We at Studio One, like all the other Hinterland fans out there, were pumped for the 2024 fest line-up. And we were not disappointed. From the highly-anticipated surprise duets to countless new songs and exclusive plays from the musicians, the fest nailed it. Every musician was on, and every set was satisfying.
The vitality of the lineup was clear in the crowd of thousands of pink cowboy hats and outfits, adorned to honor Sunday's most exciting performance, Chappell Roan. Fans of the fast-rising pop star arrived early and stayed all day in the bowl to sing their hearts out to "Pink Pony Club" while dressed to theme. And that was just 5 p.m. The powerhouse lineup continued throughout the day with Ethel Cain, Mt. Joy and Noah Kahan. It's no wonder the festival made the rounds and was promoted on national platforms for its stellar lineup.
The fest has endured its fair share of criticism over the years (including from us), from congested and slow exits to ticket oversell rumors. The 2024 crowd, filled with plenty of first-year, out-of-state Hinterlanders who’d seen the lineup shared on TikTok and X, were quick to saturate the festival’s Instagram comments with complaints and safety concerns.
With the crowd size and hot temperatures, one can argue that there's evidence to support their complaints. On the first day alone, Hippo Campus stopped a song — three times by our count — to call for medics to respond to festival-goers who were experiencing heat-related health issues. The heat kept medics busy all weekend, even after Hinterland responded to concerns Friday about their no-outside-drinks policy, allowing people to bring in their own water for the rest of the fest. Initially, there were a limited number of free-fill water stations, or you could choose to buy cans of "River Water."
Nearly every artist made a comment about the temperature — and it's true — it was hot. It’s August in Iowa after all. This is not the first time in the last four years of the fest that the heat index has soared into the 100s across multiple days, and several of our previous recaps have built a musical theme around the weather during the fest. At this point, though, the high temperatures are feeling less like a theme and more like a new reality. Knowing that it's likely to be really hot in this remote space requires appropriate planning and expectations among everyone — whether you're planning the fest or whether you're planning to attend the fest. By our observation, the vast majority of attendees, certainly crammed tighter than in the past, managed the conditions to enjoy the music.
Like we said at the top, it was a memorable fest. Here’s our recap of a few of our favorite sets from the weekend, as well as some musicians you need to check out if you didn’t attend or left early. For more photos of our coverage, follow @iprstudioone on Instagram! And keep your eyes open in the future — we landed interviews with several of the musicians that we’ll be sharing over the next several weeks!
FRIDAY
Debbii Dawson
From Tony Dehner
Debbii Dawson was the first performer I caught at this year’s Hinterland, and the first “new to me” artist of the weekend. A native of Minnesota and past competitor on America’s Got Talent, she’s been on tour with Orville Peck for most of the year. Appearing on stage solo with an acoustic guitar, Dawson played songs from both of her EPs, the most recent of which came out in June. She has a beautiful voice and is a great guitar player, and the crowd was into it. I don’t remember the last time I saw a crowd like that for the second performer of the entire weekend. It was a big day for Dawson, who also appeared during Orville Peck’s set to perform “Back At Your Door,” a duet that also appears on Peck’s new album, Stampede.
The Last Dinner Party
From Cece Mitchell
British band The Last Dinner Party just released their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy this year, and the huge Hinterland crowd sang along to every song they played from the record, including “Sinner,” “The Feminine Urge,” “Caesar on a TV Screen” and “My Lady of Mercy.” They also sang an unreleased song, “Second Best,” which was a total bop. Keyboardist and vocalist Aurora Nishevci gave me goosebumps as at one point she sang in Albanian, her mother tongue. The whole crowd danced and sang along to their hit single, “Nothing Matters,” a true high note to end their set. It was a super-fun, high-energy experience. The Last Dinner Party was unforgettable, and we can’t wait to see where their career goes from here.
Orville Peck
From Tony Dehner
I’d seen Orville Peck perform at a smaller venue before, and he quickly became a favorite artist of mine. I wasn’t able to attend his 2021 Hinterland set, and he was supposed to return last year before he canceled his entire tour. I was eagerly awaiting his performance this year, and he did not disappoint. We got to hear songs from his brand-new album, Stampede, which was a real treat. Alas, Willie Nelson was not on hand to perform on “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond Of Each Other,” but that song was still amazing and a highlight of the set. It almost goes without saying, but Peck’s voice was incredible throughout the performance, and he’s one of the most charismatic men alive. A memorable hour of music for sure, and one of my favorite Hinterland sets ever.
Hozier
From Cece Mitchell
The entire crowd was on their feet for Hozier, Friday night’s headliner. And boy did he deliver a show! He began the set with a single from his latest album, Unreal Unearth, called “Eat Your Young.” He then played a brand new, unreleased song, “Nobody’s Soldier,” which he had just debuted at Lollapalooza a day prior. Being from Ireland, he naturally commented on the heat of the festival, at one point asking the audience: “When you guys go on vacation, do you go to the surface of the sun?” Hozier ended his set with his biggest hit, “Take Me To Church.” It truly felt like a religious experience, as the giant crowd sang the song together. Before he left the stage, he hung a Pride flag from his mic stand to cheers.
