Although day 1 of Sound on Sound festival started on a bit of a rough foot due to weather complications, day 2 brought the heat between the stacked line-up and the sun beating down.
Starting off the day strong, I was able to catch the later half of Philly locals, Snacktime, this funky group getting the energy of the crowd up for the long day ahead. Following Snacktime was Austin, Texas native, Calder Allen, who picked up a guitar during the pandemic and started making his own music. Through a mix of country and folk, Allen performs about experiences he dealt with through high school mixed in with his passion for the outdoors. He has a very unique and deep lull to his voice when he sings, yet with a grit similar Bryan Adams.
Gin Blossoms then shifted the energy into their alternative rock genre. After opening with “Follow You Down”, lead vocalist, Robin Wilson, introduced their set by stating “we’re here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and we are all out of bubblegum” which seemed to get the crowd revved up and ready for the rest of their set. Although it was still early in the day, there seemed to be more people in the crowd than there had been during the earlier sets of day one. Following their set came Cautious Clay, a New York native with an interest in experimenting with music. His sound is a cross between R&B and pop, with influences of jazz. The emotion is heavy in his voice when he performs, and it was refreshing to see him incorporate a saxophone and a flute into his set. After him came Margo Price with her dazzling stage presence and sweet, country voice. Her energy was electric, bouncing from playing the tambourine, to a cowbell, and even closing the set with a drum solo. Anyone watching could see her passion for music on display.
Mt. Joy brought the festival back into the indie folk/rock sound, opening with “Lemon Tree”. The stage might’ve been 10ft high, but the radiance given off from this quintet was palpable from the back of the crowd. Many attendees that I knew walked away from this set wanting to continue to listen to Mt. Joy. I can’t wait to see how this band grows, especially with opening for Noah Kahan next year. They closed their set with their most popular song, “Silver Lining”, which had everyone, young and old, dancing.
Following Mt. Joy came Dispatch, another highly anticipated band of the weekend. They opened with their song “Skin the Rabbit”, a hard-hitting anthem that touches on exposing individuals that crave power at the expense of others. The best part of their set was at the very end, they brought Snacktime back out onto the stage to perform “Letter to Lady J” with them. It created a beautiful rendition of the song, filled with musical instruments from all the ends of the spectrum.
The next set was Hozier, who played an abbreviated version of his current tour setlist. Starting off with the beautiful vocals of “De Selby (Part 2)” followed by “Jackie and Wilson”, the crowd was ready for a set of screaming lyrics and dancing with the people next to them. His whole set was incredibly captivating to everyone, even those not familiar with his music outside of the radio hits. He took everyone on a journey throughout multiple albums, doing his best to highlight old and new songs. He also took a moment to thank everyone on his team, from the musicians to the tour crew, it was a very special inclusion that I haven’t seen many artists partake in. Closing off the set with “Take Me to Church”, it got the crowd amped up and ready to close out the festival weekend.
John Mayer was the last act of the weekend, closing it out with just him, his guitar, and his piano. Many attendees waited all day just for him. Shortly after opening with “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” he instructed the audience that because he’s from Connecticut and that this was like coming home, he’s “just John” for the night. Being from Connecticut, this show was extremely special for him. He knew his performance would be featured in the “Connecticut Post” the next day, so after talking about how he could see all of us photographers struggling to get photos due to the stage being high and his set being far back, he announced that he would play an extra set of chords from “Who Says” at the front of the stage. Everyone cheered for him throughout his set, ranging from “In Your Atmosphere” to “Your Body is a Wonderland”. He also pulled out his double-neck acoustic guitar for “If I Ever Get Around to Living” and “Edge of Desire”. It was certainly not a set to miss. Every now and then a tidbit about his life in Connecticut would come out, even ones he hadn’t told the press already, like how some of his greatest music influences came from confiscated Walkmans from Central High, the high school his father was principal for at the time.
Year two of Sound on Sound festival was certainly a success. Despite the weather being against the festival for the second year in a row, it still proved to be a good weekend fill with great music and food. I am hopeful to see how this festival continues to improve as it gains more traction!
JOHN MAYER
HOZIER
DISPATCH
MT. JOY
CALDER ALLEN
GIN BLOSSOMS
CAUTIOUS CLAY
MARGOT PRICE
Photos + Review by Brittany Whitham | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!