A Tribe Called Quest by Andrew Gomez

The early birds on Saturday at FYF FEST were in for a treat with Jonathan Richman and Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 opening the Club and Lawn Stage. Jonathan Richman set the good vibes under the shade at The Club stage with his theatric and comedic set. Meanwhile at the Lawn, thirteen musicians were crammed on stage warming up delivering waves of brass, bass, electric guitar and percussion before Seun Kuti took the stage. Once Kuti finally took the stage all eyes were on him as he played the hell out of his alto sax making it a top notch Afrobeat set.

Later in the day, many people snoozed on a new artist who had the Club stage poppin’. New York-based Princess Nokia showed incredible energy as she darted from one end of the stage to the other keeping her fans on their feet singing along to every song she played. Princess Nokia also delivered a kick ass live version of her new single “Tomboy.”

Back at the Lawn stage King Krule drew a huge crowd anxious to hear that raw voice that our ears ached for. King Krule opened with “Neptune Estate” and showcased new songs that will be on his upcoming album. For some of us it was tough to have to leave King Krule’s set to catch Built to Spill performing Keep it Like a Secret in its entirety, or watch a blissful Perfume Genius set.

Before we knew it the day was almost over and it was the time for everyone to head over to the Main stage to post up for A Tribe Called Quest and Frank Ocean. ATCQ was something you didn’t want to miss out on seeing as FYF is one of their final stops for their last tour EVER, and its a good excuse for these youngsters to listen to some real hip-hop! No surprise the trio were nothing short of incredible, Q-Tip, Ali S Muhammad and Jarobi White shut it down performing classics like “Can I Kick It” and new songs such as “We The People…”

Frank Ocean by Andrew Gomez

Some of us die hard fans of The Drums could not miss their set and sprinted from Main Stage to Trees Stage. This was their first LA show since Abysmal Thoughts was released and we were all anxious to hear the new material. Jonny Pierce and company took the stage during the catchy base intro of “I’ll Fight for Your Life.” The Drums went on and played a perfect mix of older songs from their self titled album and Portamento and new material as well.

Finally, the time had come to witness Frank Ocean in the flesh. Running about ten minutes late, Frank took his stage that extended from the Main stage to the center of the crowd. It was surreal seeing him in person after anxiously waiting for the day to come in fear of him cancelling his performance, but with new music from Blonde it was probably best that he cancelled in 2015. Frank delivered flawless live versions of his new singles “Chanel,” “Lens’ and “Biking.” During his performance of “Good Guy,” one of his camera men who just so happens to be director Spike Jones focuses his lens on Brad Pitt sitting on another side of the stage as a cameo for Frank’s performance. Frank closed his set with a stellar performance of “Nikes.” His set was most definitely the highlight of FYF this year.

Photos & Words: Andrew Gomez