HIGHBALL 2023: The Saturday Edition – Day 1 Review

The inaugural Highball, a festival experience curated by Futurebirds, kicked off on Saturday under a perfect setting with stellar weather at Pullman Yards in Atlanta.

You really couldn’t ask for a better weekend for the first Highball in Atlanta. Fall in Atlanta just may be the best time of year, especially if it’s not raining, and as we previously experienced at the COVID delayed Shaky Knees in 2021 that took place in October outside of it’s normal late April/early May spot, there’s probably not a better time for a festival. Of course, here in the Southeast, a fall Saturday in October may not be considered the best time to try to throw a festival, yet Highball did a great job to make it work for everyone.

Walking into the two day festival, being the first iteration, and taking place at a new spot at the historic Pullman Yards, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Of course, going in, we expected a nice set up knowing the history behind the old rail yards of Pullman dating back to 1904, and in recent years taken over by the studios and helping make Atlanta the Hollywood of the South. In the last few years, Pullman Yards has become a mixed use facility on the historic grounds and has even hosted some concerts, including Andrew Bird this summer.

Upon arriving at Pullman Yards, we found easy parking right in front of the festival grounds and the two entrances, one for general admission, and one for VIP. Walking in, the first thing you saw was the new stage at Pullman Yards tucked in between two buildings and large wooden poles in front of the stage with different colored fabric providing shade under the poles in front of the stage, giving a gorgeous artsy feel. To your left as you walk in, alcohol stands ready to serve with $6 16 oz PBR, amongst other beers, to liquor drinks. To your right you immediately see Bulleit Frontier Whiskey with a nice display of Bourbons ready an autumn day. Just across from Bulleit was Georgia Hemp Company tucked against an old building with a nice setup of couches and more under a tent. The sign in front “High There” as they gave festival goers a chill area to drink their CBD drinks and multiple Hemp products, flower, and even CBD dog treats. Keep walking down that way was Tarpon Cellars, a Napa winery founded by a native Georgian, and you guessed it, friends of Futurebirds. This path also led to food stands like Roti Rolls, Sweet Auburn BBQ, Dank Dogs, Mothers Best, and Grindhouse Killer Burgers food truck. Very nice selections.

Inside the old Pullman building showed more of the thought put into this festival. There was a large open space with plenty of small tables to sit down, chill, and watch some college football on multiple TVs setup. This is SEC football season in the Southeast after all, and if anyone is well aware of that, Futurebirds understand this coming up in Athens, GA. There was also a merch area in this building.

Coming out of the building and heading towards the stage, there is a lifted concrete walk outside with the stage and pit area down below. Heading down that path was the VIP entrance, and once through, another room of the building dedicated to chilling for the VIPs. There was another merch setup, a little bit more elevated sitting area, and another private room with the VIP bar.

The next room down in the building past the VIP room was the “Guest” area, essentially an almost backstage area for the artists friends and family. And from the looks of it, like many Futurebirds’ shows in the Atlanta area, there seemed to be plenty of old friends and family amongst the different playing.

Truly, it was like a reunion, from inside the guest area, out into VIP and across the festival, you felt the sort of family reunion vibes, whether it was actual family, or old college friends getting together again for the first time in a while. It was all love throughout the Highball crowd.

Heading to the stage, besides the large poles up front, was a nice setting with good views all around and nice sound trapped between the two buildings. One side of the stage up front was dedicated to VIP, much like Candler Park Fest used to be, it may have been a little over half of the upfront area for VIP. And from my understanding, VIP was sold out, which bodes well for Highball being more than a one year in the flash type festival. And for General Admission, there was still plenty of great viewing up front, and like the VIP side, also had the lifted concrete walk alongside the GA side building, giving some nice viewing above the pit. Overall, it was a truly nice setup at Highball for this size festival.

On to the music….

With this festival curated by Athens, Georgia’s own Futurebirds, as we mentioned in our preview, it’s a great lineup with plenty to be excited about. While there is some versatility in the lineup, the reality is if you love the folk rock ‘n’ roll of Futurebirds, or if you are just a big fan of any of the artists, then you are probably going to dig the rest even if you came in not knowing the music beforehand. Well curated fest.

Highball kicked into gear with Athens’ T. Hardy Morris who not only showed off his songwriting chops, but also plenty of pure grungy rock ‘n’ roll.

Seratones out of Shreveport were up next. Frontwoman AJ Haynes bounced out onto the stage in a pink dress, on fire from start to finish. Whether it was the more rock ‘n’ roll songs with Haynes grabbing a guitar, or the more R&B tunes and Haynes dancing around the stage, Seratones put on a hell of a set. Sometimes it was Haynes’ voice that revved through the crowd, other times it was the guitar or organs that sang to everyone’s ears, creating a euphoric wall of sound.

Next up on the lineup was Wednesday out of Asheville, NC, and probably the biggest buzz band on this lineup in 2023. The band’s fifth album, Rat Saw God, will certainly end up easily on this guy’s year end top 5 albums list, and no doubt will end up high on many publications lists after garnering critical acclaim all around. After catching Wednesday live for the first time back in April at Terminal West, a packed out, incredible show full of revved up Wednesday fans, I was interested to see how their live set translated in a much different setting. Outside, during the day, with the crowd starting to fill in, well, Wednesday was just as good as they were under the lights. As the band veered between perfect folk rocks songs and onto their more grunge country rock ‘n’ roll, lap steel guitarist Xandy Chelmis continued to shine. Guitarist Jake Lenderman, aka MJ Lenderman, was on fire and certainly had his own set of fans every time he stepped into the spotlight. And then of course the amazing songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, Karly Hartzman, who’s passion and powerful screams bring it all together with songs that are relatable today in 2023, and can completely rock your socks off. The hype is real, and the hype is legit when it comes to Wednesday.

With the sun finally setting, Futurebirds came on for the first of two sets over the weekend. By this point, the crowd was packed and ready. You saw a crowd full of people, catching up over hugs and their beloved band from Athens, Futurebirds. This was a feeling that was reciprocated by the Futurebirds for the crowd throughout their set. The band was clearly having a blast putting Highball together and bringing their vision to life. Like any Futurebirds set, the energy was high from the get go. There were 4 part or more harmonies, there was the switching of lead singers per song, there were sing alongs with the crowd, guitars in the air, fists pumping and more. Oh, and to end their 14 song set, Ben Bridwell joined them onstage for the last two songs that included a Brooks & Dunn cover, “Neon Moon”, and “Trippin”, a song off Futurebirds’ 2020 album Teamwork that Bridwell collaborated on. Hell of a fun, first set from Futurebirds.

Headlining the first night of Highball was none other than Band of Horses. While originally founded and listed as Seattle band, the reality is they’ve always been a Southeast band with lead singer Ben Bridwell born in South Carolina, and now residing and based out of Charleston for years. Bridwell is also a huge Georgia Bulldogs and Braves fan and has really become part of a strong music scene in Charleston over the years; a scene that shares a lot of love with their brothers and sisters here in Georgia, like good friends the Futurebirds.

Over the enthralling 19 song set by Band of Horses, the band hit on all the songs that have become so beloved over the years with a lot of early hits like “The Great Salt Lake”, “Is There a Ghost”, “Weed Party”, and “Marry Song” before ending with “The Funeral” and “The General Specific”. They also covered INXS’ “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, providing a diverse set of dancing and plenty euphoric moments. What a great way to end Day 1 of the Inaugural Highball.

All photos by Mike Gerry