Last year at Hinterland, we wrote about how the music set the stage for the weather. Well. It happened again.
Glass Animals closed 2022’s Friday night with a song called “Heat Waves,” and set us up for a Saturday night with Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Fitting. It was 106 degrees last year. This year, instead of heat, we got rain, and we headed home Sunday thinking about the way life set us up for another moment.
Bon Iver was the opening headliner, and it was the full band's first time playing in central Iowa. Now, the band name name 'Bon Iver' is a play on the French phrase 'bon hiver,' meaning 'good winter.’ Having a good winter is all about making the best of bad weather. Except for a glorious Saturday, that’s what we did for the rest of the weekend. It rained the hardest during Del Water Gap’s set, and Maggie Rogers encored with her hit “Falling Water.”
Despite soggy socks and muddy shoes, what a weekend. We counted four violins and three trumpets on stage, and couldn't begin to count the number of Zach Bryan fans.
Here’s our recap of the music you gotta check out if you didn’t make it. For photos, follow @iprstudioone on Instagram!
Most Poetic Set: Bon Iver
A cloudy August sky after a cool summer shower was perhaps the perfect setting for a deeply introspective set by Bon Iver on night one. His set included hits “Perth,” “Holocene” and “Skinny Love,” two singing drummers and a saxophone solo by Michael Lewis.
Bon Iver’s set had one of the most impressive lighting packages we’ve seen at an outdoor show in Iowa, which made perfect sense. His signature sound shone through on his vocals. The effect he uses has become known as The Prismizer Effect, and became popular in the early 2010s (it’s also been used by artists like Frank Ocean). Given the sound frequencies he was sending through the prismizer, the story being told by the lighting design created a unique kind of poetry.
Noah Kahan, who played Saturday, told the crowd that he laid on the hill listening to Bon Iver and had one of the best nights of his life. If you left early or didn't get it at the fest, pull out his first album the next time you get snowed in.
The Opener You Missed And Should Be Kicking Yourself For: Riley Downing
There's more than one way to start a show, but Riley Downing is the first artist we’ve ever seen bring out his father as a hype man. After a quick "Hello children. Are you ready to party? Whooooeeeeee!," we were off to the races.
The crowds by the stage are always a little smaller earlier in the day at Hinterland, and the people who go down are usually pretty familiar with the artist. That was definitely true of the Missouri-based Downing, who's also a member of the New Orleans band The Deslondes.
Set against the rain backdrop, Downing played a pretty chill set to start the day. Downing got everyone's feet moving with a version of the Deslondes song "Less Honkin’ More Tonkin’," which he said is about how we need to take care of each other. Downing exhibited this when he and the band stopped their final song while festival staff attended to someone who needed medical attention. He then went full Dad Mode and reminded everyone to drink plenty of water.
Sweetest Stage Presence: Joy Oladokun
“I get stoned and write songs about hope.”
Joy Oladokun got right to the point when introducing herself to the Hinterland audience, and it only got more personal from there. She spoke openly about growing up queer in a small town and her struggles with her mental health. It's refreshing to hear a performer so open, and her stories resonated with some in the crowd.
Of course, this is still a music festival, and Oladokun is a tremendous singer-songwriter and performer. She closed her set with one of her newest singles, "We're All Gonna Die." At least one member of our team was particularly happy to hear "Sunday," a personal favorite. We also got a great cover of "Rocket Man" and a little taste of Jimmy Eat World, and now we want to go to karaoke night with Joy Oladokun.
Bucket List Performance: Angel Olsen
We’ve always really enjoyed the music of Angel Olsen, an artist who is somehow simultaneously the spiritual successor to both Nico and Patsy Cline. Her albums over the years have encompassed alt-folk, country and alternative styles, and she ties it all together with her one-of-a-kind voice.
We'd been looking forward to her Hinterland performance since her set was announced. And it was everything we'd been hoping for… except it only lasted about 35 minutes. At the time of day when the sets are typically upwards of an hour, her set’s short length was noticeable. We were definitely wanting more after Olsen and her band were done.
Technically, we can cross Angel Olsen off of our concert bucket list, but we’re going to be keeping an eye out for the next time she's performing nearby.
