The fourth annual Hangout Music
Festival, on the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores,
AL, proved to be yet another fantastic success, with a
sold out ticket status, and a stellar crop of musicians
whose performances delighted the approximately 35,000
attendees. As summer music festivals go, Hangout secures
a top-notch ranking for many reasons. The sugar-white
sands of Gulf Shores, AL are a wonderful alternative to
more typical grassy grounds; and the soothing sea
breeze, gorgeous rolling waves of the Gulf of Mexico,
sea oats and palm trees make for a peaceful scene. The
various working crews, from gate keepers (yes, they WILL
search your bags!) to grounds keepers to vendors all
exhibited a sweet Southern charm. And the comparatively
small crowd capacity makes for a pleasant experience,
with smiles as abundant as the bikinis and sunscreen.
With two large stages on opposite
ends of the beach (Hangout Stage and Chevrolet Stage)
hosting main acts, and smaller stages on the street side
(Letting Go Stage, Boom Boom Tent) and at fest founder
Shaul Zislin’s namesake entertainment
establishment The Hangout (BMI Stage), there was
a continuous flow of music throughout the mid-May
weekend. The celebration actually began Thursday May 16th,
with a Kick-Off Party amongst the three smaller stages.
From Birmingham, AL, St. Paul and The Broken Bones
made folks shake their bones, while Kansas City’s
Quixotic provided an acrobatic and dancing feast for
the eyes and ears. The Kick-Off featured a little bit
for everyone, with electronic stylings of Conspirator
and Lotus interspersed with the indie flavor of
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, the wild
Americana of Railroad Earth, and jamband
favorites Umphrey’s McGee.
Hangout Fest began its official
fest’ing on Friday May 17th with a rocking
set from The Breeders early in the afternoon.
Toots and the Maytals sounded great grooving on the
beach, and Jim James (My Morning Jacket) thrilled
the ever-growing crowd arriving after the workday.
Brooklyn Indie-rockers Grizzly Bear let us bliss
out to lovely effect, seguing through most of their set
with their heavenly harmonies. Great renditions of “Yet
Again”, “Gun Shy”, and the set closing “Two Weeks”
illustrated that this band performs as well live as they
do in a recording studio. A huge, excited crowd gathered
for Passion Pit who exuded enthusiastic euphoria
onstage, with pop-happy dance vibes that hearken back to
the 1980s while remaining firmly rooted in 21st
century sounds. Huge hits like “Sleepyhead” and “Take A
Walk” kept the crowd bouncing right along. In one of the
more difficult overlaps of the weekend, Anders
Osborne took to the BMI Stage with Big Gigantic
at the Letting Go Stage, and The Shins on the
Chevrolet stage. Fans of the New Orleans trio of
Anders Osborne (guitar), Carl Dufrene (bass),
and Eric Bolivar (drums) were super satisfied by
their jam-heavy set that featured far out versions of
“Burnin’ On the Inside” and “Send Me a Friend”, and a
gorgeous “Lean On Me – Believe In You”. Big Gigantic
had the EDM enthusiasts hypnotized with their massive
beats and trippy light screens; glowing hula hoops
adorned twirling girls near the back of the crowd.
Meanwhile, The Shins offered some indie-rock to a
large audience, delivering fan favorites like
“Australia”, “New Slang”, and “Caring Is Creepy” with
the full force of their substantial sound surrounding
the beach as evening closed in. To close out the first
night, Friday’s headliners Kings of Leon put an
exclamation point on the day with a well-received,
rocking show that gave fans their favorite songs like
“Sex On Fire” and “Use Somebody” while also offering a
new song off their upcoming album, “It Don’t Matter”.
On Saturday May 18th, I
had the chance to experience a few new-to-me bands that
definitely caught my ear. The party got started early
with The Werks, with their dance party vibe
balanced by the ability to jam; that was my first time
hearing them, and it was quite an enjoyable set. Next on
my agenda was the husband and wife duo known as
Shovels and Rope, and they pack a surprising punch,
absolutely rocking out with songs like “Keeper”, “The
Winner, and “Birmingham”. Their stage dynamic is ignited
by their passion for music; Cary Ann Hearst and
Michael Trent take turns on guitars and drums,
singing in lovely harmony, and the crowd was loving it.
On the Letting Go Stage, Bright Light Social Hour
created an organic groove, melding danceability with jam
rock instrumentation, a great combination that makes for
an intriguing listening experience. All three of those
bands will be getting some rotation in my media players.
Then it was back to the Hangout Stage, where Gov’t
Mule would throw down one of the most rockin’ sets
of the weekend. Opening with “Bad Little Doggie”, guitar
great Warren Haynes gave us fair warning they
would get down and dirty, a great way to rock out on the
beach with “Lola Leave Your Light On”, “Broke Down On
the Brazos”, and “Thorazine Shuffle”. But what
absolutely melted my soul wasn’t “Soulshine” as much as
it was a blisteringly beautiful take on Led Zeppelin’s
“Since I’ve Been Loving You”; it was perfection!
