Wolf Alice made their live comeback in Chicago, after taking a hiatus from the road to write and record their new album Visions of a Life. Their intimate set at Schubas Tavern included brand new, live debuts of a few songs from the upcoming album. Check out the photo gallery and the set list from the night!
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.
Tel Aviv group Lola Marshplayed 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 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 2017here.
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!
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 highlightshere.
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.
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!
