Yesterday, music lovers flocked to Merriweather Post Pavilion for the third annual Sweetlife Festival. Sweetlife combines a variety of bands and sustainability for a long day full of good food and music.
The main stage got more and more crowded as the day progressed, but there was plenty of space to hang out on the lawn when Lindsey Stirling, the first main act started around 12:30 p.m. It was impressive that each act started pretty much on time, as it kept the already long day from ending too late. Stirling is a violinist, which is a unique choice for a lineup full of vocalists. She started off the festival with a large amount of energy, sassily prancing around the stage while playing a mix of original songs and adding violin to popular songs, including a Michael Jackson mashup.
Singer-songwriter Solange came on next, bringing an retro nightclub vibe to the festival. It is impossible to watch Solange and not think of her more famous sister, Beyoncé, but Solange certainly has her own set of pipes. She constantly implored the crowd to dance, asking us at one point to pretend that we were in junior high and slow grind. The people close to the actual stage seemed to be into it, but that energy did not carry over to the lawn, where people were casually sipping their beers and wandering around. Though she’s not a big enough act to have been included later on in the festival, Solange would have done better once it was dark outside, or even in a much more intimate setting where everyone could slow grind under dim lights. The crowd’s energy did pick up, however, when she sang what is arguably the best song from her newest album, “Losing You.”
Singer and guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. was a good act to follow Solange, as he brought her sensual vibe to another level. His voice is very smooth and soulful and helped pick up the energy of the crowd as more and more people drifted over to the lawn.
There were a good amount of people on the lawn and sitting by the stage by the time that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came on at 4:30 p.m. Unfortunately, this was around the time that the crowd started to get rowdy, so people didn’t enjoy singer Karen O’s creativity and spunk as much as they should have. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs did a great job working with the limitations of an hour-long set, singing almost every song fans would have wanted to hear. They crafted mix of hits from their new album, Mosquito, and old favorites such as “Maps”, “Heads Will Roll” and “Cheated Hearts.” She even managed to fit in a sparkly costume change and an interaction with the audience where people who probably didn’t know who she was tried to sing along to her songs. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs should have been the closing act for Sweetlife, as they gave the best performance of the day and had the most energy. Their funky lyrics would have been even more fun to jam out to if it had been dark outside.
It started pouring during the end of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ set, which only added to the energy of their songs. The rain got worse and worse during the break between them and Kendrick Lamar, and when the rapper finally got on stage, it was pouring and mud was everywhere and his performance did not make up for it, though most of the crowd would disagree. The same intoxicated crowd members who weren’t nearly enthused enough about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs seemed to know every single lyric to each one of Kendrick Lamar’s tracks. Granted, there weren’t too many lyrics, as he tends to repeat phrases over and over again, never allowing gems such as “Pussy and Patrón make me feel alright” and “B***h don’t kill my vibe” to leave your head. His lyrics were a little bit too crude and misogynistic, but the audience ate it up. He’s booked at multiple festivals this summer, so there’s obviously some appeal to him.
It finally stopped raining, and there was mud all over everyone’s stuff and bodies, especially because people did not seem to be too concerned about stepping all over everyone’s stuff. Leaving the lawn to attempt to get food was treacherous, as the lawn had turned into a mix between Slip ‘N Slide and an avalanche full of mud. Multiple people were covered in mud because they had wiped out. Not all of the food stations were even open, which was upsetting after making such a perilous journey just to find some funnel cake. The bathrooms were also just not an okay situation, as there were crazies in there trying to clean their clothes in the sinks. People literally stopped drinking liquids after a certain time to avoid the bathrooms until the festival was over.
It was sunny by the time that Passion Pit took the stage, and the crowd was drying off and ready to enjoy the band’s indie electronic tunes. They didn’t disappoint, playing songs from their new album, Gossamer, such as “Take A Walk.” They were the perfect band to dance to as the sun set. The crowd was still pretty belligerent as this point, which was both entertaining and obnoxious to watch.
It started to rain again as Phoenix came on at 9 p.m. It thankfully cleared up as they progressed through their set. Phoenix pulls off a good performance. They played popular tracks “1901” and “Lisztomania” and the crowd was very into it, with everyone jam packed onto the lawn and dancing. Phoenix got an hour and a half to play, which seemed almost too drawn out at the end of a very long festival. They had a ton of energy, but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were still the best performance of the night and should have closed the festival, even if they are not as popular as Phoenix.
Even though everyone was gross, muddy and exhausted by the end of the night, people still seemed to have a good time hanging out, listening to music and eating all day. Sweetlife did a great job combining so many different types of music and appealing to a large and diverse group of people.
