Being an opening act is tough. Half-empty venues, indifferent spectators, brief soundchecks—it's all part of the drill. Indeed, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but hey… you gotta start somewhere. Still, sometimes a ray of sunshine in the middle of a slog is all one needs to take elevate their game. That's what happened to vocalist Daniela Villarreal of The Warning, who are currently out on tour in support of the mighty Halestorm on their co-headlining jaunt with The Pretty Reckless.
During The Warning's set at a stop in Austin this week, Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale presented Villarreal with a Gibson Explorer, as an unsuspecting Villarreal was waiting for her tech to bring her a new ax. Later that day, she expressed her appreciation for Hale in a post to Instagram.
"What a day! Lzzy Hale I cannot even begin to explain what this means to me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. You are my biggest inspiration and I can't believe I get to share this tour and these moments with you. I love you very very much! I'll make sure to rock the hell out of this guitar." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dany Villarreal (@dany.thewarning)
A video of Dany receiving the guitar from Lzzy can be seen in the second slide of the post. Not long after, Ms. Hale herself added this comment to the post:
"Darling, I cannot even tell you how long I've been waiting for someone to ignite me with passion and inspiration on the guitar. You have done that for me," Hale wrote. "And just like a very generous man did for me way back in 2005… I finally got to pay it forward. You and your sisters are going to take over the world. Rock is in very good hands. Don't let anyone take your crown or try to make you into anything you're not… keep your eyes up and your heart ablaze. You are a bright light in such a dark and crazy world. My heart is so happy!"
Folks, if you ask me, this is more of what we need in the world today. The Halestorm/The Pretty Reckless tour, featuring The Warning and Lilith Czar in support, wraps up this month. The final dates of the trek can be found below.
8/5 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
8/7 – Grand Junction, CO – Los Colonias Amphitheater
8/9 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre
8/10 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
8/12 – Portsmouth, VA – Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
