Hinterland 2019
- Thread starter jburke
- Start date
Got my eight volunteer hours in today. Grounds are looking great, guys. Enjoy the festival!
Unless you want to be right up near the stage then just set up camp on the top of the hill on the south end of the grounds. Not too crowded and good sightlines to the stage. Wear comfortable shoes; it's hilly and uneven terrain.
Pulled the trigger on Friday and Saturday tickets at the last second. Looking forward to Kacey and St. Paul and the Broken Bones more than anyone else.
I've heard nothing but good things about St. Paul and the Broken Bones live. Could be the third year in a row for me where the second to last act outshines the headliner on Saturday. But I think Jason Isbell will be really good too. Not sure what else to expect. I've seen John Moreland before and he's not bad. And I like the Wood Brothers but I kind of wonder if they'll sound as good live. I don't know much about anyone else on the lineup.
It was seeing St. Paul that put me over the edge. Moreland, Colter Wall, Jason Isabell-- they are all fun to listen to but nothing I was overly excited to see live. But Paul Janeway can freakin' belt, and I can't wait to see it.
Got camp setup and been having some brews. Loving it so far. Weather is going to be great all weekend!
St.Paul and the Broken Bones is currently LAYING IT DOWN. These guys are fantastic!
No joke. Paul Janeway was incredible. His range is ridiculous, and he woke up what had been a pretty sleepy crowd up until then.
My thoughts on a hot-ass Saturday in St. Charles -
The sun chased us into the shade for portions of the lineup. Got there in time to hear most of John Moreland's set. Not much of a stage presence but an excellent singer/songwriter.
Ron Gallo - Barf. Maybe he just wasn't my speed, but I thought the whole set was garbage. Took the time to meander around the vendor and merch tents.
Dead South - Not too shabby. Skilled musicians. Maybe a lazy comparison but they made me think of a more bluegrassy Mumford and Sons.
Colter Wall - Good, I guess. I don't know. Maybe it was the heat or just the set list but for whatever reason it seemed like not a lot of people were really into it.
Wood Brothers - Better than I expected. Not as twangy as I thought they might be and they were energetic and seemed pretty happy to be there.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Far and away the best act of the day. That dude's vocal range is insane, and he hit damn near every note he aimed for. Definitely got the crowd revved up, and it didn't hurt that I think most of the people down there yesterday were starting to get excited for Jason Isbell.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Just a solid performance. Made me think of Dwight Yoakam's set a couple years ago. Isbell has been at this long enough to be totally comfortable on stage and understands how to keep things loose and well paced. I don't know if I'd call it memorable but he and his band didn't disappoint by any means.
And I know this is such a dad thing to appreciate, but the band took the stage at EXACTLY 9:30, which was their listed set time. Punctuality matters, y'all.
Great day overall. I wasn't there on Friday but I had several people tell me that it was a better turnout than last night. I'm curious to hear how the turnout/crowd energy is today. I don't know how the campers and people going all three days can do it. One day is good enough for me. I suppose as long as it doesn't dilute the lineup I'm on board with the festival permanently becoming a three day thing. It didn't seem to bother any of the many campers and overnighters we saw on the way out last night.
The sun chased us into the shade for portions of the lineup. Got there in time to hear most of John Moreland's set. Not much of a stage presence but an excellent singer/songwriter.
Ron Gallo - Barf. Maybe he just wasn't my speed, but I thought the whole set was garbage. Took the time to meander around the vendor and merch tents.
Dead South - Not too shabby. Skilled musicians. Maybe a lazy comparison but they made me think of a more bluegrassy Mumford and Sons.
Colter Wall - Good, I guess. I don't know. Maybe it was the heat or just the set list but for whatever reason it seemed like not a lot of people were really into it.
Wood Brothers - Better than I expected. Not as twangy as I thought they might be and they were energetic and seemed pretty happy to be there.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Far and away the best act of the day. That dude's vocal range is insane, and he hit damn near every note he aimed for. Definitely got the crowd revved up, and it didn't hurt that I think most of the people down there yesterday were starting to get excited for Jason Isbell.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Just a solid performance. Made me think of Dwight Yoakam's set a couple years ago. Isbell has been at this long enough to be totally comfortable on stage and understands how to keep things loose and well paced. I don't know if I'd call it memorable but he and his band didn't disappoint by any means.
And I know this is such a dad thing to appreciate, but the band took the stage at EXACTLY 9:30, which was their listed set time. Punctuality matters, y'all.
Great day overall. I wasn't there on Friday but I had several people tell me that it was a better turnout than last night. I'm curious to hear how the turnout/crowd energy is today. I don't know how the campers and people going all three days can do it. One day is good enough for me. I suppose as long as it doesn't dilute the lineup I'm on board with the festival permanently becoming a three day thing. It didn't seem to bother any of the many campers and overnighters we saw on the way out last night.
I had planned on hitting only Saturday purely for St Paul and the Broken Bones (Jason Isbell, et al were just gravy). Our preschooler got his tonsils out on Friday which precluded me being able to make it - I am super jealous that the show was as good as I expected!
