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Summerfest Highlights: July 1st
With so many acts over the course of nearly two weeks, the highlights reel of Summerfest is endless. The festival kicked off June 28th, and headliners range from classics like Paul Simon and Tom Petty to new popstars like The Chainsmokers and Alessia Cara. With over ten stages, those are just the tip of the iceberg.
This past Saturday, we traveled to Milwaukee to get in on some of the fun by checking out the likes of The Naked and Famous and Bleachers. In case you missed it, here are the top three moments of that day, as well as the full photo gallery!
Flint Eastwood Called The Crowd Out
I've only had to privilege of seeing Flint Eastwood perform twice now, but both times, she's blown me away with her endless supply of positive energy. Some performers, especially those at festivals, accept the fact that the whole crowd isn't there to see them, but Jax Anderson (Flint Eastwood's real name) doesn't let anyone use that as excuse to not get involved with the music. "Nobody is too cool for this," Anderson addressed the Milwaukee crowd, encouraging everyone to stand up, put their hands up, and sing the hook of her song "Monster" back to her. "We're going for loud, not pretty," Anderson also told the Summerfest audience, encouraging everyone to give as much energy as possible. By the end of the set, everyone had loosened up and reciprocated the energy that Anderson exudes during every single one of her shows.
MUNA Performed New Songs
The trio MUNA were everywhere last summer, playing major festivals like Lollapalooza and touring with Børns...and it doesn't seem to be slowing down this year. Fronted by Chicagoan Katie Gavin, the now LA-based group also consisting of Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson are on the road with Bleachers currently, and they will be out with Harry Styles in the fall (no big deal). Despite their insane touring schedule, Gavin introduced two of their songs performed during Summerfest as new ones, called "In My Way" and "Loser." MUNA's debut album just came out in February, so as a big fan of their work, it's pretty exciting to hear there's already new material in the works.
Bleachers Reminisced...and Then Stripped
Shortly before Jack Antonoff's band Bleachers took the stage as headliners on Saturday night, Michelle from FM 1021 (the local alternative station) introduced them, reminding the crowd that Bleachers had played one of their first ever shows at Summefest 2014. Well, Michelle isn't the only one that remembers that performance...about halfway through their set, Antonoff recalled bandmate Mikey taking his sweatshirt off during the 2014 set and the crowd going wild. Mikey proceeded to take off his jacket, getting the same rowdy response this time around. The band also performed new songs from the latest Bleachers album, Gone Now.
Photo gallery of The Naked and Famous, Flint Eastwood, Calum Scott, MUNA, and Bleachers.
Summerfest is still going on through July 9th. Grab tickets and checkout the lineup here.
PHOTOS: Lola Marsh at Schubas Tavern 6.29.17
Tel Aviv group Lola Marsh played their first ever show in Chicago on Thursday night at Schubas Tavern. Check out the full gallery of their captivating and charismatic set.
Listen to Lola Marsh's debut album Remember Roses below.
Can't get enough of Lola Marsh? Check out our interview with them here.
PHOTOS: Big Thief at Tralf Music Hall 6.29.17
Photo gallery of Big Thief at Tralf Music Hall in Buffalo New York on June 29th, 2017.
Listen to Big Thief's new album Capacity in full below. Chicago, catch them at Millennium Park on July 17th, as part of the free summer concert series.
Can't get enough Big Thief? Check out our review of their set at TNK Fest 2017 here.
PHOTOS: Mamby On The Beach Saturday Highlights
We got to attend the beautiful Mamby on the Beach Festival 2017 with our pals at JBTV. Check out the highlights of Day 1, featuring SHAED, Phoebe Ryan, Raury, Local Natives, and MGMT...as well as the stunning atmosphere and friendly people at the fest!
You can view these photos on JBTV's Facebook Page as well!
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PHOTOS: Bassel & The Supernaturals at Taste of Randolph
Gallery of Bassel & The Supernaturals at Taste of Randolph Festival this past weekend.
PHOTOS: TROIX (Eaux Claires 2017)
Day 1: Friday, June 16th.
