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The Big Break

The band’s first real break came in the summer of 2015. Isola had just graduated from 51����, and within 10 days of moving home to Maitland, he spotted an ad for a music festival headlined by Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers, just a couple of hours away in Okeechobee. The group signed up for a battle of the bands style competition, where anyone could enter for a chance to win a slot. They had no recorded songs at the time but they performed a few of the originals they’d been working on, and they won.

After years of family jam sessions and small open mic performances, Isola found himself playing alongside the likes of Post Malone, Lil Dicky and Robert Plant. In an especially surreal moment, he watched his long-time musical heroes, The Avett Brothers, wrestle each other next to the porta-potties.

“That was the first time I’d ever been backstage at a festival,” Isola said. “They put us in a tent right next to all the other performers’ trailers, so we got to meet everyone and take pictures with them. It definitely lit a fire in us to want to do more shows.”

Things moved quickly for the band after Okeechobee. They used their prize money from the battle of the bands competition to record their first four-song EP. Shortly after, Isola reconnected with middle school classmate Matt Tonner, who joined the band as the keyboardist. With six total bandmates and new instruments including the trumpet and saxophone, they set out to record their first album, Because We Had To, which they released in 2018. 

“We’ve all been in the band for the past five years,” Isola said. “It’s a weirdly cohesive group that just naturally came together over time."

Going Viral

For the first couple of years, as the band continued to play shows and build up a small following, Isola worked as a credit analyst at a bank in Orlando. That was until a video of the 502s performing their song “What to Do” in Isola’s grandfather’s went viral on YouTube. They soon began to receive offers to tour overseas for weeks at a time, and Isola realized he would have to leave his bank job behind. 

When he returned from touring, he found another job at a friend’s marketing company, designed specifically for musicians, that allowed him to work more flexible hours. In this role, Isola helped big name artists with their marketing approach and later applied what he learned to promoting his own band.

About a year ago, music became Isola’s full-time job. After releasing their sophomore album and several more EPs, the band’s audience continued to grow. Of the many shows they’ve played since their first festival, a few stick out to Isola as personal favorites and milestones of their success. 

Last summer, they fulfilled a long-time dream of playing at Bonnaroo. Last Halloween, Isola got married in Ireland and played a show there the same evening. Another favorite brought Isola back to his musical roots, when he stepped out on stage at the Evening Muse in Charlotte to find the small venue packed with 51���� classmates, wrestling teammates and friends. 

“I’ve always been very lucky to have a community of friends from 51���� who have supported me,” Isola said. “That air of enthusiasm and support has been the wind beneath our wings that has helped us succeed as a band.”  

The band has another EP on the way and much to look forward to. After this summer, they will have played at Hangout Music Festival on the beaches of Alabama and at Lollapalooza in Chicago. They return to Charlotte Wednesday, June 7, to play a . 

Isola is excited for the future of The 502s and pleasantly surprised by how far he’s come since the days of playing the banjo in his residence hall. 

“I think 51���� students tend to be a little hard on themselves,” he said. “So many people end up doing something totally different from what they planned. I did my best while I was there, and since then, I’ve just taken things one day at a time, which has led me to where I am now. Things tend to work themselves out.”