Show Review: Cartel – Richmond, 9/15 | The Broadberry

Back in 2005, Cartel released their debut LP, Chroma, an album that was regarded as one of the best pop punk albums of all time by Rock Sound and Loudwire, debuting at number two on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band broke into the scene and continued to release 3 additional albums. Cartel, currently composed of vocalist/guitarist Will Pugh and guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson, returned to the project in 2022 with two brand new singles.

Cartel just released a new version of their first album, Chroma – 2025, on September 12th to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The album also features Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday on the track “Q&A.”

Reflecting on Chroma and its importance to the past and future of the band, frontman Will Pugh shared that “Chroma will forever be interwoven in the DNA of this band’s legacy. This time around, it serves as a cornerstone for us to build on for everything that comes next, and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited.”

After releasing their fourth album Collider in 2013, the band took a break from music. They returned in 2022 with singles “17” and “The End,” two songs that I believe to be some of Cartel’s best, showcasing their experience with a mix of newfound passion as they returned to the scene. Pugh said ,“when we were writing ‘17’ and ‘The End,’ all we were concerned about was what Cartel would sound like right now – not what we sounded like earlier.” I believe this new perspective allowed the band to revisit Chroma with fresh eyes, seeing it as it was in the past, and wanting to reshape their sound as who they were in the present. Will Pugh stated, “the whole idea was to bring Chroma into a modern place sonically and reconcile the live versions of these songs with what is on record. Our hope is that current fans will rock out harder and that new fans will be able to discover these songs in a modern context.”

This past summer, Cartel returned to Warped Tour, stopping at two dates, and I was able to catch them in Washington, D.C. They were fantastic, and eager to see them again, I saw them on September 15th at the Broadberry in Richmond, Virginia, where I was able to photograph the show.

“Runaway” was fantastic live. The venue was packed, and the energy was felt from the front all the way to the back. The crowd clapped along to “Burn this City,” screamed along to “Settle Down,” and cried to “The Minstrels’ Prayer”.

Like Cartel sings in “Luckie St.”: “It’s time to roll the windows down / And feel the cold air all around / We are heading out of town / And not a thing can stop us now”

That is the type of vibe that Cartel’s music brings. Carefree days of our younger years, blasting this song in the car with your friends. The fans reconnected with their past and the people that they were back in 2005 when Chroma was originally released.

A cool feature of Cartel’s live performance is that they allowed the fans to vote on which songs they wanted to be a part of the encore. They chose “This Is Who We Are” to be played.

Overall, Cartel has officially made a resurgence in the scene and is here to stay. We need the pop punk music synonymous with the early and mid-2000s back in our lives. The guitar riffs and melodic choruses, and the drum beats that are staples in that genre of music, bring a certain vitality that I miss from my favorite albums in the 2000s.

Cartel’s rerecording of Chroma reflects the vibrancy of their live performances, a skill they’ve mastered over 20 years. Check out Cartel with HUNNY, Landon Conrath, and Macseal at future dates! You do not want to miss it! Purchase tickets and VIP packages at www.chroma20.com