With your feet in the sand and the sun shining bright on you, there is no better way to kick off festival season than Hangout Music Festival down in Gulf Shores, AL. With plenty of space and stages, ocean access, and amazing music, fans had their spirits high all weekend.
The multi-genre music festival is highly spoken of by music fans all over for its wide variety of artists. With the addition of a new stage in the middle of the beach this year, two main stages, and a smaller stage, there was never a time when there wasn’t something good going on.
On Friday doors opened and floods of people walked through the gates to get their set spot for the headliner and by far the most anticipated act of the weekend, Lana Del Ray. One of the standout features of the festival is its carefully curated lineups. From legendary headliners to emerging up-and-coming artists, Hangout Festival has mastered the art of having something for everyone.
As Friday progressed, fans were blessed with some amazing acts with early sets spanning genres from DJ Madds to indie-alternative musician Brenn! As the weather cooled down and the sun began to fade, the hype started in earnest. Singer-songwriter David Kushner took the stage and gave a powerful performance that the whole beach could feel. From the main stage to the Shein stage, across the sand, Troyboi performed a DJ set that kept the beach dancing the entire time. Soon after, A Day to Remember took over and gave a throwback performance of a lifetime. From then on out, the main stage was packed with festival goers for Dominic Fike who set the scene for the rest of the night. The multi-hyphenate singer-songwriter-rapper-actor was a major pull for the throngs of festivalgoers filling the beach, and by the conclusion of his hard-hitting indie rock set it was easy to see why.
With the sun down, and everyone anxious with excitement, a spotlight illuminated the left side of the stage. Making a grand entrance, Lana Del Rey came out riding on a golf cart, waving to fans as she drove down the beach onto a walkway in the middle of the crowd. There she hugged fans, gave them high fives, and made sure to interact with the people who love her so much. As she took the stage, many in the crowd shrieked with excitement. Lana staged one of the most beautiful, colorful, breathtaking performances of the weekend with amazing stage production and a few special guests including Tommy Genesis, Benson Boone, and Nessa Barrett, but perhaps most notably hip-hop-country crossover sensation Jelly Roll on a well-received cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Sweet Home Alabama” to put a climactic cap on the evening.
Lana Del Rey, Jelly Roll — “Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd) — 5/17/24
[Video: Trevor]
Vibes were high going into day two as Willow Avalon brought her country-pop repertoire to the Shore, a fitting choice for this Southern festival. Qveen Herby asserted herself as one of the best finds of the weekend, as the Nebraska R&B/soul singer put a unique spin on hip-hop that made it her own and set her apart even among a stacked lineup of performers. After Qveen Herby blew them away, the crowd migrated across the beach to another eagerly anticipated set of the weekend, this one from Sexxy Red. The rapper held a singular energy onstage that kept the crowd engaged and enthused through the whole set. This writer has never before or since seen a crowd so into an artist as Hangout Fest was with Sexxy Red.
Back to the main stage, Chappell Roan, Jessie Murph, and Cage the Elephant all delivered unique, high-energy sets. Chappelle Roan in particular came into the weekend with a lot of buzz among the crowd, and the 26-year-old Missouri singer definitely lived up to the inflated expectations from the audience. Cage the Elephant had everyone singing every lyric as, Matt Shultz, the lead singer, ran through the crowd dancing like a maniac. With the sun down, the rumble of electronic duo ODESZA made it clear throughout the Gulf Shores that the audience was in for a real treat. The grandiose EDM spectacle went down as one of the best performances of the weekend, as the group’s famous drum line, lasers, pyrotechnics, and guest vocalists left jaws lying on the pristine sandy beach.
With the sun beaming down, the gates opened for Sunday which was easily the hottest day of the weekend. The early highlights of Sunday were Little Stranger, Hemlocke Springs, Austin Millz, Paul Russell, and Chromeo. Excitement and anticipation built throughout the mid-day roster of artists, starting with rising Savannah, GA country artist Megan Moroney who had the beach packed. Her amazingly dominant set culminated with a surprise appearance by Lana Del Rey for Megan’s own “Tennessee Orange”.
Megan Moroney, Lana Del Rey — “Tennessee Orange” — 5/19/24
[Video: Cameron White]
Over on the Shein stage, Dom Dolla had a DJ set that was one for the books as the Australian house artist kept everyone moving. Nelly performed one of the weekend’s best sets on the main stage as he delivered a euphorically nostalgic smattering of his hits. Those within earshot across the entire beach couldn’t resist singing along to every word of the ’00s hip-hop/R&B bangers, and even after he was done Nelly remained a topic of discussion among the crowd for the rest of the evening.
Another highlight of Hangout’s stylistic diversity was Subtronics, the only hardcore dubstep artist of the weekend. While he may have been the only one of his kind there that weekend, the crowd seemed ready for him as headbanging and mosh pits kicked up sand throughout the audience. As everyone walked across the beach, and the lights went down on the main stage, it was time for the last headliner of the weekend, Zach Bryan. Delivering one of the most emotional sets, fans across the crowd, including me, had a hard time holding back tears. After an entire set of fans belting out almost every word of his songs, the ever-climbing country singer-songwriter closed out the festival with his hit “Revival” from 2020’s Elisabeth. As he left the stage and fireworks exploded in the sky, fans walked out of the festival with nothing but smiles on their faces at the close of a successful weekend full of great music, amazing weather, and perfect vibes.
Check out a gallery of images from Hangout Fest 2024 courtesy of photographer Avi Warren.
The post Hangout Fest Delivers 3 Days Of Fun In The Gulf Shores Sun With Zach Bryan, Lana Del Ray, ODESZA, More [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