Featuring People Mixtape Vol. 1, Francis Teaches Dance, This Is The Kit, The Autumn Defense, Bon Iver Presents: A John Prine Tribute, Francis and the Lights, and Chance The Rapper. Read about the highlights here.
Day 2: Saturday, June 17th
Featuring People Mixtape Vol.2, The Sad Saxes, This Is The Kit, Jenny Lewis, Perfume Genius, Feist, Paul Simon, Wilco. Check out Day 2 highlights here.
Eaux Claires Day 2: The Highlights
The second day at Eaux Claires 2017 carried even more collaborations and improvisations, which make up the core of the festival. Although there had been a potential thunderstorm brewing all day, the rain held off until the evening, which is when the festival organizers had to improvise with the schedule. Tune in to find out which artists teamed up on Saturday, who played surprise sets, and how the fest made up for the change in schedule.
The Creek Acted as a Collaboration Hub
Just like Day 1, The Creek stage opened on Saturday with a People Mixtape set. The second volume of People Mixtape remained instrumental and came across as a genuine jam session between friends (which is what a lot of the performances at Eaux Claires really are). After entrancing the group with the 1PM mixtape set, Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon returned to same stage only a couple of hours later, to perform as Big Red Machine. For this collaborative set, Dessner and Vernon were joined by even more of the acts playing the festival, like s-t-a-r-g-a-z-e and Mouse on Mars. With their jam-packed line up and debut of new music, Big Red Machine was able to draw a huge crowd to one of the festival's smaller stages.
Eaux Claires curators Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner performing People Mixtape Vol. 2
The Sad Saxes Joined This Is The Kit
This Is The Kit once again made it onto the highlights list. After an incredible performance at the Flambeaux stage on Day 1, This Is The Kit now moved their set into the woods at The Oxbeaux Stage on Saturday. Once again joined by Aaron Dessner, the three piece of Kate Stables, Rozi Plain, and Jamie Whitby-Coles were also joined by The Sad Saxes. Although the two groups were working together on the fly, with Stables at one point explaining to the saxophone choir how she envisioned their contribution, the collaboration paired perfectly and sounded well-rehearsed. At Eaux Claires, there's never any shortage of really talented musicians going with the flow to make something special together. At the end of the mesmerizing set, the crowd gave a standing ovation.
Kate Stables of This Is The Kit performing at The Oxbeaux
Jenny Lewis Packed the Sparreaux Stage
Featured as an "Artist in Residence," Jenny Lewis was never officially on the 2017 lineup. On Friday, a set named "Jenny Lewis and Friends" appeared unannounced in the app, set to occur at 3:30 on one of the smallest stages, the Sparreaux stage. Well before the start of the set, an overflowing crowd camped out to be able to see this special, last-minute set. Lewis described herself and her friends as "Hawaiian psychedelic swing band" from Minneapolis, called Econo Lodge. The set opened with an improvised performance before moving into the crowd favorite "Just One Of The Guys."
Jenny Lewis at her surprise set
Feist Played Her Entire New Album
Shortly before Feist was set to take the stage, Eaux Claires narrator Michael Perry took the stage to announce a change in schedule. "There's only one thing we care about more than art," he said, adding that they would be improvising some schedule changes due to safety concerns with the incoming storms. Feist ended up getting a 15 minute extension on her set, which she used to play her new album Pleasure from start to finish. Between the songs, Feist would explain her vision behind the lyrics and compositions, vividly describing one song as the chase scene in a movie. She ended her set by singing out her appreciation for the crowd and her excitement over seeing Paul Simon perform later.
Feist performing before the rain hit
The App Revealed Paul Simon and yMusic's Set List
Paul Simon's set at the festival acted as the debut performance of a collaboration with yMusic. Although this set had originally been bumped up to 7:30 from 8:30 with the oncoming storms, a downpour hit the festival during Danny Brown's set. When Simon and the yMusic ensemble eventually took the stage around 8PM, the official festival app paired with the setlist, announcing the songs as they started. Similarly to Bon Iver's performance last year, festival goers were able to keep up with the order of songs in real time.
