Only five years into the game and Head In The Clouds Festival has already found the keys to success. With both a music and food lineup that focuses on Asian culture, every time slot, from the early acts to the headliners, were ones you didn’t want to miss. The artists spanned genres for everyone, from pop to heavy rock. The festival also had a food court curated by the 626 Night Market, which ranged from agua frescas from Sunday Cafe served in bear and baby-shaped bottles to specialty and stuffed corn dogs to ramen. The festival also included a boba village.
Some of the acts I got to see over the weekend included:
Rina Sawayama, whose act was amazing from her vocals to her outfits to the choreography; not a beat was missed during her set. Sawayama played some of her biggest hits including “Beg For You,“ her song with Charli XCX, and “Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys).”
Voice of Baceprot (VOB), an all-female heavy rock trio from Indonesia who played some songs off of their recently released debut album, RETAS. These songs included “God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music” and “[NOT] PUBLIC PROPERTY.” Their set and stage performance surprised a lot of people, who are no doubt now fans of their music.
Jackson Wang: When it comes to Jackson Wang, you never doubt his mic is on as he leaves it all on the stage with his performance. Although he had to take a few breaks between some songs, his vocals and choreography more than compensated. Draped in a half-black, half-red suit with half-black half-blond hair and some eye makeup to complete the look, watching Wang’s set felt like watching a version of a modern Michael Jackson. I left the venue that night a fan.
Lyn Lapid: Despite technical difficulties, Lapid made the most out of her set for her very first festival in the U.S. After some loud static seemed to have blown out their music tracks and equipment, she switched to an acoustic set for the rest of her time. The crowd acted as the click track by snapping along as she performed songs including the unreleased “Eastside” and hit “paperboy”.
ZEDD: The one exception to the all-asian lineup, special guest Zedd took the stage as the sun tucked in behind the mountains and the hot day transitioned into a nice cool night. He had lasers and pyrotechnics, with a set that included remixed hits like “Rude” by MAGIC!, “Break Free” by Ariana Grande, some original remixes like “Stay” with Alessia Cara and “Beautiful Now.”
