Michigan-based screamo band La Dispute is playing at Newport Music Hall Sunday along with rock bands Thrice, Moving Mountains and O’Brother. The doors open at 6 p.m.

The band kicked off its U.S. tour Friday in New Jersey to promote the release of its second full-length album, “Wildlife.”

“I would argue this is one of the best tours we’ve been on in a while,” said drummer Brad Vanger Lugt.

While on tour, frontman Jordan Dreyer said the reaction of the audience to their new material is something he hasn’t gotten used to.

“For one, as an artist, you make music for yourself and for the people immediately around you than I think you do for outside approval,” Dreyer said. “But I think any artist would be kidding themselves if they … didn’t admit that it matters what other people think.”

While he hasn’t gotten used to hearing handfuls of people singing along to their songs at concerts, Dreyer said it’s flattering when they do.

“To have people paying attention is a pretty awe-inspiring thing,” he said. “It makes playing the songs even more fun than it already is.”

On this tour, Dreyer said half the show consists of their older songs while the other half is from the new album.

The writing process for the album started in 2008 with the release of the previous album, “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River between Vega and Altair.”

“One of the biggest things we wanted to do was to challenge ourselves as individuals and as a group,” Dreyer said. It was all about trying to top what they’ve already accomplished, he said.

The inspiration used to write “Wildlife” came from different aspects of life in general and not other musicians or events, Dreyer and Vanger Lugt said.

“A lot of it was just how we’ve grown as people and as musicians since the last record came out,” Dreyer said.

Before they became touring musicians, the band started playing together for fun in Grand Rapids, Mich. Starting in 2004, the band practiced in a warehouse and liked to perform at local bars with encouragement from those around them, Dreyer said.

“It’s really incredible for us to be a part of a community that is accepting and tolerant and loving and self-sustaining in a way,” he said. It gives him a very large extended family, “which is a great feeling,” he said.

While La Dispute’s music is well known to them, not many people on Ohio State’s campus are familiar with the band.

Josh Edwards, a first-year in exploration, said while he’s not a fan of the band’s heavy style of music, he is a fan of how it’s getting its name known.

“When bands are able to come … and get exposure, especially on such a big campus like this … (that helps) so they can actually do something with their band,” Edwards said.

Touring the U.S. and gaining exposure for the band all go into what inspires the members most — life. That inspiration actually transcends the lyrics in the songs and goes into other aspects of the member’s lives, Dreyer said.

“The thing we love the most is not just the act of creating (music) … but also all the ways that which that (music) extends into other things: the friends you make, the people you meet, the situations that you’re in,” Dreyer said. “That’s a very all-encompassing feeling.”