SATURDAY
Blondshell
From Tony Dehner
On a day when we were all busily speculating as to what Chappell Roan might wear on stage on Sunday, it was refreshing to see Blondshell take the stage in athletic shorts and a t-shirt that said “Breaking news: nobody cares.” She also made it through one song before surrendering and putting her hair up. At that moment, she was all of us. It was her first time performing in Iowa, and despite the heat, the band stayed cool and played a rocking set, including songs you’ve heard here on Studio One. As with several of the bands on the Saturday lineup, Blondshell also played a new song, which was a delight to hear. The crowd was extremely into her set, and I was surrounded by folks who knew all the words. I’m excited to catch Blondshell again… though possibly indoors next time.
The Red Clay Strays
From Tony Dehner
The Red Clay Strays are from Mobile, Ala., and according to lead singer Brandon Coleman, they’re a rock n’ roll band. “People try to put us in genre boxes, but good luck figuring that out before we do,” said Coleman, to rowdy applause. Also inspiring rowdy applause: every song in The Red Clay Strays’ set. They built their reputation by performing live, but they have a legit AAA radio hit right now with “Wanna Be Loved.” It was quite a moment when they performed that song. There aren’t many bands doing classic, swaggering rock n’ roll who can also effortlessly weave in messages about mental health and self-esteem, but Red Clay Strays pulled it off. Also, I’m a sucker for a band that has more than two guitars, or more than one keyboard. Thanks to Coleman’s abilities on both instruments, at various times there were either three guitars at once, or two keyboards. Don’t miss a chance to catch The Red Clay Strays if they come near you, and you’ll be hearing more of them soon on Studio One.
Vampire Weekend
From Cece Mitchell
The trio kicked off their set with their older hits "Cousins" and "Holiday," playing in front of a simple “Vampire Weekend” banner. “It’s so nice to be back here in Iowa!” lead singer Ezra Koenig exclaimed as they entered into one of their new songs, “Ice Cream Piano.” Halfway through the song the banner fell to reveal more musicians playing live with the band, and the set was officially underway. They went on to play multiple songs from their latest record, Only God Was Above Us, including “Classical,” “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops.” The best part of the experience was the audience singing along to the band’s high-energy older hits — and while Vampire Weekend fairly regularly releases new music, it was the nostalgic callbacks that were the most powerful.
SUNDAY
Odie Leigh
From Tony Dehner
Odie Leigh had a tough assignment at Hinterland. She was unexpectedly kicking off the day after Palehound bowed out due to travel issues. It was already hot, of course, and the crowd was pouring in. Luckily for all of us, Odie was up to the challenge. She’s originally from New Orleans and is now based in Detroit — two cities with a rich musical history. Most of the songs from her set were from her album Carrier Pigeon, and she acknowledged most of her songs are directed to one specific person. Odie Leigh and her band performed their full set with sass and attitude, and put everyone in a good mood to get the day started. The early afternoon hours at Hinterland are a great time to catch some bands you might be unfamiliar with, and Odie Leigh was a great discovery for us here at Studio One.
Chappell Roan
From Cece Mitchell
The time – and the fanbase - had come. A swollen sea of pink pony attendees that had braved the 95 degree heat were waiting patiently for the “Femininomenon” herself. The band came out, all dressed as nuns, followed by Chappell Roan, dressed in a full nun’s habit. And then she outdid herself! The crowd went absolutely wild when a song later Roan shed her cloak to reveal a lingerie bodysuit, in proper nun fashion. “Can you believe it, we’re at Hinterland!” Chappell exclaimed. This set was magical, invigorating and unforgettable.
With an artist trending this much right now, many festival-goers believed Roan should’ve played a later, longer set. While there may not have been such a thing as “enough” Chappell Roan, there definitely can be “too little.” And here in Iowa, we’ve been fortunate to have Roan — now a mega pop-star — play three sets in the state in one year. Our cup is full.
Mt. Joy
From Tony Dehner
Hinterland 2024 also provided me with not one but two opportunities to cross bands off of my Concert Revenge List. Mt. Joy were making their second Hinterland appearance (their first was in 2021, but I wasn’t able to attend) after recently releasing their first live album, seemingly leaning into the reputation they’ve developed as a live band. It’s well-earned: Mt. Joy displayed some of the best musicianship of the weekend. Everyone in the band got their chance to shine, with guitarist Sam Cooper and keyboardist Jackie Miclau making the strongest impressions. In what is apparently typical Mt. Joy fashion, we even got to hear some fun covers, including “Dancing On My Own,” “Praise You” and “Old Town Road.”
Noah Kahan
From Cece Mitchell
With his hair in his signature braids, Noah Kahan took the stage with his hit track “Dial Drunk," and the crowd went crazy. Kahan’s set was very interactive – from a stage signing of a Zoloft bottle (a reference to “Your Needs, My Needs”), to accepting a gifted custom flag (that he wore as a cape) and later a non-setlist rendition of “Strawberry Wine,” which someone had requested on a sign for their birthday. Then, after announcing the show was done, Kahan came back for a three-song encore, finishing with his biggest hit, “Stick Season,” complete with epic banjo and fiddle moments that turned the song into a full-on celebration of Kahan’s music.
And with that, Hinterland 2024 came to an end. It was hot, it was crowded, the River Water tasted a little funky and we all got a tad bit sunburned. But we saw an incredible combination of live music that we likely won’t ever see at the same festival again. As Mt. Joy’s vocalist Matt Quinn said: “You guys are true soldiers. This is one of the most incredible music festival days we’ve ever seen… It’s a beautiful thing you’ve created here. Take care of this festival and maybe we can come back.”
Here’s to what comes in 2025!
