem to showcase my mental health struggles so openly. But honestly, I don’t think I should have to hide it anymore. For so much of my life, I've felt forced to hide my emotions—to push down the sadness, the anxiety, the loneliness—because we were not allowed to talk about my mom's illness. My overall happiness seems to make people think I shouldn't have this kind of depression. If I am not smiling, I am told to smile. If I am struggling, sometimes people in my life take offense and get mad at me for my sadness.

But I’m tired of pretending I'm always fine. It's okay not to be okay, and maybe sharing these struggles openly can help someone else feel less alone. That’s why I write about it now. Because this is real life—and sometimes, real life is heavy, messy, and hard.

THANK YOU so much for everyone who supports and keeps this going. Next 5 days with Wheatus and Don't Panic.

DON'T PANIC THE LONG WAY

CHECK OUT DON'T PANIC HERE

XOXO. Tina