With the backdrop of San Francisco’s skyline, consecutive sunny days, and amazing sets by immensely talented artists, there was some good energy filling the festival grounds for the Treasure Island Music Festival last weekend. It was all smiles and grooving bodies for the 35,000+ attendees who slowly filtered into the festival grounds from the single entrance, transforming this lonely island into a hub of spewing creativity.
Near the entrance, an eclectic mix of vendors displayed and sold a variety of artwork, clothing, and crafts. A large dancing girl installation towered high overhead near the Tunnel Stage. If you were hungry, food options were plentiful; booths sold the standard festival foods, and these choices were supplemented with several food trucks. As the music began to boom, it seemed as though the musicians fed off of the sunshine and the crowd.
Saturday afternoon featured the young but talented XXYYXX – his set was a mix of trap, hip-hop and some r&b. It’s clear he’s still trying to find his sound as a DJ, but the producer, at the age of 18, still has plenty of time. A little later, Jungle played on the main stage, the Bridge Stage – they clearly knew how to win over their audience as one of the British members of the group donned a Giants jersey, prompting a “Let’s Go Giants” chant from a small section. Sounding like the modern-day Bee-Gees, their disco-pop and high-pitched choruses carried well over the sea breeze.
Next up was some 808’s and videogame beats from Ryan Hemsworth, who had one of the best sets, including a remix of Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” that set the crowd in a frenzy. He ended his set with “Cream Soda,” his latest Tomggg collaboration. As the sun began to set, Classixx took to the stage. With a large television screen in the middle, they bounced through the set playing funky and dance-friendly tunes from their album as well as their popular remix of Yacht’s “Psychic City.”
Outkast was able to thrill the crowd with hit after hit, ranging from “Spottieottiedopaliscious,” and “Hey Ya!,” to “Crumblin’ Erb.” They endeared the crowd with small anecdotes throughout their set, leading to one big sing-along for their biggest hits. Their set ended 20 minutes early, and the lines heading back to San Francisco became extremely long.
Sunday was more goodness. Banks sang to a lively crowd and Chet Faker sang as everyone swooned over his silky voice. He played songs off of his new album and also sang over Flume beats (the first tunes that made him famous).
The best part of Treasure Island was the lack of overlapping sets, so attendees got to see every artist who played – talk about getting your money’s worth. Another year, another Treasure Island Music Festival. We’re looking forward to what 2015 has in store.
Comments