The 502s at Gasparilla Music Festival 2023. Credit: Photo by Ysanne Taylor c/o Gasparilla Music Festival

Hey honey, The 502s are doing a second leg of their “Nonsense All Night” tour to kick off the summer, and the run starts in downtown St. Petersburg this month.

Last year, the self-described beach-folk outfit signed with Nashville’s Big Loud Records, and celebrated by releasing its fourth studio album Easy Street. The 13-tracker, said to be one of the most upbeat albums of last year, opens with “Sayonara,” a ska-like farewell to negativity that’s pretty well-kept throughout the rest of the record. Frontman and main creative force Ed Isola follows with love letters to friends and lovers alike and assurance towards his listeners that life will be better one day, while also managing to sulk over a romance that’s fizzling out on “Quicksand.”

While there are other Florida shows on the roster, this Jannus Live gig—the band’s first in Tampa Bay since performing at the ultra-rainy, 2023 Gasparilla Music Festival—is the closest to a homecoming show the Maitland five-piece has lined up for this tour.

Ahead of his return to his old stomping grounds, Isola told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about the album that made him realize what he wanted to do with his life. Read his full quote below.

The album that changed everything for me was Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons. I first heard “Little Lion Man” at 7 a.m. while driving my brother and myself to high school. I was a senior, and up to that point, I had never considered music as a profession, let alone played an instrument or sung a song. Most of my time had been spent focused on athletics of all kinds.

But that morning, my brother, acting as the car DJ, put on “Little Lion Man.” Banjo, pounding kick drum, all that noise…it was a bit much for 7 a.m. So I think I asked him to turn it off about 30 seconds in. A week later, he insisted I give it another chance. This time, I listened all the way through. I was instantly hooked. We dove into the entire album together, instantly falling in love with all the songs. The authenticity and heart-on-the-sleeve nature of the music really resonated with me. I loved how it made me feel, I felt inspired and connected, even if I couldn’t quite explain why.

Not long after, that love for Sigh No More led us to a Mumford & Sons concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. That show truly changed everything. The songs I loved in recorded form came alive alongside several thousand people, all united in a 90-minute, euphoric experience. That was the moment I knew I wanted to play music for a living.

I went home, picked up the banjo, started writing songs, and eventually, the 502s were born. -Ed Isola, The 502s

Tickets to see The 502s play St. Pete’s Jannus Live on Thursday, May 21 are still available and cost $38.87.