Senses’ first headline tour brings them to Orlando

“Emo-friendly and punk-curious” — their words — rock band Senses are currently on the road in their first headline tour, dubbed “I’m Still Breathing,” and it’s bringing them to Orlando’s Conduit this week.

With support from MVSSIE and Negative 25, Senses take over Conduit Sunday. The tour commemorates the release of the band’s eponymous second EP, which dropped last month.

The Los Angeles-based band initially formed in 2019 when lead singer and guitarist Madison Taylor posted an ad on Craigslist.

“I was playing little shows by myself around L.A. and I just wanted to be more of that band-style again, so I put out a few Craigslist ads,” says Taylor. “I never used Craigslist before so I was like, ‘Well, this could go one of two ways.’ I put out an ad for a couple different positions and Nick was the first to respond.”

Conveniently, her soon-to-be bandmate, drummer Nick Sampson, was also scrolling through Craigslist at the same time.

“I just moved to L.A. and I was looking for drum gigs wherever I could find them. And so I was looking on Craigslist for just music people because I didn’t know anyone. I came across Mad and I liked all of her influences she put down so I just reached out,” Sampson says.

Qualms over finding bandmates via Craigslist aside, the duo found an instant chemistry after a trial session jamming out Paramore songs in a rehearsal studio. “He had sent over a couple videos of him drumming from the ad and I just remember being like, ‘Oh, he’s one of the more fun drummers to watch.’ He just moved a lot and it was so cool to watch his drum cover,” Taylor says. “When we got together, it just felt really natural, like there wasn’t any sort of weirdness. It was just kinda like two people trying to find other like-minded people and it worked out.”

Senses’ earliest touring experiences include support slots on Carlie Hanson’s and Leah Kate’s tours, both in 2023. “I’m Still Breathing” is their inaugural headlining run, an upgraded experience for the fans Senses has acquired along the way.

“We’ve grown a lot, I just feel like we know how everything ticks pretty much when it comes to just the RV, traveling, the gear and loading-in and soundcheck,” Sampson says. “Everything just runs a lot smoother than I think those first couple tours where you’re getting your bearings and seeing what works and what doesn’t work and really just fine-tuning everything. I feel like we’ve really just grown and elevated as a whole.”

The Orlando show is the band’s first time performing in Florida.

“I am very excited to go to Publix,” Sampson confesses.

Taylor’s grandmother, an avowed Senses fan, will finally attend her first show.

“My grandma lives there, so she’s never seen us on a tour before, so I’m really excited for her to be able to come to a show,” Taylor says. “She’s 98 and she’ll be in the pit.”

For their upcoming Conduit show, Taylor and Sampson encourage fans and newbies to be ready to dance, jump, shake and move. “We pride ourselves on just being a very high-energy show and we like to have fun. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we really like to make the crowd feel like they’re part of the show,” Taylor says.

Taylor and Sampson both grew up in musical households, influenced by their parents. With music integral to both of their upbringings, their experiences led to wanting to pursue a future playing and performing.

“I grew up doing musicals and stuff and was always chasing that feeling. I always felt the best when I was on stage performing. When my mom gave me her first guitar and I started writing songs and stuff, it just really kind of solidified that for me,” Taylor says.

With the release of their new EP fresh in their minds, Senses are already anticipating more releases later this year.

“We have a lot of music that we’ve compiled over the last summer. We’re kind of in an exploratory phase, I feel like nothing is really off-limits for us in terms of how we write,” Taylor says. “We’re going to have some time after this tour to get back into it and finish some things up, but you can expect a lot more music coming this year for sure.”

Their music is heavily influenced by their own life experiences, as well as their friends and peers. “Inspiration strikes kind of randomly and when it does, you just go with it,” Sampson adds.

Orlando fans: Take heart, maybe you can inspire a new song.

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Senses, MVSSIE and Negative 25 showed off potential and charisma at Conduit show

This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2025.