Hey Monea!'s Hard Rock Calling Tour Diary -- A Big Break in Front of 60,000

Canton, Ohio's Hey Monea! beat out 12,000 bands to win a spot playing the main stage at this year's Hard Rock Calling festival in England, performing on the same stage as Bruce Springsteen on July 15. The band's singer and guitarist, Dan Monea, was kind enough to keep a short diary of the trio's big break for us, and you can check it out below!

Tuesday, 3:30PM EST: Today is the day -- we're boarding our plane for London! Excitement, nerves and butterflies come to mind (please don't let us go Big Bopper on this plane ride before we get to play our big show). No sleeping now, too much on our minds, Gatwick here we come!

Wednesday, 7AM Greenwich Mean Time: We step off the plane in England, smooth sailing through customs until I see that Adam (Orin, bass) has been held up because on his customs paperwork under nationality and occupation he listed "Caucasian rock star". Well played, Adam. After several minutes of deliberation he was presumed harmless and Hey Monea! officially sets foot in the U.K.


Thursday, 4PM GMT: We arrive at "a taste of Hard Rock Calling", a VIP pre-party for artists and HRC personnel and media from all over the globe. We play a 15-minute acoustic set in between the Punch Brothers and Big Country. Shit is officially getting real. The set goes over really well and now we're getting super excited for the big show on Saturday! In the meantime, we're gonna visit as many sights (mostly pubs) as we can.

Friday, 8PM: After a long day of doing interviews, it's time to kick back and have a few cocktails and watch Soundgarden play. Amazing performance. After all these years, Chris and the boys still rock as hard as ever. Had a total fan moment at one point today when I looked over 15 feet from me in our trailer area to see Jimmy Page standing around having a beer and chatting. Awesome.

Saturday, 11AM: After going to bed early, which resulted in no sleep whatsoever, we're headed to Hyde Park for the big day! We arrive to do sound check only to find that it's pouring down rain and the stage is completely soaked. The good news is, all of our equipment has arrived and we sound check and are ready to roll!

Saturday, 1:50PM: Last warmups in our trailer and inspiring speeches to each other commence as camera crews arrive on the stoop of our trailer to follow us to stage. We do a last-minute interview backstage and it dawns on me that the beginning of the rest of our lives lie beyond the black curtain if we do what we came to do. As we take the stage, the crowd roars with excitement and 60,000 faces greet us as we play our first note. Id like to describe what is was like, but it was the fastest 30 minutes of my life. We came out energetic and excited and played our asses off! The crowd cheers enthusiastically after every song and every word we say. We say, "Thank you, London. Thank you, Hard Rock!" and make our way off the stage. It was a feeling like making love for the first time, going from boys to men in 30 minutes. I need a cigarette and a cocktail.

Saturday, 5PM: After about ten interviews, 100 pictures, and countless handshakes, the reality of what just happened has begun to settle in. Eight weeks of anticipation, excitement, nerves, and rehearsals landed us here. Pouring our hearts out on the same stage the The Boss will take in a few short hours. I'm proud of us, and excited for what the future brings. Time to take a breath and celebrate with my brothers in arms. Cheers!

Monday, 5PM EST: We land at the Akron-Canton airport with a hangover and a smile that can't be wiped off of our faces. We have more work to do than ever before in our lives, and we couldn't be any more excited to get started. Know this, you haven't seen the last of Hey Monea! Only the beginning. Not everyone gets a break like this and we know how lucky we are. Now we are out to prove that the right decision was made, and we will find our place in rock 'n' roll.