It’s the second day of Wonderfront Music and Arts Festival and all we can think about is the music and art. Wonderfront’s logo represents exactly what San Diego is all about, “Wonderfront Festival, where the music meets the sea.” As everyone arrives, ecstatically checking through security, day two is underway! Acts today, from different genres, including Vince Staples, Phantogram, The Knocks, Grandson, Goldfish, and Allie X. Headliners today include Migos, Slightly Stoopid, Nicky Jam, MGMT, and Big Gigantic. The festival today had a warm forecast of 70 degrees which made this a flawless day outdoors. Doors opened to the public at 11:45 AM. The first acts of today begin to soundcheck as everyone divides into each stage.
First up, bright and early, Grandson! As the stage is being set up, the crowd grows for Grandson. As always, Grandson is on time and ready to play to the San Diego crowd, impatiently waiting. They played hit songs such as Apologize, Overdose, and ending their set with Blood // Water. Grandson were phenomenal! Between their set, they took the time to congratulate every single woman standing in the venue. Talking about different women issues women face today, such as aboriton and equal pay rights. Not just focusing on their music, but it is much appreciated they take time out of their set to talk about different international issues happening around the world. They absolutely smashed it. All the raw emotion came from the lead singer, Jordan. He has a whole different personality on stage everyone loves. The emotion behind every single song makes a connection with every single person in the crowd!
Up next at the North Embarcadero stage, Phantogram! One of the most anticipated acts of Wonderfront, Phantogram did not disappoint. With being 20 minutes delayed, Phantogram had technical issues with their sound. They refused to come out until they gave San Diego the best show they could ever do! Apologizing at the beginning, Phantogram started their set with Black Out Days. Singing top hit singles such as You Don’t Get Me High Anymore and Cruel World, the crowd forgot about the delay of the act. The crowd was absolutely full and energetic for Phantogram. The bass of the music could be felt all the way around the venue. Being able to see the crowd sing along to all of Phantogram’s song was the best part of the set! Phantogram fans are dedicated and loved every minute of their performance!
Back to the KUSI stage, Bryce Vine was more than ready to give a performance of a lifetime. Ready for Bryce Vine to hit the stage, his DJ decided to hype the crowd and tease them until Bryce Vine came on stage. All the fans, even some wearing his merch, began to sing at the top of their lungs! Bryce Vine decided to start his set off with On The Ball. Throughout his set, he sang top hits such as Glamorama and La La Land. But, one specific song in general had EVERYONE dancing and singing along. Bryce Vine’s hit single Drew Berrymore has had much success. With everyone singing along, it was almost impossible to hear Bryce Vine’s voice along with each fan. Bryce Vine’s performance had such a fun and energetic crowd! Definitely a favorite from the whole weekend!
As I headed out from the KUSI stage, I went back to the North Embarcadero stage. Bob Moses was up next and the anticipation everyone had was immense. Although he was late, he absolute started off strong! Starting off with Heaven Only Knows, everyone was singing along. One of the few acts on the setlist I had no idea about was Bob Moses. Up until Wonderfront, I had never heard of them. Leaving the stage, I fell in love with the lead singers stage presence. The stage lighting was set up to make Bob Moses look mysterious, almost only showing a silhouette of him. It was hard to spot them but eventually the lights cleared! The crowd was just as energetic as Bob Moses!
One of the artists that represent the Latin community was Nicky Jam! I am a huge fan of Nicky Jam. Being able to photograph and see his set was such a huge honor for me! The Massachusetts native began to hype his crowd up with his DJ. He had one of the biggest crowds I have seen at the Univison stage, where all latin artists were performing. Starting his set off with Te Robare, he also sang many covers. He sang covers from artists such as Shakira, JBalvin, and Bad Bunny. The crowd began to sing along to the song El Perdon. This song features one of the biggest Latin artists in the world, Enrique Inglesias. Fans began to speculate that Nicky Jam would bring him out, but all hopes were let down when he did not show. X was by far the song that had the crowd yelling. He ended his set with X and ended on such a good note with the crowd. He definitely proved to be a humble and energetic artist!
As I ran back to the main stage, I was prepared to photograph Migos. One of the most anticipated artists on the lineup, Migos had the whole venue shaking. They had everyone present at their stage and the crowd was very loud, before Migos even hit the stage. Some began to chant and sing songs to get Migos attention. To our dismay, Migos did hit the stage half an hour late. Although, they did have their DJ hyping the crowd up for them The DJ played remix hits by Drake, Cardi B, and Juice World to name a few. As Migos approached the stage, the crowd went so crazy, I thought the barricade was about to collapse. One of the struggles with photographing Migos was the stage. It was extremely tall, but that did not stop any of us from enjoying Migos set! The crowd was by far, the loudest I had seen yet at the festival. With posters and merch being worn by the crowd, it definitely brought so much attention to Migos! They sang their top hits songs such as Bad and Boujie, Fight Night, Hannah Montana, and Walk It Talk It. Many desperately wanted for them to bring out Drake as a special guest, but unfortunately, that did not happen.
Day two of Wonderfront was a whirl. It was just getting more exciting, day after day. Day three was underway and day three was gonna be a long but exciting day!
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Bob Moses
Bryce Vine
GRANDSON
Migos
Nicky Jam
Phantogram
