Hometown band Twenty One Pilots returned to Columbus Friday to perform at Newport Music Hall the same day as the release of their sixth studio album "Clancy."
Hundreds of fans were already in a line stretching from 11th Avenue up to 14th Avenue to go to a pre-concert event at The Ohio State University Barnes and Noble bookstore. The marquee at the Newport reads "sold out," but some online resale ticket sellers were still hawking tickets for hundreds of dollars.
Twenty One Pilots traces its roots to Columbus where frontmen Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun grew up. The band performed at the Newport in their early days, before becoming a nationally-recognized alternative-pop band.
The band's new release "Clancy" contains 13 songs.
Jessi Wescott and her father Dan traveled from Atlantic City to see the band. Jessi said she graduated from high school recently and has been listening to the band for years. Dan said he was introduced to the band through their third album, "Blurryface."
The Wescotts have seen Twenty One Pilots multiple times in concert in Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Boston.
The two said this will be their first time seeing the band in such a small venue. The Newport holds 1,700 people at maximum capacity.
"I'm just really excited to see them up close because I've never seen them up close before. So it's going to be a great experience," Jessi Wescott said.
The concert kicks off the band's "Clancy" world tour. The band will return to Columbus later this year for a three-day concert span at Nationwide Arena from Oct. 4 to Oct.6.
