At Union Stage, Oliver Hazard made a home and invited everyone in

While Oliver Hazard settled into the green room for their biggest D.C. show to date, waves of raindrops assaulted the Wharf's boardwalk. The flood did, indeed, not wait.

A brave clan of umbrella-wielding folk fans scurried into the alley, past the bar, and down the Union Stage stairs, gathering in the photosynthesizing glow of a roomful of tiny lamps. What started as a bit of a joke between bandmates, lamps have become a mainstay of an Oliver Hazard show, both literally and figuratively. Frontman Michael Belazis described the lamps as "paying homage to [their] roots." From 2018 to 2020, the band played live shows in more than 100 living rooms across the country. Belazis joked that they weren't big enough to play a venue in the early days. Or at least, not big enough to play a venue and have people show up. So they took the music to the people.

That sentiment of home was threaded through Thursday night's show. Oliver Hazard is not the band for flashy stage setups or gimmicks. They've embraced and perfected the imperfect, creating a muted kick drum from an old leather suitcase, a jangle from a t-shirt-wrapped tambourine, and shortened chords from a four-string guitar. Belazis explained the origin of the makeshift guitar, saying "I used to play with a broken guitar that only had four strings, so I mute these two with this weird piece of foam that I found." I guess some things never change.

One of Oliver Hazard's specialties is the consistent three-part harmony between Belazis and bandmates Devin East (vocals, guitar) and Nate Miner (vocals, keys, mandolin). The trio's layered voices weaved between their discography with favorites from 34 N. River to the entirety of their latest EP, Waterville. For "Haunted," Belazis split the room in thirds, teaching each section a different harmony and bringing the whole room into the song. The band seemed to have a profound admiration for their fanbase, sharing their music with humility and gratitude. As such, Oliver Hazard has promised that any fan who attends 10 shows will walk away with their very own tiny lamp. Midway through the night, the band shut off their amplifiers for a set of (literally) unplugged tracks, all huddled around one carbon-style microphone. "Raindrop River," "Honey I'm Hardly," and "Wondering" got the acoustic treatment before ramping up to crowd pleasers as the evening came to a close.

The acoustic set gave way to a full-band return, energy climbing back up through the room as amps came back online. The crowd sang along loudest here, filling in the harmonies Belazis had taught them. Belazis poked fun at the encore tradition before the last songs, announcing that the band would walk offstage, hide behind the curtain, hope everyone cheered, then come back out to play a couple more. They did exactly that, returning to close with "Dandelion," a farewell song dressed up as see-you-later. Belazis delivered its last line like he meant it: "when I leave here, gonna live with you." Fans walked back out onto the boardwalk. The lamps still glowed. The rain had passed, and couldn't wash off the feeling of having just left home.

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