Paul Simon performing with yMusic
The Festival Organized an After Party After Wilco
The collaborations and surprises don't end there--Day 2 also featured a set from Field Report at The Decorum, and after a stunning performance from Wilco that closed out the festival, it was announced on Bon Iver's Twitter that some of the evening's cancelled performances from the smaller stages were being moved to the Lismore Hotel in downtown Eau Claire. Sets at The Lismore included Mouse on Mars and Velvet Negroni.
Wilco closing out the night
While the festival may be over for this year, we'll soon be posting photo galleries and interviews with The Autumn Defense and This Is The Kit from the weekend. Stay tuned for those and start counting down the days until Eaux Claires 2018!
Words and Photos by Rachel Zyzda
Eaux Claires Day 1: The Highlights
On Friday, June 16th Wisconsin's beloved Eaux Claires festival returned in full force, with its signature artist collaborations, surprise sets, and art installations involving crowd participation. Although there were many highlights, Friday undoubtedly belonged to Francis (of Francis and The Lights). Read on to find out what surprises day one entailed, which traditions carried on, and how Francis stole the show with not one, but four appearances.
Early Arrivers Got a Special Show at The Creek
If you're an EXC veteran, you know that the formal schedule is never really the full list of all of the performances, and that live collaborations and guest performers are what make Eaux Claires so special. So naturally, going into day 1, the 12:15 slot on The Creek Stage labeled as "People Mixtape Vol. 1" sparked some curiosity. Sure enough, at 11:45 the app sent out a notification that the performance would include Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner, the curators of the fest. (Side note: if you read our preview of Eaux Claires, you know that the app is a must.) The intimate set for the early festival arrivers featured what Vernon and Dessner described as a "work in progress," but the performance went over so smoothly. Francis also joined the band for the first half of the set, disappearing towards the end for a reason that was also revealed in the app notifications.
Justin Vernon performing during People Mixtape Vol. 1
Francis Gave A Dance Lesson
As noted earlier, the app sent out another notification before the end of the People Mixtape performance, alerting festival goers that Francis would be teaching dance at The Decorum stage at 1 PM. The roughly 45 minute performance featured an introduction with the house dance team of the festival, delivering a moving, beautiful, and entertaining opening number. Following up their opening moves, Francis himself took the stage to many cheers to teach the crowd the "Friends" and "May I Have This Dance" dances. The crowd loved it and happy obliged after Francis instructed them to try the moved featured in these songs. This performance represents a perfect example of why Eaux Claires stands out from any other festival...the spur of the moment, unique experience added some unexpected fun into many of the festival-goers days.
Francis teaches the art of dance
This Is The Kit Teased Their New Album
The Bristol-born, Paris-based This Is The Kit provided some soothing early afternoon tunes on the Flamebeaux stage. During their set, the frontwoman Kate Stables mentioned the band's upcoming album Moonshine Freeze will be out July 7th, and they performed some of the new tracks like "Bulletproof" and the title track "Moonshine Freeze." Aaron Dessner also joined the band onstage, as he had produced their previous record and helped out by playing on the upcoming record. If you missed out of their brilliant performance yesterday, catch them again today at 2PM on the Oxbeaux Stage.
Eaux Claires curator Aaron Dessner joins This Is The Kit
Francis Asked The Crowd To Have This Dance
As the Eaux Claires evening set in, the crowd got ready for a full Francis and the Lights performance back on The Creek stage. By far one of the most packed performances of the day, the set easily could have taken place on one of the main stages, but the more intimate setting made for an incredible experience. Although the set started off slow, with Francis sitting at his keyboard, he got things moving about 15 minutes in, working the entire stage, which includes two ramps on the side. Last year, Francis closed out the festival, debuting "Friends" with Justin Vernon and a surprise appearance from Chance The Rapper. This year, he brought up his choreographer to the stage, and the crowd still went wild for the viral song. Closing out his set, Francis played his other crowd favorite "May I Have This Dance," asking some lucky audience members if they'd like to join him on stage. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience, the impromptu backup dancers were all smiles when the song finished. Francis was such a hit with his overflowing crowd that they even demanded an encore and he obliged.
