Mid July in Birmingham, Alabama has come and gone meaning another Sloss Music and Arts Festival has as well. Day 1 brought in some big names to town like Run the Jewels and Widespread Panic, but it also brought some rain with it too. On an already saturated Sloss Furnace National Historical Landmark grounds, the rains came early and Sloss Fest became “Slosh Fest” with mud puddles popping up like last year. And like last year I didn’t see anybody that cared all that much.
CBDB
The early highlight of the day was seeing CBDB out of Tuscaloosa who seamed to really enjoy playing on such a large stage so close to home. Their faithful following brought a nice sized crowd considering the heat and early start time.
Mike Floss
The most unique stage at the festival had to be the Shed Stage. When Sloss was a production facility and this place produced cast iron parts, it is where the huge blast furnace that made the pig-iron was located and is the typical music venue onsite. It has more character than any other venue in the Southeast. Nashville native Mike Floss had the Shed stage bouncing early Saturday.
Conor Oberst
Later on the Steam Stage, Conor Oberst took the stage with a familiar face, “Home Town Hero” Taylor Hollingsworth, who has been touring with Oberst playing lead guitar.
Spoon
The best set of the afternoon goes to Spoon who have become one of the tightest bands that I have seen live. Coming off their small show at The EARL in Atlanta the night before, lead singer Britt Daniel sought and obtained attention from all the festival goers while blasting through their long list of hits.
Killer Mike of Run The Jewels
The rain started again during Spoon’s set and didn’t quit for a couple of hours but that didn’t stop Run the Jewels from destroying the Blast Stage later on that night. Basking in the success of their third album released earlier this year, the rap duo had Sloss Fest bouncing in the rain.
Widespread Panic
Last but not least was the southern rock band out of Athens, GA, Widespread Panic. This jam band has a faithful following that rivals any other band. As I was walking from the stage to the back of the large crowd to close out Day 1, I couldn’t help but notice how happy everyone was. You could almost forget that these thousands of people were dancing, singing and playing in 2 inches of mud. I think it says a lot about the spirit of Birmingham and our ability to enjoy life regardless of the circumstances.
Check out more photos from Sloss Fest 2017 Day 1 from Art Husband:
