Every child has a dream career, regardless of if it is to be an astronaut, the president of the United States, a movie star, a football player, a princess, or something else. However, as children grow older and face the real world, most move on from these fantasies and choose to pursue something much more realistic. This ‘realistic’ job may not always be what they love, and they may not always be happy doing so. However, this ‘realistic’ job will pay the bills. That’s all that matters, right?

Many abandon their dream jobs when they realize the job is unrealistic or low-paying. Others believe they simply do not have what it takes to succeed in a specific field.

Then, there are some who shrug their shoulders at the money factor and work endlessly to pursue the career they dream of.

On Saturday, October 4th, five bands lived their dreams by taking up the stage at the Prince Music Theatre in Philadelphia as one of several shows in the Turn Up Tour, hosted by Hollywood Ending, a band derived in 2011 by four boys who lived absolutely nowhere near each other. Tyler Wilson, Cameron Byrd, Dan Geraghty, and Chris Bourne met on Skype one night, all with the common dream of thriving in the music industry.

The dream was unlikely; the boys were scattered all over the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the boys united, entered singing competitions, and followed bands’ tours in order to play acoustic shows outside of venues in order to attract fans and share their sound. By the summer of 2012, the boys headlined their first own tour in their music career.

“Headlining is the most fun because we love to play a longer set for our fans and seeing everyone go incredibly ham jumping to our songs,” said Byrd, the lead vocalist of Hollywood Ending.

While many fans were mainly captivated by the main act, others focused on the smaller opening bands who were more than happy to chat and spend quality time with fans before, during, and after the show.

The band had four opening acts, consisting of performances by Six Stories Told, The Millenium, Late Nite Reading, and Astro Safari USA, all of whom share the common dream of having their names up in lights.

Six Stories Told, a pop band from Walden, New York, was thrilled to be the first on stage and open with their original, Round and Round. The female vocalist, Joanna DeRosa, rocked the stage in her glamorous outfit, engaging with fans and singing her heart out with the help of her bandmates, Jesse Sheppard, Ben Langer, and Tyler McDermott.

“You know, it’s crazy,” said Sheppard, the band’s guitar player and backup vocalist, after the show. “You stand up on the stage and hear the roar of the crowd as you stare out, and it’s just like… wow. It’s insane. You kind of think, how the heck did this happen? It’s a great feeling.”

Even though not many fans were familiar with this opening band, the band captured fans’ hearts and had them screaming along the lyrics to a cover of the popular hit Burning Up by the Jonas Brothers.

Six Stories Told was not the only band to use this clever tactic. The next band to take the stage was The Millenium, a budding alternative band from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Fans were able to enjoy new music by this lesser-known band, but they were also able to sing along with Britney Spears’ famous song, Toxic.

The Millenium is a very new band that is already extremely successful. They only just formed back in January of 2014, and they have been on nonstop tour for months

“I can’t believe people are asking for pictures with me,” the Millenium’s guitarist Kyle Featherstone mused as fans held up their phones and cameras excitedly.

Late Nite Reading performed next, followed by Astro Safari USA then the headliner, Hollywood Ending. Fans screamed ecstatically as the lights dimmed while each band stepped onto stage, grinning out at the audience as they realized they were truly living their dream.

“The fans have been incredible. It’s always great seeing people in the crowd singing along to the new Anywhere EP. The more they feel it and rock it, the more energy I have to rock out,” wrote Chris Bourne in Hollywood Ending’s blog. “The future is looking really bright for us.”

Each band had fun spending time with its fans after the show. For some, hanging with the band members was just as fun as watching the performances. Not many bands take the time to get to know each of its fans.

“Without them [the fans], I wouldn’t have a reason to make music. They’re the only reason we do this,” said Dalton Wixom, the singer of Late Nite Reading. Though almost every band enthuses about its fans, not many go out of their way to show their true appreciation by spending so much time with the fans. Several of the bands are still surprised that they have made it this far and have such sweet, dedicated fans.

“I just still can’t believe I’m on tour,” multiple musicians at the concert similarly said after the show on Saturday.

Even bands who started out like openers like the Millenium and Six Stories Told and are now very well-known have a hard time grasping their fame. Most of these bands simply had a dream in high school, and these dreams combined with talent, passion, and determination led them to iTunes’ top charts and huge concerts that sell out instantly.

“When I was 12, I would listen to Blink’s live album and jam out in my grandparents’ basement on an unplugged guitar wishing I was in a band,” once tweeted Jack Barakat, the guitar player of the successful punk band All Time Low, a band that started playing basement shows in high school and is now selling out arena shows and touring across the world.

Whether these bands are making a mere hundred dollars from a concert or several thousands, most band members are ecstatic to literally live their dream; to stand on stage and do what they love both for themselves and for their fans.

“That’s what this is about,” said Sheppard. “We’re just doing what we love, and it’s great.”