Music Midtown Day 2
I am still processing my feelings from my weekend at Music Midtown. I made many music friends, and I found that each person I interacted with had a lovely story. I wish I could fit them all in. Come remember the happiness with me.
It is something to behold when you arrive at the Marta station to head out to Music Midtown, and you see a whole lot of crazy happy, cloud balloons!
I met Lacey Catall while we were seriously squashed in the back of a subway train car. She was one of a half dozen of them. The train was packed with music festival goers. The dead give away was that we were all sporting our lovely blue silk ribbon bracelets, and then of course, catching glimpses of the bunch of crazy, cute balloons. Credit goes to them for a creative and fun way to find your friends in a park of people the size of most small cities.
I suddenly realized that today was going to be crowds, crowds and more crowds. A gorgeous sunny Saturday, a beautiful park, and a stellar line-up of interesting music would potentially bring out EVERYONE!
I was psyched for another day in the park. Once we arrived, we rushed quickly from place to place, and stopped dead in our tracks listening to Elle King begin her set. She belted out her songs with true gusto and entertained the crowds that grew and gathered between songs. Witty, talented and clearly partying on stage, she was quite entertaining.
Hey, notice the fringe on her skirt? Don’t you want to know who those people are in the rafters?
It was so hot outside at this time, that we worked our way to the tree shaded side. We were so happy with our spot and we thoroughly enjoyed her commentary and banter with the crowd, but when she sang….SHE SANG! Elle is also a very talented banjo/guitar player and her distinctive raspy voice sets her apart and adds a bit of a bite to her songs. I loved the jumbo-tron, because it showed us her prominent metallic, temporary tattoos. We saw many other permanent ones, and caught an especially funny one on her arm that stated simply, “Drunkards Dream”. After a month or so in the UK and Ireland, she’ll return to the states until March of 2016. You must catch her show, or listen to her album.
As I was enjoying, singing and dancing along to her song “Ex’s and Oh’s”, I couldn’t help but notice the cute people standing in front of me. Okay, true confessions, I am a people watching fool and gregarious enough to chat with them. I love the fact that this group of gals were all sporting braids in their hair. Their style reflected their personality perfectly it seemed, and each rocked it well.
This is (back row l-r) Kelly Hughes, Emily Billions, Anne Hobbs, (front row l-r) Hallie Hughes, and Kayla Lee. Wish you could see the back too. Aren’t they seriously fashion forward for a music festival?
I started noticing that the braid was another festival trend….
I am not a creeper, I actually chatted with her about her braid. I secretly wish I could do a fishtail braid as lovely as this one. This is Courtney White just chillin’ and listening to, Billy Idol. (Does anyone else conjur up Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World, when looking at this photo?)
Chandler and Libby also sported beautiful braids, on my Marta ride home.
If you are into trends, I wish I had snapped pictures of floppy suede hats too (here’s a good example).
Another interesting festival trend, and I thought it looked très chic, but honestly, hotter than Hades.
Oh, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, back to the day. Just when I thought I could take a lil’ rest, I realized I had to rush off to see Daryl Hall and John Oates. It was going to be brutally hot because their stage was set up in full sun, but I decided it was totally worth it. And, yes it was!
One of these days, I am going to be a festival ‘camper’ expert. You know, the fan that camps out in the front row to catch their favorite band? I realize that most of my pictures are fuzzy and far away, but I am trying to get to every act that I can, and unfortunately, I am not able to pick and choose, I want to see them all!
Interestingly Daryl and John rarely played close together on stage, or talked with each other, from what I saw. You would think after years of hanging out and experiencing incredible fame together, that they would interact. Squabble? Maybe, maybe not. Just an observation that made me curious. Friends in Charleston saw them after Music Midtown at a much smaller venue. I would love for y’all to chime in.
No matter, I sang every lyric and contributed to the silly throw back vibe of the pearly 70’s-80’s. Soul, pop, rock, perfection! So very fun to experience live. I highly recommend listening on repeat, learning all the lyrics, and then checking out their tour. I saw where they are in Japan for part of the tour. How fun would that be to experience them in Japan?
Sometimes you happen upon the wildest things when running from stage to stage! Music Midtown had a bit of this and that….
As much as I wanted to get closer, I knew I had to rush off to see Catfish and The Bottlemen.
