Head in the Clouds day 2 kept the energy high and fans full of joy with The Linda Lindas, Niki, Keshi, Luna Li and more

Day two of Head in the Clouds sought to top the impossible energy of day one with a lineup that included the likes of Los Angeles’ own hometown rockers The Linda Lindas and Indonesian powerhouse Niki. It also highlighted many of the younger artists and bands that have emerged in recent years.

On the 88 stage Luna Li, coming off a tour with Japanese Breakfast, bathed the crowd in the sublime textures and glowing guitar tones of her jams and Flower (In Full Bloom) EPs. Whether it was juggling her guitar and violin, or letting her tranquilizing croon float over the crowd like so many soothing petals, Luna Li was near picturesque strutting down the stage’s elongated walkway, glowing from head to toe in sunlight, her beaming smile, and the pure joy that radiated from her songs.

At the Double Happiness stage, The Linda Lindas kept the afternoon exhilarating with their punk-rock antics, playing favorites like “Claudia Kishi” and their latest single “Oh!” Comprised of the exceptional talents and punk spirit of Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza, and Mila de la Garza, the four-piece injected their absolutely infectious excitement into the crowd as they traded howls and riffs onstage. Wallice followed, offering up her earnest, tongue-in-cheek, and often biting sleek indie-pop tracks that hone in on her generation’s existential dread. Her first festival performance, Wallice breezed through the songs on her Off the Rails EP like the anthemic “23” and melancholic, bedroom-pop jam “Dramamine.”

Beabadoobee, aka Filipino-British singer-songwriter Beatrice Laus, closed out the Double Happiness stage with lush, guitar-driven and sonorous songs she creates. At 21-years-old Beabadoobee has rocketed to new heights every year since she first started releasing EPs back in 2017, and watching her perform it’s easy to understand why. Her winding lyricism and penchant for DIY rawness bubble to the surface under the stage lights, as she stands there effortlessly cool, exhaling in earnest her confessionals.

At the 88 stage Keshi arrived to the screams of thousands of fans, many of them waving totems with the singer’s face on them that had been distributed to the crowd. The hype had hit a true fever pitch by this point and with the sun long gone, Keshi gave an explosive performance that saw him making seemingly every attempt to serenade each person in the crowd. Armed with his piercing vocals and his intimate guitar-work on “talk,” there was a minute of his set that fans could pull themselves away from.

Then there was the superstar performance given by Niki, a set that not only included incredible dance routines and the singer’s otherworldly singing, but also a wild number of outfit changes. Niki gave fans the spectacle they had come to see, swapping the blue-glitter dress she stepped out in to begin her set for a stunning pink gown that she dawned as she took to the piano during her hour-long set. She also took the time to thank her fans, explaining that while growing up in Indonesia she never believed she’d find herself where she is today. It was a poignant and recurring message across the weekend, one that emphasized the need for events like Head in the Clouds and the work of 88 Rising to continue pushing the envelope for the benefit of Asian artists.

CHECK OUT DAY 1 HEAD IN THE CLOUDS PHOTOS

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