Storms Clear for a Night of Rock with Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and Return to Dust

Setlists & Snapshots: Mixtape with Bonnie’s Summer Tour 2025

Gilford, NH — September 14, 2025

A night of rock ’n’ roll — it’s just what our world needs right now. There’s nowhere else where thousands gather for the same reason: music. Everyone felt the same vibe and was excited for a night of head banging, fist raising, crowd surfing sing alongs.

The Calm Before the Storm

Before doors even opened, the skies threatened chaos — rain, thunder, the works. But once the skies cleared, you could practically feel the anticipation crackle in the air. A sold-out crowd packed the house at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion. As the air temperature dropped, the stage kept getting hotter and hotter. Rock would be the warm blanket tonight.

Houselights – New Hampshire locals

Bank of New Hampshire Pavillion offers up the Hazy Little Stage to local band Houselights, priming the crowd for the big night ahead.

Return to Dust: Young Guns Coming Up

Return to Dust, the four-piece from Midlothian, Texas, came out with more than 30 minutes of hell-raising metal. They’ve known each other since middle school, and it shows — in the tightness, the camaraderie, and that fearless energy.

Matty Bielawski – Guitar, Vocals
Graham Stanush – Bass, Vocals
Sebastian Gonzalez – Lead Guitar
London Hudson – Drums

Setlist Included: Summer Rain – Shine – Face Down

Killer set. Surprising support from early arrivals.- and expect nothing less than continued support for this foursome. Young voices growing in confidence. Looking forward to hearing more from these guys as they earn their “on the road” stripes.

Three Days Grace: Hits, Surprises & Sing-alongs

By the time Three Days Grace hit the stage, the energy was electric. The crowd chanting “Three Days Grace!” created an electric energy no one could deny. Early crowd surfing broke out, and you could see how badly folks wanted to be part of something big tonight.

Set included: Animal I Have Become – So Called Life – Break – Rooster (Alice in Chains Cover) – Never Too Late – Riot

Right as Three Days Grace launched into Animal I Have Become, the stage exploded in white strobes, slicing through darkness and illuminating the crowd like lightning. For that moment, you felt everyone breathing together — every flashlight, every crowd-surfing hand caught in the beams. The Alice in Chains cover “Rooster” was unexpected, the kind of curveball that gets people talking. Then “Never Too Late” had everyone singing along under the open sky. “Riot” left no room for silence. The kind of energy that Three Days Grace brings to their fans is returned 10x!

Breaking Benjamin: Fire, Family, and Future

As Breaking Benjamin took the stage around 9:45 PM, the pavilion pulsed with expectation. And they didn’t just meet it — they exceeded it.

With Ben’s son on stage, you could feel it — the lineage is real, the passion passed down. The future of rock is growing up right before our eyes.

Setlist Included: Awaken – Blow Me Away – The Diary of Jane – Dear Agony – Dance with the Devil – Polyamorous

Breaking Benjamin’s lighting rig was next-level: razor-sharp spotlights followed Benjamin Burnley across the stage, shifts from saturated crimson to deep sapphire during Dear Agony, then full flood washes of golden white for I Will Not Bow. Even though it was hard to get a clean photo without blur, the energy was undeniable. They pulled off explosive moments — “Dance With the Devil” creeping in darkness, “You” bringing intimacy, then raising the roof with “I Will Not Bow” and “The Diary of Jane.” Breaking Benjamin’s fans showed up from all over and didn’t want to go home – the night could have gone on forever.

Final Take

From Houselights’ intimate beginnings, through Return to Dust’s unbridled rising energy, Three Days Grace’s classic anthems, to Breaking Benjamin’s performance — tonight was more than just a concert. It was proof that the next generation is here, that community still matters, and that rock ’n’ roll still burns with passion.

To everyone there: you didn’t just witness a show, you lived a moment. And Gilford will remember this one for a long time.

Review: Bonnie M. for WSCA FM, Portsmouth Community Radio

Photos: Bonnie M.

Instagram: @photographybybonnie

Tiktok: @photographybybonnie

Setlists & Snapshots: Mixtape with Bonnie’s Summer Tour 2025