Do you see all of the phones in the air? They were all recording the song “Kathleen”. But, it was “Tyrants” where they played guitar like there was no tomorrow. According to their website, “Tyrants” was actually the first song ever made by Catfish, Van wrote it when he was 14 and they have ended every single live show they have ever done with this song.
“Fallout” is another good tune. Their website has many of their song’s handwritten lyrics (just a screen shot, stop by and see for yourself).
Next up were Billy Idol and after him, Panic! At The Disco. They were both a hopping good time. No pictures do them justice. If it weren’t for Billy Idol’s obvious serious preparation (he was so Billy) and his amazing lead guitarist, Steve Stevens, I might have missed this one. Who can resist a little fist pumping rock and a guitar played perfectly….behind his head? It was something to behold.
Moving on I realized now was the time for me to try out new music territory. Run The Jewels was about to begin, and I ran to catch their show. I understand their concept, I understand their appeal, and I understand their popularity, but for some dang reason…I just can’t get myself to love it like the throws of fans that were yelling and screaming for them. Call me crazy, but I just can’t seem to get on board.
The lyrics in their songs leave me perplexed and wondering. Please, weigh in and give me a song they sing that you can’t get enough of, and I promise to give it shot and listen again. Any takers?
My attention quickly turned to the crowd around us and that’s when I noticed this cute couple. I adored her outfit and yes…it had fringe. The sun had gone down, so my photo skills crashed simultaneously too. But this picture will give you an idea of her ‘en point’ boho look.
This is Payton Teffner and Austin Bell. Both traveled up from Ol’ Miss. We got to chatting and that’s when she told me that she contributes to a fashion blog called Grove En Vogue on the website hottytoddy.com. Payton is the photographer and her friend Olivia Morgan writes the stories. I love it when similar worlds collide and like minds are drawn together. Go check it out!
Time for Lenny Kravitz, and wow, what a show! Hunky as all get out, his show was filled with powerful music, wowing solo moments of talented musicians, and dancing girls. The added plus was listening and watching an amazing and talented Lenny work the stage. What is not to appreciate and love?
Of course this doesn’t tell the full story…
This tells the full story…
Just take it from me, amazing guitars played, horns were blasting, and girls gyrated to the beat, but Lenny was the total bomb! It was a rockin’, happenin’, musical, power packed heaven.
Next up…David Lee Roth and Van Halen! I wish I had a better photo.
It was exciting and the songs proved to be memorable. We were so far back, due to the massive crowds. David Lee Roth didn’t look at all like himself, where was his hair? An old photo on Google…
His theatrical persona was still very much intact! A recent photo on Google….
I just happened to be a little bit bored. Don’t judge me…. I was really curious about the tattoo on the guy in front of me. It had me intrigued. Most of it was hidden, until I asked him about it in between songs. He was so friendly and talked about the story behind his body art. Our conversation began with this…
and went on to reveal this
His arm is the lower one in the picture (his buddy’s arm is above) and it represents his grandfather’s purple heart. He was very sentimental about it and I sensed the love he had for him. A silly conversation which began with my curiosity about the tattoo, ended in a heartfelt tribute of love for a man in his life he admired. It was a moment, and one to remember. Then, he and his buddy and I laughed….a lot! Yay, to Morgan and Sean! Y’all rock!
As much fun as I was having, I decided to move on to see Sam Smith. With awards galore and a voice that perfectly expresses love and tragic heartache, I just couldn’t miss the chance to experience him in concert.
I was pretty far away, but I was in the thick of dancing, happy fun…. I couldn’t resist dancing with these two fun gals, Sue and Madison.
Then I spotted this, and was immediately swooped into the music of Sam Smith.
Yes, I chatted with them both, when they came up for air. They laughed and said I could use the photo, but they didn’t want their names revealed. They were experiencing the music in a heated impassioned moment. If you have ever listened to Sam Smith….you will totally get it.
It is amazing to me how music can affect our emotions and our thoughts. We can share our favorites and find the most fun friends, communicate with each other beyond words, and place moments in our minds that last forever.
Music is a lovely tapestry, and the people that love it, form the strong knots that hold it all together beautifully. What a memorable weekend of fun. I want to shout out a big thank you to all of you that let me peek into your world for a moment.
As we left the park, admittedly a little sad that the festival was over, we stumbled upon this joyous drummer and my heart lifted.
His act reminded me that we should all pay attention to our inner music.
It definitely exists deep inside of you, how are you going to share it?
