Day three of Music Midtown opened Sunday with blue skies and sunshine, a welcome reprieve from yesterday’s early showers.
Small crowds formed for the early acts but were fairly sparse; more attendees are expected to arrive as the day gets closer to today’s headliners, Lil Baby, Incubus and Guns N’ Roses.
Even though the crowds weren’t huge, they appeared more than pleased at the performances of some of the lesser known groups that preceded the headliners.
Inhaler
Inhaler, an Irish pop rock band, took the Venmo stage by storm, their indie rock sound blaring out across Piedmont Park under sunny skies Sunday afternoon.
Lead singer and frontman Elijah Hewson brought strong musical talent and a star quality to the stage. He may have learned a thing or two from his dad, Bono, the lead singer of U2 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
“We love you, Georgia!” Hewson said.
They opened with “These Are The Days” from their sophomore album, “Cuts and Bruises,” which came out this year.
While they had two guitars, bass guitar and drums dominating their sound, they also had keyboard and special effects adding layers of complexity to the performance.
But Hewson’s clear, bright vocals stole the show as his voice resonated out across the audience.Inhaler maintained an upbeat rhythm for the set, giving the audience the chance to bounce and sway along. They have developed a stronger following in the U.S. over the last few years after debuting at number one on the Irish Albums Chart in their home country.
The band performed some of their top tracks, including “Just To Keep You Satisfied,” and “It Won’t Always Be Like This,” and they closed with “My Honest Face,” one of their most well-known songs.The band took a break from opening for Pearl Jam in several U.S. cities to perform at the Bourbon and Beyond music festival in Kentucky on Friday and at Music Midtown Sunday.
Masego
Jamaican-American musician known for his use of the saxophone in his groovy tunes, Micah Davis’ fame took off in 2015 with his release of “The Pink Polo EP.”
Touting more than six million listeners on Spotify, the artist better known as Masego has acquired quite a following, with a few songs going viral, including “Tadow” and “Navajo.”Masego means “blessings” in the South African language Tswana, and that’s just the feeling you get while listening to his music.
The artist often combines jazz, trap and house, which landed him on the lineup for the Atlanta Jazz Festival in 2022.As expected, his hit “Navajo” was his set kicker. As soon as Masego walked on stage playing his saxophone, crowds ran from nearby areas just to catch a glimpse of the musician.
The first thing Masego noticed was the heat. “It’s hot, it’s hot,” he exclaimed, and later stated, “I’m going to keep my shirt on for as long as I can.” Perhaps wearing cargo pants and a sweater was not the best choice, but the fall outfit did not restrict him for dancing across the stage.
The most iconic moment of his performance? Throwing bills during his song “Black Anime,” which its most repeated word is, money. The song appears to highlight Masego’s drive, success and eagerness to continue his career. Though most of the fake cash landed on the stage, fans still reached up in hopes of snagging a keepsake.”What You Wanna Try” and “Good & Plenty” were just some of the later tracks that sold the crowd.
Many sang along, swayed to the beat and intently took in every second of Masego’s performance. He finished his set with his hit song, “Tadow,” which he jokingly called a new song that no one yet heard.
For the record, the artist did not end up keeping his sweater on for very long at all.”It also smells like mulch,” he stated. Which is the best way to describe the smell of Music Midtown on Sunday, especially in the particularly muddy spots.
Tove Lo
Indie and electronic artist Ebba Tove Nilsson, known to the public as Tove Lo, has been center stage since 2014 with the release of her debut album “Queen of the Clouds,” which features one of her most played songs to date, “Habits (Stay High).”
The Swedish singer and songwriter has since been releasing music at a steady pace, with her most recent album, “Dirt Femme,” released in October 2022.It‘s the artist’s third time performing at the festival, with performances in 2015 and 2017, and she certainly brought a crowd with her.
Donning a teal sequin two-piece, Tove Lo looked stunning, and her voice was as beautiful as ever. Her song “Cool Girl” had the entire crowd on the lawn singing.,
If you’re wondering if the stage was just as impressive as Tove Lo’s outfit, the answer is yes. Decorated with clouds to appear as if the artist was flying, every time she jumped, it almost felt like she would start to float.
For many who grew up with the artist, “Talking Body” is just one of her many quintessential tracks. It would not be an exaggeration to say that every person on the lawn sang along to the chorus as Tove Lo flashed the crowd, an act many fans eagerly anticipate.Though Tove Lo married in 2020, her song “Suburbia” from her most recent album highlights a woman’s choice to not live by the book and pick options that differ from marriage and children. It’s a clear crowd favorite for its lyrics alone.
What’s particularly impressive about Tove Lo’s performance is her vocal control. Flat notes. What are those? The singer doesn’t make mistakes.
“Thank you for being such a beautiful crowd,” she said near the end of her set, which closed with “Habits (Stay High)” followed by “No One Dies From Love,” the latter which she remarked was “for the gays.”
Stay tuned for more coverage, including for tonight’s highly anticipated headliners: Lil Baby, Incubus and Guns N’ Roses.
