Okeechobee not only kept the positive energy going in their second year, they stepped it up to a whole other level.
The second annual festival once again sold out pre-fest and saw a massive amount of joyful revelers filling the swamps of Florida for four days.
This year saw a much expanded Chobeewobee Village, including several new performance areas, including the Pavilion Stage, The Luscious Land Tea Lounge, Halcyon, Jive Joint and Incindea. Our personal favorite was the fire spewing Incendia stage. It really brought a new layer to the cool evenings for late night shows.
As far as performers in the Grove, picking favorites is just impossible. How do you match Bassnectar against The Lumineers, or Usher with The Roots against Snake Hips? You don’t. That said, we got a lot of video of some of our favorite songs of the weekend.
Friday:
Louis the Child
These two nineteen year olds are killing the game. Their crowds get thicker and thicker every single show that they play. Towards the end of their set, they brought out Pell to perform “Turn Me Down” as Pelican Child.
Logic
This Chicago native is quite simply one of the most talented rappers on the planet. Don’t argue. You’re wrong. His positivity is contagious. His message is contagious. His sunset into early evening show was astounding. This was out highlight of the day. Video shot by Mi5taKlean.
Wiz Khalifa
Wiz’s energy is at such an incredibly high level, that trying to describe it is useless. This is not a clip hip hop show. This is every single word, of every single song. This is what fans dream they will get from a concert. His career spanning set left everyone happy and ready for the night. Video shot by Mi5taKlean.
Young the Giant
These guys always surprise us. There so soft spoken, that when it hits, the tingles are fast and surprising. They were up against Flume, and held their own.
Vulfpeck
Trying to describe the overly talented group of guys on stage beforehand, is next to impossible. It’s kind of funky. It’s kind of jazz fusion. It’s definitely silly. For their encore, they turned “Christmas in LA” into “Christmas FLA” and the crowd sang and danced to every word.
Saturday:
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
This was our favorite surprise of the weekend. We were fans, but this performance leapfrogged this act to the top tier. The crowd was packed in and knew every word. It was like we walked into their fan club.
Bassnectar
This was an extremely down tempo show for the bass master. Visuals were completely on point. The drops were fun and invigorating. The wild moments were slightly further in between, as this was more of a production than dance party. Video shot by Mi5taKlean.
PoWoW! (Superjam)
The 2017 PoWoW! featured Michael McDonald, with a backing band made up of Vulfpeck, Eric Krasno and Snarky Puppy, among others. Special guest dropped in from song to song. We got several videos from this once in a lifetime performance.
Michael McDonald “Minute by Minute” by Doobie Brothers
featuring Griz “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind and Fire
Featuring Antwaun Stanley, Griz and the Miami University Choir “Taking it to the Streets” by Doobie Brothers. This was the encore.
Usher and The Roots
This was one of our major highlights. It’s truly incredible what these two acts can accomplish without each other. It is even more amazing what they did together.
Fun fact: We’ve never seen more women ignore men completely while a singer performed than while Usher performed.
Sunday:
Moon Taxi
We heard a guy going on and on about how these guys will be headliners in the next two years. Their performance at Okeechobee showcased exactly why he felt this way. After a set full of singing-a-long with their fan favorites, Moon Taxi treated us to a Rage Against the Machine cover.
The Lumineers
The raw energy that pours out of this amazingly wonderful band is an experience unlike any other. It’s the place where joy meets release and dances around in a field in the moonlight. Their set was quiet and somber and somehow full of energy that shook the very core of our being. Even now their are tingles. The band is a big proponent of no video, so we obliged their request.
Pretty Lights
Talk about packed. This might have been the most crowded show of the weekend. The live band performance on the Now stage was something mystical to behold. Video shot by Alexander McYates.
Kings of Leon
The Tennessee boys reminded us why they are headliners with their Sunday night closing slot. We pushed in close and chatted with quite a few people who were most excited for this show. This was a wonderful end to an incredible weekend.
If you want a pretty full set of videos from Okeechobee 2017, check out this playlist provided by Mi5taKlean.
