Beautiful weather, clear skies and three days full of a mixture of different bands/artists came together and performed at Merriweather Post Pavilion the weekend of June 16th-18th.
DAY ONE of Re:Set When first arriving to the Pavilion, the line to get in from the west side entrance was endless, and honestly, you can tell who these fans were here to see on opening night. Fans were dressed in ties and blazers, as headliners, BoyGenius, are known for wearing on stage. From against the barricade, to the end of the lawn seating, the venue was packed and ready for a night of talented musicians to bless their ears.
Kicking the night off was Bartees Strange, then DIJON took the stage. After those two bands got the fans intrigued it was time for Clairo to take the stage, from what I’ve seen in the DMV is that she’s sold out the past shows she’s performed here and I was pretty excited to finally get to catch her performance.
The stage was set, the tone of the stage set up was very minimal but also elegant. The screams were ear piercing once she took the stage alongside her band. I was kind of afraid to hear what those screams were going to be like for Boygenius. Clairo performed a pretty solid setlist consisting of thirteen songs including a handful of fan favorites such as Bags, Amoeba and Little Changes. Clairo even threw in a cover of Carole Kings’ Bitter with the Sweet and a tour debut of Blouse. Check out Clairo’s full setlist here.
After an amazing set from Clairo- the house music kept the energy alive after singing and dancing for the past few hours, the stage crew worked hard to put together the set for Boygenius which was very industrial like. And I must say- it was pretty awesome.
Roughly around 9:15 PM, the lights went out, and the giant jumbo screen displayed the trio, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, kicking their set off in a different way, by performing Without You, Without them from backstage. From the moment they started singing, the fans instantly sang the song back word for word back to them.
Boygenius finally took the stage officially starting their set with $20. The night was radiant with such an energy full of passion and love for this band. You can definitely tell there were some pretty dedicated fans out there whether they were all the way in the front against the barricade or at the very top part of the lawn.
The band performed an eighteen song setlist consisting of so many hits after hits consisting of Satanist, Emily I’m Sorry, Bite the Hand, Me & My Dog, Anti-Curse and many more. The band then ended their set with Ketchum, ID. But I don’t think eighteen songs was enough for these fans. Boygenius came back for a three song encore and that sent fans into a frenzy. The trio performed original solo songs by each – the first song in the encore was Please Stay by Lucy Dacus, then the band moved on to close out the night with a cover of Julien Baker’s Favor then completed their twenty one song setlist with Phoebe Bridgers’ Graceland Too.
I think its safe to say that day one of Re:Set concert series at Merriweather Post Pavilion was a success, get ready for round two on Saturday June 17th. Check out the full setlist from Boygenius here.
Day One Photos:
DAY TWO of Re:Set Concert series consisted of four more talented artists to take the stage on this hot summer day in Columbia, MD. On todays lineup we have Foushee, Toro Y Moi, James Blake and the insanely talented Steve Lacy.
Opening up the fun filled day was Foushee, a singer-songwriter from New Jersey kicked things off with her unique sound. Now granted it was still early in the day for the folks of the DMV, but the crowd seemed to really vibe with her set and made for the day to move along smoothly. Next up to take the stage was Toro Y Moi, whom I must say has a very nice taste in sneakers! Toro Y Moi, a singer-songwriter, also native from South Carolina, took the crowd by storm with his harmonious tones. Once Toro Y Moi wrapped things up, it was time for English musician/singer/songwriter whom you may know from a variety of collaborations and his charming smile, James Blake.
After an incredible set from the lovely James Blake, the stage quickly transformed into a very simple stage design with a massive LED screen taking up the whole back of the wall and two giant LED box like standalone screens. Once the musical instruments for the backing band was set, all of a sudden a giant 3D like display on the big screens showed Steve Lacy, the crowd went wild. Roughly around 9:15 PM, the lights went completely out, and a giant spotlight and smoke filled between the two giant LED panels, out comes Steve Lacy opening up his set with Cody Freestyle. The screams were pretty deafening not going to lie, but the setlist was full of hit after hit. A total twenty one songs made up Steve Lacy’s setlist. To ramble off a few: Mercury, Give You the World, Amber, Static and closer to the end of the night, Steve brought out Foushee to perform Sunshine alongside him. And of course you know he wouldn’t leave out the two most popular songs by this talented man, Bad Habit and Dark Red. Check out the full Steve Lacy setlist here.
Day Two Photos:
DAY THREE: The final day of the RE:Set Concert series has came, and this very toasty Sunday consisted of a variety of different genres of music, you have rock/EDM/alternative. Let’s just say there was an artist for everyone to enjoy. Kicking the day off was L’Rain, then we moved into a band I have been so excited to finally catch, IDLES. Not to specifically point them out but hands down one of the greatest sets of the whole weekend. The energy this band gave off was absolutely off the wall. Or off the stage considering guitarist Lee Kiernan made his way off the stage and jumped into the crowd still playing to the music. If you ever get a chance to catch IDLES in concert- do so. They put on an incredible set.
After an off the wall set by the very energetic IDLES the tables have turned drastically -in a good way though. Next up was EDM artist Jamie XX. His set consisted of a variety of different beats he would spin on his turn table, and I must say the ginormous disco ball was a fantastic touch and really brought an ambiance to the venue.
Once the stage was cleared, the crew hands started putting together the setup for LCD Soundsystem, which consisted of a variety of drums, guitars, keyboards. You name it, it was probably there. Once 9:15 rolled around, the band took the stage and the crowd got pretty loud, the lights were more so tame compared to other acts throughout the weekend. The band kicked off their set with Get Innocuous! Now the bands material are a bit longer than your normal song so LCD Soundsystem only performed a mere fourteen songs which consisted of You Wanted a Hit, Movement, Home and at one point of the night they performed a cover of Joy Divisions No Love Lost with IDLES. As the set came to an end LCD System ended their set with All My Friends. Check out the full setlist from LCD Soundsystem here.
Day Three Photos:
Photos & Words by: Alyssa Howell