Flyleaf and Lacey Sturm Celebrate 20 Years

By Sarah Swetz

Flyleaf first formed in 2002 in Texas with their debut album, Flyleaf, releasing in 2005. Members Sameer Bhattacharya (lead guitar), James Culpepper (drums), Jared Hartmann (rhythm guitar), Pat Seals (bass) reunited with lead vocalist Lacey Sturm in 2022 after she had taken time away from the band to be with her family. They set out this year to celebrate their 20th anniversary and they are bringing an amazing alt/Christian rock sound to 14 cities across the US.

July 11th, Flyleaf took to the stage for a sold out show at The Fillmore in Philadelphia with support from MYTCH and Zahna. MYTCH is a storyteller, bringing the audience on journey through music during his set. First being brought on stage with a sack over his head and an ominous voice introducing each song overhead. Each song is poetic, emotional and confessional. His performance was energetic and the audience was immediately engaged. It was surprising to see this much storytelling from an opening act and it was refreshing!

Then Zahna, a powerhouse vocalist who kept the energy going. The artist has faced many struggles – both physical with a tough health journey and spiritual – that are reflected in her lyrics. Her musicality and energy were insane and brought out even more enjoyment from the crowd. Later in the set, she brought out a special guest, Brian “Head” Welch (of Korn and Love and Death), to perform the song “Defiler”. The room went absolutely insane and it was an energy that built up perfectly for Flyleaf.

Flyleaf came in with immediate high energy performance, amazing musicality and vocals. They had a sold mix of songs from their discography and they barely took a break. Sturm who is usually much more vocal in between songs sharing her faith and beliefs with the crowd, didn’t make many comments until fairly far into the set. You could tell the focus was on the music and trying to perform as much as possible within their set. Everything about their set seemed like the band was at home, effortlessly moving through their songs with killer music and amazing vocals. It was truly a don’t miss show and Philadelphia showed up with energy to match them.