Photos By Hillery Terenzi and Review by Codi Glancy
The legendary Music Midtown Festival kicked off on Friday with a line up that included Van Hunt, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, T.I., The Avett Brothers, and Foo Fighters. It was a great day for music in our wonderful Piedmont Park and as the night came, the celebration just got better.
Friday afternoon’s opener, Van Hunt had the smallest crowd but still did an amazing job. I had never heard of the musician before, but his songs were very bluesy and filled with soul, but also kind of punk-ish at times; making for a very unique and fascinating combination.
More and more fans started to flock in as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts took the stage. The band’s hour long set was filled with so mush energy as Jett and her gents played favorites like “Bad Reputation” and “Cherry Bomb.” The thousands of fans in the crowd then passionately sang along to “Do you Wanna Touch Me?” Her untouchable Rock n Roll sound continued on into some new songs she wanted to test out for the crowd. Everyone jumped and danced around, especially when the set ended with the beloved “Love is Pain” and, of course, “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
As Jett ended, the completely different T.I. started on the main “Electric Ballroom Stage.” The always entertaining local rapper took the main stage of Music Midtown, backed by an entourage of assisting rappers and a full band. His slightly shorter than scheduled set was filled with his main hits and even a Kanye West and Jay-Z cover. Songs like “Live Your Life,” “Whatever You Like,” “100 Grand,” and “Love This Life” blasted from the speakers, reaching to everyone around the park. The insanely excited crowd was dancing, singing, and waving their shirts along with him, making him the hip-hop king of A-town.
North Carolina’s The Avett Brothers took the “Great Southeastern Music Hall Stage” around 7:30. They were my most anticipated performance for Friday night, and they didn’t disappoint. The brothers and their bands extensive 19 song set started off with a crowd pulling and enthused “The Fall.” The rest of their amazing and performance was filled with songs from their newest release “The Carpenter,” as well as songs from previous albums, including and a cover of “the Prettiest Thing” by David Childers & The Modern Don Juans. Their main set ended with an energetic and humble “Kick Drum Heart,” before the crowd’s and my own cheers brought the band back onto the stage for a brief two song encore.
Set list:
1. The Fall
2. Will You Return?
3. February Seven
4. Paul Newman vs. The Demons
5. Laundry Room
6. Jam (to the tune of “Sally’s Lover”)
7. January Wedding
8. At the Beach
9. Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
10. The Prettiest Thing
11. Down with the Shine
12. Distraction #47
13. Paranoi in B-flat Minor
14. Live and Die
15. Go to Sleep
16. Winter in My Heart
17. Kick Drum Heart
Encore:
18. Murder in the City
19. Talk on Indolence
Lastly, the incredible Foo Fighters took the main stage to close out a long and wonderful afternoon filled with great music. I had never seen the rock legends before, but they were nothing shy from what I had read. The insanely loud, filled with passion, and super bad-ass! They began with a dark stage being instantly lit up as the band started with “White Limo.” Lead singer, Dave Grohl’s reputation of putting on a great crowd driven performance didn’t do him any justice. As he and the band played through amazing song after song, they only became more excited based off the crowd’s amazing energy and excitement. Hits like “The Pretender,” “Best of You,” and “Rope” left the thousands of fans in the park bouncing up and down, losing their voices as they sang along with the band. Foo Fighters even included covers into their long set and played Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some,” Pink Floyd’s “In the Flesh,” Tom Petty’s “Breakdown” and, previous performer, Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” featuring Jett singing along with them on stage! To say the Foo Fighters blew my mind is a complete understatement. I’ve never seen a band perform with such a high amount of strength, passion and connection to their crowd. Let’s all feel blessed for Music Midtown’s return and hope that amazing, once in a life time, line-ups continue to fill our park every fall.
Set list:
1. White Limo
2. All My Life
3. Rope
4. The Pretender
5. My Hero
6. Learn to Fly
7. Arlandria
8. These Days
9. Walk
10. Everybody Wants Some!!
11. Cold Day in the Sun
12. Monkey Wrench
13. Hey, Johnny Park!
14. This is a Call
15. In the Flesh?
16. Best of You
17. Times Like These
18. Dear Rosemary
19. Breakdown
20. Bad Reputation
21. Everlong
Photos in order of Van Hunt, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, T.I , The Avett Brothers, and Foo Fighters
