On a last minute whim, the Vertex Music Festival train boarded down 285 towards Buena Vista. The good and the bad: It’s in the middle of nowhere. I wish I could’ve seen the spread in broad daylight, but from what was observed in the pale moonlight was a town akin to that of “Big Fish” when Ewan McGregor deviates from the beaten path to a quaint town, but with lots of lights and creek. I didn’t get the memo about bringing my hammock, however, that is a thing.
Brittany Howard doesn’t get enough credit. And the credit she does get isn’t enough. The Alabama Shakes’ leader is one of the most prolific voices of this generation. Couple her vocal skills with her guitar abilities and you have an icon. The Shakes’ Friday night show delivered part church service, part make out session and full jam session. As a testament to the power of the southern rockers’ music, fans were doing everything they could do while being fully clothed. I’d never seen anything like it before.
Jai Wolf sizzled the cool evening enough to get the crowd revved up for Gramatik, but not before the producer pushed several fierce drops in the process. Take a listen to the Diplo and Friends mix dropped over the weekend by the Foreign Family Collective act and catch him on tour this fall..
The three stages were perfectly aligned and by all accounts security/staff were perfectly capable and knowledgeable without out being too pushy creating a smooth environment. There’s a little in it for everybody, despite the lineup, which is something that can easily be remedied. Music festivals oftentimes try too hard and lack character or identity. Vertex didn’t suffer from any of those qualities and have established themselves as a future player to be reckoned with in the area for competing talent.
JAI WOLF TOUR DATES
Sat. August 20 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Hellow Festival
Fri. Sept. 2 – Sat. Sept. 4 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
Fri. Sept. 9 – Eugene, OR @ Mad Decent Block Party at Cuthbert Amphitheater
Sat. Sept. 10 – Berkeley, CA @ Mad Decent Block Party at Greek Theater – UC Berkeley
Fri. Sept. 16 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Cassette 9
Sat. Sept. 17 – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia @ The TBC Club
Thu. Sept. 22 – Sydney, New South Wales, Australia @ Oxford Art Factory
Fri. Sept. 23 – Brunswick, Victoria, Australia @ Howler
Sat. Sept. 24 – Adelaide, South Australia, Australia @ Fat Controller
Wed. Nov. 2 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
Thu. Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Fri. Nov. 4 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Sat. Nov. 5 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
Sun. Nov. 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Thu. Nov. 10 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Fri. Nov. 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Sat. Nov. 12 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House
Wed. Nov. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
Fri. Nov. 25 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Sat. Nov. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
Sun. Nov. 27 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
Wed. Nov. 30 – Austin, TX @ Vulcan Gas Company
Thu. Dec. 1 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
Fri. Dec. 2 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Inside Downstairs)
Sat. Dec. 3 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic New Orleans
Sun. Dec. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Wed. Dec. 7 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
Thu. Dec. 8 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Fri. Dec. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. Dec. 10 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