From "Mostly New-To-Us" to "Must Listen" Artist(s): The Teskey Brothers
Total honesty: we were only somewhat aware of the Teskey Brothers before we got to Hinterland.
What a mistake we’ve made by sleeping on that band! They’re an Australian blues rock group, and we’re so happy they literally came to the other side of the world to play for us at Hinterland. Their sound reminded us of St. Paul and the Broken Bones and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. They have three albums out, one called The Winding Way, which was just released this June on Ivy League Records. We've been spinning songs from that album occasionally on Studio One, but don't be surprised if you start hearing them more often.
The Regrettes
Some of us went into this set blind and were blown away by the dynamism and flexibility of The Regrettes, most visibly on display by frontwoman Lydia Night. Not much else to say here, besides do NOT pass up a chance to see these Los Angeles punk rockers anywhere you can and hear "La Di Da" live for yourself.
Hardest Weather Set: Del Water Gap
Del Water Gap, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist, told us during his set that he’s not played to an outdoor crowd yet this tour that hasn’t been dumped on by rain. Hopefully all the people in the pit that were dancing will help build his positive karma for a sunny set soon? Or: it’ll keep that trend going. Dancing in the rain is real fun. His set had the hardest rain among performers for the weekend, and it was just so, so… meta. His songlist included his new single "Coping on Unemployment."
He’s got a new album called I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet coming out in September. Stay tuned for that release and new music from him on Mom & Pop Records.
Funniest On-Stage Jokes: spill tab
A good show will make you dance, but a truly great show will teach you a lil something. spill tab, AKA Claire Chica, bounced around stage with her trademark spunk and held the soaked Sunday afternoon crowd in the palm of her hand. Claire used the opportunity to teach Hinterlanders some essential French:
“While we’re here, I’m gonna teach you a little bit of French, is that okay? When I say ‘croissant’ you say ‘croissant’ - ‘croissant!’ Say ‘sacré bleu!’ Say ‘oui oui!’
And now, every Hinterlander is ready for Paris.
Most People Singing Along In The Crowd: Noah Kahan
Look, Noah is another new-to-us artist at Studio One. Maybe it was where we were at, but it seemed like everyone in the venue knew every single word to all his songs. He was also really, really funny in a sarcastic way we appreciated.
Best Vocal Performance: Maggie Rogers
By Sunday evening you’re among the most dedicated music fans, especially this year because of the weather. And Rogers did not disappoint. In a pink leotard, red tights and a sheer crimson wrap, she was giving guitar ballerina vibes. She danced across the stage with an energy that trickled softly and steadily through the crowd like the rain had just before her set.
“Here’s how this is gonna go,” she giggled into the mic. “I’m going to play some songs off Heard It In A Past Life and Surrender and then two new songs.”
The two new tracks she debuted are called "So Sick Of Dreaming," and "Don't Forget Me," and we're stoked to hear the studio versions. She's been recording a new album at Electric Lady Studios. Rogers gave a refreshing set that was both playful and powerful. The fades to black between her songs made us feel things. She even worked a cover of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” into her set.
"It's an absolute honor to close out this festival. You are the most present and wonderful crowd we've seen in a while," she said.
For those of you following along at home, she did not duet with Zach Bryan for “Dawns.” But he did play that song Saturday during his headlining set at the fest. She closed the festival with "Different Kind Of World," which is the last song on her 2022 LP Surrender.
"When I was making this last record, there was one song on the record that closed the record that was called 'Different Kind of World.' And every time I was working on it, I always imagined playing it on this stage," she said.
Best Pants: Sylvan Esso
Now, this year we decided to give awards for our favorite sets of the weekend. This might seem like a silly category, BUT hear us out. Leaving the house is hard, and step one is usually putting on pants. So, we want to shout out the amazing print on Amelia Meath’s pants and the flowy comfort that appeared to be Nick Sanborn’s.
Sylvan Esso took the stage for an audience dressed in ponchos, trash bags and raincoats, offering the shot of "Coffee" we needed after a storm that left the grounds muddy and the crowd drenched. The duo from Durham, N.C., did not disappoint in playing hits like "Radio" and "Die Young.”