Impromptu dance party during Francis and the Lights
Justin Vernon Got Pissed Off About Balloons
Following Francis's set, everyone rushed to the main stage, Lake Eaux Lune, to see the set officially labeled "Bon Iver Presents John Prine & The American Songbook." The nearly 2 hour set featured all sorts of live collaborations, surprise guests, rain...and balloons. Towards the start of the set after Jenny Lewis and Mountain Man had joined Justin Vernon onstage, Vernon called out the many balloons floating around in the crowd, admitting that they were pissing him off, if he's being honest. Despite his annoyance with the balloons, Vernon continued to deliver a magical set with the likes of The Staves, Field Report, This Is The Kit, Spank Rock...and John Prine himself. Although it started to downpour towards the end of the set, nothing could put a damper of this special performance.
John Prine Tribute
Chance Closed Out The Night With Friends
Last year, Chance attended Eaux Claires via sneak attack, showing up unannounced for the very end of Francis and the Lights' set, where we saw Chance, Francis, and Justin Vernon perform "Friends" (including the epic dance moves). This year, Chance came in full force, with his backing band The Social Experiment and a big-scale production. Just about halfway through his performance, Chance flipped the script on last year's performance of "Friends," this time inviting Francis and Justin to join his set for the performance. Before we witnessed this Eaux Claires tradition, Francis first joined Chance to perform their remix collaboration of Francis's song "May I Have This Dance," followed by "Summer Friends." After his guests left the stage, Chance continued his massive show, which included confetti during his hit "No Problem." The most special part of Chance's show was that despite the huge crowd and full blown production backing him, he performed graciously and humbly.
Chance is joined by Justine Vernon and Francis
Stay tuned for Day 2 highlights and a full gallery of all the highlights from the festival. As always, follow along on our social media for live updates throughout the day.
Word and Photos by Rachel Zyzda
OXBEAUX 2017: A Prex Claires Kick Off At The Oxbow Hotel Featuring The Shouting Matches and More
Last night the town of Eau Claire got ready for the third annual Eaux Claires Festival (AKA TROIX) with four incredible bands, all performing in the parking lot of the new Oxbow Hotel. Kicking off the evening, EC’s very own trio Idle Empress took the stage promptly at 7:30 PM, playing a half hour set. Fronted by Laura Anderson, the band performed their hypnotizing indie tunes, Anderson’s haunting vocals striking the evening crowd. After a short stage change, Minneapolis’s DEM YUUT took the stage right around 8:20, the band’s frontman beginning to sing their opening song off stage. Their loop-heavy electronic-tinged indie music possessed traces of Sir Sly and The Neighbourhood influences, yet their songs all packed a refreshing and unique twist. Check them out next month on tour with Now, Now.
Taking us towards the end of the evening, Milwaukee’s own Field Report made their comeback on the Oxbow Hotel stage. Although the band mentioned it had been a while and they only recently started playing again after they’d been on hiatus, the four band members exuded a complete sense of comfort and ease playing together. Their performance had an air of effortlessness, yet it was still packed with passion and entranced the entire crowd. Closing out the night, The Shouting Matches graced the stage with one of their rare live performances. The legendary trio of Phil Cook, Brian Moen, and Justin Vernon became a foursome with musician Jill Heinke joining them onstage, and together they ended the evening in epic fashion. Although Cook and Vernon joked that they didn't practice much when they had to re-intro a song, their set had a magnetic, magical energy to it, similar to the vibes at Eaux Claires Festival. The crowd remained hooked and eager for more during The Shouting Matches 45 minute set, which acted as the perfect teaser for the weekend ahead.
Check out our photo galleries of each of the bands at the OXBEAUX event last night, then keep your eyes on all of ANCHR's socials this weekend for more coverage of TROIX.