Agree with you on pretty much everything. Moreland was solid but I was just as much if not more into the other guy playing with him. Ron Gallo was disappointing because I expected to really be into it and I wasn't. Dead South was good but I stood way up on the hill so didn't fully experience their performance. Colter Wall was good no need to guess
Missed the Wood Bros because I took that time to go back to my car and spend some much needed time sitting and blasting the ac. St Paul and the Broken Bones were insane. Can't sum it up because no words can do it justice. Either you were lucky enough to see it and you understand how great they are or you missed out big time. Isbell was exactly what I expected. My lower back was done and I was caked in sweat at this point but would have happily stood there for another hour probably more. Overall it was a good day but last year's Saturday was better imo.
Agree with you on pretty much everything. Moreland was solid but I was just as much if not more into the other guy playing with him. Ron Gallo was disappointing because I expected to really be into it and I wasn't. Dead South was good but I stood way up on the hill so didn't fully experience their performance. Colter Wall was good no need to guess
Yeah, I'd put last year's Saturday lineup ahead of this year's. But it's cool. I went in with minimal expectations for this lineup so it isn't as if I was super hyped and then disappointed.
On the bright side it was a very relaxed atmosphere for most of the day. It felt like a lot of people were just happy to be out there regardless of who was on stage. The weather maybe had something to do with that. I'm grateful it wasn't humid, but man, when you were out of the shade that sun just beat down on you. I put on spf 70 sunscreen twice and my shoulders still got a little red.
Overall it was a super enjoyable experience and a pretty well run festival! The lineup was great. I had so much fun each day. The worst part about the weekend was that there is just little to no shade in the arena. If you want to go stand up in the shade it kind of takes you out of being able to see who is on stage. So any acts that you want to watch you are pretty exposed to the sun. I know that is me just being kind of whiny but that is hard to do for 3 straight days.
Girlfriend and I were planning on staying through Maggie Rogers and then driving up to the cities but by the time Brent Cobb got done we were so sick of being in the sun and were just exhausted that we thought it best to head home.
As others have said, St. Paul and the Broken Bones absolutely crushed it. The minute Paul walked on stage the energy ratcheted up to 11. I am not going to go through every act but some other highlights for me were Hozier, Jason Isbell, and the Wood Brothers. I also was impressed with Jade Bird Friday. I wasn't too familiar with her but she was good.
Girlfriend and I were planning on staying through Maggie Rogers and then driving up to the cities but by the time Brent Cobb got done we were so sick of being in the sun and were just exhausted that we thought it best to head home.
As others have said, St. Paul and the Broken Bones absolutely crushed it. The minute Paul walked on stage the energy ratcheted up to 11. I am not going to go through every act but some other highlights for me were Hozier, Jason Isbell, and the Wood Brothers. I also was impressed with Jade Bird Friday. I wasn't too familiar with her but she was good.
We went Friday and Saturday. Was pleasantly surprised by Hippo Campus. Wasn't very familiar with them coming in but really enjoyed their set. I was excited for Kacey Musgraves but she would up a little "meh" for me. A very low energy set. The talent and charisma is there, but the whole thing was just a little slow moving. Hozier has never really been my thing, so we left about 4 songs in to beat traffic.
Saturday we were also chased to the shade for alot of the earlier shows. I enjoyed what I heard from The Dead South and Colter Wall. Ron gallo sucked. We wound up going near the stage for the Wood Brothers and they were very impressive to me. Catchy, lively songs and good live performers.
Then Paul Janeway and the boys decided to stop by and completely steal the show. The group I was with was pretty indifferent towards StPBB coming and and I convinced them to come down to the stage and give it a shot. They, like me, were completely blown away. Janeway just commands the stage in his own goofy way, and his voice is other-worldly. What I was struck by was how loud his band was, but how he could still over power them with his voice. Just an awesome, awesome set and I'm already looking at their tour dates to catch another show.
Saturday we were also chased to the shade for alot of the earlier shows. I enjoyed what I heard from The Dead South and Colter Wall. Ron gallo sucked. We wound up going near the stage for the Wood Brothers and they were very impressive to me. Catchy, lively songs and good live performers.
Then Paul Janeway and the boys decided to stop by and completely steal the show. The group I was with was pretty indifferent towards StPBB coming and and I convinced them to come down to the stage and give it a shot. They, like me, were completely blown away. Janeway just commands the stage in his own goofy way, and his voice is other-worldly. What I was struck by was how loud his band was, but how he could still over power them with his voice. Just an awesome, awesome set and I'm already looking at their tour dates to catch another show.
I blame the promoters for the Ron Gallo nonsense. His inclusion on the lineup stuck out like a sore thumb from the get-go. You have a lineup that's already heavy on country and bluegrass and soul - why are you trying to shoehorn in an experimental rock/punk act in the middle of all that?
His set was also about the peak-hotness for the day, which didn't help.
That's true. The Dead South ran into a similar problem. Hard to get a crowd too amped up in that mid-afternoon lull. Shakey Graves had the same issue when he played. They had him smack in the middle of the afternoon plus it rained during his set, and nobody could really get into it. Same for Anderson East last year. Mid afternoon set, kind of a quiet crowd and he just couldn't get them going. Maybe it's a timing thing. Tough slot.
It is hard to get too into a set and have a ton of energy when you are trying not to pass out
