The 15th Anniversary edition of the Sweetwater 420 Festival had quite the weird start weather-wise, something that’s almost become a yearly tradition for the Atlanta festival. Adjustments were made, and the shows went on towards another successful 420 Fest.
Early Friday strong thunderstorms rolled through the region during the warm spring morning. Depending where you were around town just before the festival began, it was actually starting to look like we may get a decent day, but it wasn’t meant to be. By now, if you’ve been to more than one Sweetwater 420 Festival, then you know to pack your rain boots and be prepared. And just as the festival began another storm rolled through downtown, causing delays and adjusted schedules. The wet grounds of Centennial Park has never stopped this festival before. Really it was the cold front that swept through later in the festival that was the real storm.
Friday got started rapidly once the storms calmed and we adjusted to the new set times. There was John Medeski’s Mad Skillet on the main Sweetwater stage getting the crowds excited and ready for the weekend to come with their groovy jazz jams. The band brought out a heavy dose of horns that kept early afternoon crowd engaged.
Emma Hern was playing on the Lyrics & Laughter Stage. Hern brought a refreshing early Friday set. The Nashville-based musician and her band blends everything from Americana, Soul, and Pop into a nice retro pop sound that had the crowd flowing in the breeze.
Just as the Mad Skillet set was ending, Pink Talking Fish were playing “Home” on the 420 Strain Stage immediately grabbing the all the festival goers running to their stage. Rain or not, the festival was dancing to the Talking Heads classic while the band was loving every moment.
JJ Grey & Mofro were next up on the Sweetwater Stage. The Jacksonville, Florida-based band brought the soulful Southern rock playing a career spanning set of their funky swamp rock. Highlights included “Orange Blossom” and “99 Shades of Crazy”. This band is always a great time live.
Playing on the 420 Strain Stage was the young bluegrass prodigy Billy Strings. There was a buzz about the band’s set, and they certainly lived up to it. There was lot of hair swinging as the band brought the energy to the wet crowd.
Over on the Lyrics & Laughter Stage was one of our favorite sets of the day from Aaron Lee Tasjan. The Nashville-based troubadour brought a stylin’ outfit to the stage to go along with his witty lyrics. While Tasjan’s songwriting has gained attention in the Americana world recently, shredding is what he does best, and that’s exactly what he and his band did as the breeze rolled over the festival.
Back on the Sweetwater Stage was the California band Rebelution ready to rock the 420 Fest crowd. Despite the on again, off again rain throughout the day, and the now cooling temperatures, the band was all smiles and ready to bring the good vibes. With Rebelution’s rock sound steeped in reggae, alongside their infectious stage presence, their set was a hit, keeping the Day 1 party going for the festival attendees. The band was nonstop, and that just ran straight into the audience.
The last set of the day on the Lyrics & Laughter Stage before Avett closed down the night was Minneapolis-based Cory Wong. Wong is a rising industry star. Best known as the guitarist in the funk band, Vulpeck. He also plays with Ben Rector and has played with legends like Bootsy Collins and Gene Simmons. Not only that he is a composer and producer. But it was seeing his solo set at 420 Fest that proved he is a star in the making. Touring behind his 2018 album, The Optimist, Cory Wong and band put on a show. The guys were all smiles on stage, bouncing around and having fun with each other and the audience.
With The Avett Brothers set to take the Sweetwater Stage, the temperatures were dropping drastically and it continued throughout their whole set as strong, wet winds just added to the cold. But that didn’t stop the band and their audience from enjoying a career-spanning 21 song set. The band played a mix of some of their older, more energetic tunes, while stripping down with the slower beauties. Fan favorites like “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” “Live and Die,” and “Kick Drum Heart” really got the crowds roaring and totally forgetting about the sudden chills.
It was a weird day weather wise on the first day of the 2019 Sweetwater 420 Festival, but the beer was cold and music was a blast, kicking off a great 15th Anniversary weekend.
Check out more photos from Sweetwater 420 Festival 2019, Friday, Day 1 by Mike Gerry:
