And like that it’s done. The festival that had Birmingham buzzing has come and gone. Sloss Music and Arts Festival played host to thousands of diehard music fans willing to brave the heat and rain. Unfortunately, this year had both. The weather did play a larger role this year than in the three years prior, but it did not keep the performers and their fans from making the most of the situation and creating some everlasting memories.
Saturday started off with a rain shower right before the gates opened, but the grounds held up and the crowds flooded in.
First up was Jack Berry from Reno, Nevada. He currently calls Nashville home. Jack Berry’s set was full of hard hitting rock and roll that stands up and gets your attention. He was a late add when Waxahatchee needed to be replaced and was one of my top three sets of the weekend. It was a bummer not to see Katie Crutchfield but props to Red Mountain Entertainment for finding a great replacement.
Next on the Blast Stage was Walden from Athens, Georgia. Walden is a four-piece band with tons of energy coming off their recent release of their EP titled Green Lights. Their career got a big boost last year after they won the Road to Bonnaroo competition for the state of Georgia.
Every year when the Sloss Fest schedule is released, the first thing to do is check the Shed Stage to see who’s scheduled to blow the roof off the enclosed stage. The Shed Stage always hosts some of the wildest sets at Sloss Fest year after year. With acts like Quinn XCII, Jai Wolf and Vic Mensa, I knew Saturday would not disappoint. My first set to shoot there was Flagship with Bright Antenna Records. A rock band out of Charlotte, they delivered good vibes and fun dance along songs.
Those that attended this year’s Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta’s Central Park know what kind of energy *repeat repeat brings to the stage. Led by the married couple of Kristyn Corder and Jared Corder, one of the highlights of *repeat repeat’s set at Sloss Fest was when they covered The Dandy Warhols’ “Bohemian Like You”. Listed as Bi-Coastal Beach Pop, their sound gets you moving to the beat and there were plenty of devoted fans doing that until the set was cut short due to severe weather in the area.
This became a theme of the weekend. Warnings labeled CODE RED flashed all over every screen instructing everyone to seek shelter under the highway overpass and the Shed Stage. That lasted a little while and then the entire festival grounds were evacuated for an hour and half. This would’ve made more sense to everyone if it was raining, but there was little rain at the festival with only the slight rumble of thunder every once and a while.
The weather did start to clear eventually, and they reopened the gates at 6:30pm. The updated schedule did bare the bad news that anticipated sets from Big Freedia, Lany, White Reaper and more had to be cut. Fans were disappointed but there was little time to be thinking “what if” because Moon Taxi took to the Blast Stage. The band lifted the eager crowd back up to where it was before the rain. The hometown brothers of Trevor Terndrup and Tommy Putnam and the rest of Moon Taxi didn’t waste any time breaking out some of their bigger hits equipped with confetti and all.
Next up were two more hyped sets on the Shed Stage by Quinn XCII and Jai Wolf. While both might fall under the EDM genre, they both have their own unique sound. Hailing from Detroit, Quinn XCII, with Columbia Records, had a backup drummer (that was killing it) with a full kit and keyboard player which gave his set a more traditional sound. Jai Wolf, with Mom + Pop Music, had a more electronic sound but the crowd was equally into both.
The next stage up was the Steam Stage with Vance Joy getting going first and then Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Vance Joy seemed genuinely happy to be performing in Birmingham that night. His set featured all his past and current hits and a cover of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long”.
Jason Isbell’s set was a bit more familiar to the Alabama crowd. The Florence, Alabama native sang about his home state and how proud he is to be from the south. The Sloss Fest crowd, of course, showed their appreciation for the Grammy-award winning native.
The two last performances on the Blast Stage ended up being 21 Savage and Arcade Fire. Separated by only Isbell’s set, the pairing helps bring to light the amount of variety this festival has had from day one. 21 Savage’s hype man took the stage right on time and spent a few minutes earning his title. Then the man himself took the stage. 21 Savage enjoyed an overwhelming amount of love from just beyond the pit. The crew was hanging on to every syllable and singing along to every hook.
Capping off the first day of Sloss Fest was none other than Arcade Fire. There was a buzz throughout the festival as they began to take the stage, including both loving fans and a curious crowd that had never seen the indie legends before. Arcade Fire work hard to create a concert experience during their live shows, even going as far as to request fans attending their shows to abide by a certain dress code. There was no dress code for Sloss Fest though, and the experience was unbelievable.
They kicked things off with their recent hit “Everything Now”, which led to the rest of a 17-song set (see setlist below) that had Birmingham celebrating into the night. During their set Win Butler mentioned that this was their second time playing in Birmingham. The last time was 15 years ago, and they played at The Nick, a very small bar that has the reputation of being a dingy dive and bringing in almost every famous band before they were famous. Since it has been so long, Arcade Fire made the most of this trip. Win Butler performed at a small bar/neighborhood hangout late Friday night under his alias DJ Windows 98 and shortly before the rain delay his brother Will played a couple of songs for HeadCount, an organization using music to register voters and promote participation in democracy. Hopefully Birmingham doesn’t have to wait another 15 years for Arcade Fire to come back.
All photos by Art Husband
Arcade Fire Setlist:
Everything Now
Rebellion
No Cars Go
Electric Blue
Put Your Money on Me
Half Light
Keep the Car Running
Tunnels
The Suburbs
Ready to Start
Sprawl
Reflektor
Afterlife
Creature Comfort
Power Out
encore:
Everything Now – cont.
Wake Up
