On day two, Hangout started to find its rhythm again. Gate security was more thorough, volunteers were more knowledgeable, lines were shorter and attendees seemed to have figured out the lay of the land. The main focus of the BLANK team was getting as close to the stage as possible and interacting with the people of Hangout along the way. This is some of what we heard and saw.
Neal Francis
The day started front row on the Surf Stage for Neal Francis. The crowd was still coming in and continued to fill in throughout the show, and as a result, Francis slowly built up energy over the course of the set. The band’s stage setup was a little simplified and compact compared to their usually touring rig, but as is such with festival openers. The morning was filled with questions and concerns about the forecasted thunderstorms, and Francis capitalized on this with his song “You Can’t Stop the Rain,” and his ironic quip put the audience at ease. And believe it or not, it may have actually stopped the rain because all forecasts were wrong and we stayed dry on the beach all day.
Moon Taxi
We stayed put for act two of the day at the Surf Stage for Moon Taxi. They have a great beach vibe, and the team and I were excited to see them perform in this setting. While in the audience, we ended up standing next to a new friend who we discovered was a fellow Knoxvillan and friend of BLANK Newspaper. Sources say it’s a small world. Moon Taxi came out strong and stayed the course throughout. One of the highlights of the set saw a guest feature from Amber (didn’t hear a last name), a young African American woman with a shiny, hot-pink alto sax. She added to the band’s aesthetic pefectly and ripped a solo or two herself.
Still Woozy
Still Woozy was Blank photographer Sebastian LaTorre’s favorite act of the day. They had a similar vibe to Surfaces yesterday with chill, happy music. Sven Gamsky was backed by 2 musicians and they were very interactive and mobile on stage. The female bass player was one of the most entertaining musicians to watch of the day, and after laying down tasty bass lines, she pulled her pasties off, threw them in the audience and left the stage topless. Gamsky encouraged his band to come to the front of the stage and dance around during some songs, and their moves added a few little wholesome moments to the day.
Leon Bridges
After Still Woozy, the BLANK team decided to camp out for Leon Bridges, and we were about 5 rows back from the barricade. In the hour or so we sat in the sand between sets, I got the chance to talk to several people from all over the country that made the trek to Hangout. It’s in those moments with the type of music lover that is willing to sit in the sand in the hot sun for 12 hours so they can be front row for their favorite artist that I am reminded of why I love the music industry. There is no human community quite like a music festival. When Bridges did come out, he came out in style. Between his outfit, his voice and his confident audience interaction (including flirting with one girl during the entirety of “Brown Skin Girl”), he had nearly every human with a pulse mesmerized. I was a little worried that his music was going to be too mellow for a large festival environment, but to my pleasant surprise, most people (at least in the front) were rocking with him.
The Band Camino
I have seen The Band Camino several times at various different stages in their career. This was my first time seeing them in a festival setting, and certainly the largest crowd I’ve seen them play for. Their production and stage presence was the same as it has been – consistently excellent. Their music is high energy, singable and danceable. One thing I’ve noticed is that some acts have one massive song that gets them on the bill while others have a full set list of songs people know. The Band Camino is definitely the latter – people who know them knew every song they played.
Lil Yachty
When it came to Lil Yachty, the folks that love him, loved it. The folks that didn’t, didn’t – and that’s OK. The Boom stage is called Boom for a reason and the bass was about the only thing you could hear. As a result, Yachty’s vocals were drowned out by the booming subwoofers. For those that were able to get up front, this probably didn’t matter. Yachty repeatedly stopped to ask the crowd to ‘open up the pit,’ and I saw the first intense moshing of the weekend. The crew passed out water bottles and sprayed the crowd every time the beat dropped. It was among the most energetic shows of the weekend thus far.
Halsey
With the last minute cancellation of Doja Cat, it was up to Halsey to close the night. I was dragged to this set by the rest of my crew, and all I really knew of Halsey going into the set was her feature on the Chainsmoker’s “Closer.” Getting to see any artist on a stage as big as the Hangout Stage, with the lights, sound and sheer number of people is always awesome no matter who is up on stage. Halsey’s music was empowering and definitely resonated most strongly with the female audience. Her setup was simpler than Post Malone’s, with a clean stage featuring a drum set and piano player in the back corners and no pyrotechnics. Halsey was confident and spoke with the crowd in the most relaxed manner I’ve seen for the number of people, including asking if anyone had a hair tie she could borrow. Day days down. One to go.