The Saturday party kept rolling
with a high energy chance to dance with The Roots,
who fit in covers like “Jungle Boogie” and “Who Do You
Love” beside their own awesome groove monsters, like
“The Next Movement”. A true treat would follow as The
Black Crowes proved they are still easily in their
prime, with Chris Robinson’s voice pristine as he
danced on the stage, doing all their big hits from the
opening “Twice As Hard” to “Sting Me”, “She Talks to
Angels”, and “Remedy”. Founding guitarist Rich
Robinson works well with new guitarist Jackie
Greene, and they provided powerfully driving melodic
richness in “Easter Sunday”, “Thorn In My Pride”, and
one of my all-time favorites “Wiser Time”. I traded out
a huge crowd and booming beat at Bassnectar for
the reggae-rock vibes of Slightly Stoopid at the
Letting Go Stage; what a fun set from a band that will
certainly make you smile, and how nice they fit in with
the beach scene. To finish the evening in iconic effect,
Saturday headliner Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
absolutely packed out the Hangout Stage, thrilling the
huge crowd with all their major hits. Fans spanning all
ages sang along with songs like “Free Fallin’” and “Last
Dance With Mary Jane”. These guys are definitely
rock-n-roll pros, with massive stage presence and
musicianship, so apparent in songs like “American Girl”,
“You Wreck Me”, and “Runnin’ Down A Dream”. Among the
many jamband fans in the audience, one of the favorites
of the night was a cover of Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of
the Devil”; overall it was a fantastic concert that
showed why this band was a perfect headliner.
The lineup on Sunday May 19th
was as strong as all the others, starting with L.A.
indie surf rockers Best Coast providing a lovely
laid-back yet rocked-out set that fit in nicely on the
Gulf Coast. Singer/guitarist Bethany Consentino
looked and sounded beautiful, and the band put forth
great versions of “Summer Mood” and “Boyfriend”, as well
as the new “Fear of My Identity”. New Orleans funk
masters Galactic were joined by Living Colour’s
Corey Glover for a boogie-down session featuring
their party time “Hey Na Na”, and fabulous covers of The
Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” and Led Zeppelin’s “How Many
More Times”. Simultaneously, Moon Taxi performed
a lively energizing set on the Letting Go Stage, a band
to definitely keep your eye on. While a group of
dedicated jam fans gathered to see moe. play a
set that started strong with “St. Augustine”, wandered a
bit in the middle, then came out clean with “Water”, a
massive crowd was found at the Chevrolet stage for
Imagine Dragons. In a raucous display of modern
rock, the band tore up “It’s Time”, “Tiptoe”, and
“Radioactive”; and somehow a girl managed to crowd surf
all the way from the waterslide to the front of the
stage!
As early evening approached, the
vast majority of attendees excitedly amassed at the
Chevrolet stage to see Phish guitarist extraordinaire
Trey Anastasio and his Band. With longtime Trey
Anastasio Band members like bassist Tony
Markellis, drummer Russ Lawton, and
keyboardist Ray Paczkowski on board, the band put
forth selections from throughout their repertoire with
“Cayman Review” and “Burlap Sack and Pumps” early in the
set. The horn section sounded strong and sweet, with
veteran TAB trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick and
trombonist Natalie “Chainsaw” Cressman, and new
saxophonist James Casey providing excellent work
all night, especially in the jazzy “Magilla”. “Money
Love and Change” and “Simple Twist Up Dave” were some of
my favorite extended jams of the entire weekend. Great
cover choices completed the super set, with Charlie
Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”
thrilling the huge crowd, and Jennifer Hartswick’s
amazing vocals on The Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood” and
Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”. I particularly enjoyed the
new TAB song “Scabbard”, in which Trey played his
gorgeous red Fender Jaguar at the beginning, and then
provided stunningly beautiful acoustic guitar work at
the end.
To finish the wonderful weekend, we
were graced with the legendary Stevie Wonder who
brought a powerful musical adventure to the Hangout
Stage, drawing an enormous crowd excited to witness the
incomparable musician and his band. It was splendid to
hear Stevie Wonder sounding so fantastic delivering his
huge-hitting classics like “Higher Ground”, “Living For
the City”, and “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours”. He
also brought a crop of cool covers, opening with Marvin
Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, giving a
nod to the beach scene with Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”,
and paying tribute to an old friend with Michael
Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”. Stevie gave us
plenty of groove party, and also managed to tug on our
heart strings as he dedicated “Isn’t She Lovely” to his
daughter, and played a soulful take on John Lennon’s
“Imagine”. With an extended exploration of
“Superstitious”, Mr. Stevie Wonder reminded us how
blessed we were to hear him in such fine form, and how
fortunate that the Hangout Festival chose him to end the
weekend with a BANG!
With that, we concluded yet another
awesome Hangout Festival, and it certainly seems that
this festival has grown into one of the foremost summer
fests in the nation. Drawing music and beach lovers from
all around, and delivering sensational musical
performances, we look forward to many happy returns to
Gulf Shores, AL for what is sure to be a grand time!
Written and edited by: Rosemary A.W.
Roberts
Photos By Clayton and Caspian
Roberts FULL PHOTO GALLERY
HERE
