A pathway of fog machines and lights welcomed us to the floor inside the Arena, the only indoor stage at FYF. Inside a massive chandelier of disco balls and a low-lit stage are about the only things you can see. It’s dark and moody, which was a good fit for Lower Dens. Lead singer Jana […]

Photo by Wes Marsala Solange Knowles was 20 minutes late to the Lawn stage Sunday night at FYF Fest and it took her an additional amount of time to get into the groove as she dealt with sound problems throughout the set. At one point during her set, Solange walked off the stage before returning […]

“It’s been awhile LA,” Harley Streten aka Flume said after a short opening sample. The sun was setting behind the main stage bathing the crowd in golden light and we could feel the heat slowly melt away off our skin. I didn’t know what to expect from Flume’s performance, everyone told me to get ready […]

Photo by Wes Marsala When I reached the stage to see Battles at FYF Fest they were nonchalantly setting the up their gear, chewing gum and setting out beers. The drum kit was center stage and toward the front with one tall cymbal raised high in the air. Looking around it was clear that the crowd […]

Fans were excited to see hometown duo, Girlpool, who were up first at FYF Fest just minutes after the gates opened Sunday. As guitars were tuned the crowd was eager and screamed ready for Girlpool to start playing. As they did girls suddenly started running and skipping toward the stage smiling and singing along, “tranquilize […]

If we had a dollar for every FYF Fest fan we saw wearing a Joy Division themed shirt, we’d be rich! Yesterday at FYF, Joy Division shirts were all the rage. Everyone just seems to love that Unknown Pleasures cover art … Now that we’ve posted all of our individual performance photos and reviews from […]

Fast-rising London post-punk band Savages had a difficult spot to fill at FYF Fest on Saturday night. They were competing with both Chet Faker and Bloc Party for attention, all of which helped setup the night for the evening’s headliner Kanye West. Despite all of these facts, the amazing Jehnny Beth and her band played […]

Brooklyn indie poppers The Drums packed The Lawn Stage at FYF Fest on Saturday as the sun started coming down. The performance was chock full of great #WhitePeopleDancing material and you could tell a lot of people were really starting to feel themselves — whether it be due to the awesome tunes or surroundings or some […]

FYF Fest veteran, Cold Cave (aka Wesley Eisold) got the short end of the stick at FYF Fest. Despite having the same set time of 10:45pm as Kanye West, Cold Cave performed as though he were the main event. As you can imagine, the turnout at The Trees stage was minimal since most attendees migrated […]

Denver synth-poppers Tennis rocked FYF Fest’s Lawn Stage under the bright sun early during Saturday’s action at Exposition Park. Wife-and-hubby duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley and their band were on point during their set that was so affected by the bright sun that Moore apologized for needing her sunglasses. “I don’t wan’t these. It’s like […]

Just a bit before the sun began to set, BADBADNOTGOOD’s hip-hop fused electronica was a great escape from the sun into the air-conditioned confines of the Arena stage at FYF Fest. At times, the Toronto trio served up a sensory overload of sounds and flashing lights, fired off like sirens from an ambulance. The more […]

Let’s be real. By the time Kanye West wrapped up his performance on the main stage at FYF Fest on Saturday, a lot of people in attendance were coming down from whatever high they were on. While for some it was the natural high of seeing a day’s worth of epic performances, there were definitely […]

Photo courtesy of FYF Fest There were a lot of people disappointed when Frank Ocean unexpectedly pulled out just a day before the first day of this year’s FYF Fest — myself included. Even when it was quickly followed up with the announcement that Kanye West would be the late substitute headliner, it wasn’t enough on […]

Though not the full original lineup, Bloc Party proved Saturday at FYF Fest that they’ve got the same amount of spunk geared towards their live performances as they did when the epic Silent Alarm album first burst onto the scene in 2005. The scene in the crowd during “Helicopter” was the best kind of shitshow. Bodies were […]

Photo courtesy of FYF Fest Nova Scotian lo-fi indie rockers Alvvays were unable to perform at Outside Lands in San Francisco a few weeks ago due to visa problems. Thankfully, those problems were cleared up before their FYF Fest performance Saturday on the main stage as they played to a massive crowd early on the […]

Photo courtesy of FYF Fest One thing that you’ve got to appreciate about !!! (Chk Chk Chk)’s lead man Nic Offer — the dude has no qualms about getting down, however absurd it might look in his hot pants. Saturday night at FYF Fest, the late addition to the lineup gave the crowd plenty to […]

“Is everyone hot? That’s good. Sometimes it’s good to be hot,” Kevin Morby said as he began his early FYF Fest set on Saturday. Morby and his band brought the folk rock jams to a crowd that was quite receptive. Morby’s got that sound that suggests he’d fit right in on a soundtrack to a […]

Mikal Cronin has a part in numerous bands, including LA favorite Ty Segall’s live band. Now for the second time, Cronin got to showcase his own songwriting skills at FYF Fest. Two years since Cronin first played with his own band at FYF, he had a solid-sized crowd at the Lawn Stage. His band played […]

Per usual, FYF Fest had a lot of returning acts to the fold in 2015, and to some people it was a turnoff to see so many of the same names as in previous years. But if rising hip-hop juggernauts Run the Jewels proved something, it’s that maybe Goldenvoice got something right: why not bring people […]

I had been hoping to see noise rockers Dinosaur Jr. for quite some time. Saturday’s performance at FYF Fest had me kicking myself for not crossing it off the list sooner, as the wizard-looking J Mascis led the charge in a high-energy set. Mascis’ vocals are hard to pinpoint. They’re somewhere in between a grittier Jeff […]