Massive crowds, sweltering heat, and scarce cloud cover made the Hinterland music festival quite the endurance test. But thanks to one of the best festivals lineups of 2024 and proper hydration, the latest edition of the Iowa music festival was an incredible weekend.
Hinterland began in 2015 and has evolved into multiple forms over the years. With headliners ranging from Glass Animals, Kacey Musgrave, Bon Iver, Sturgill Simpson, and more, it often offers a solid collection of the biggest names in indie rock, country, and folk. This year was no different with it’s trio of headliners Hozier, Vampire Weekend, and Noah Kahan. But it was the prognostic inclusion of Chappell Roan that gave the festival one of the most exciting atmospheres of anticipation in recent memory.
Hinterland 2024 will forever be known for the Sunday matinee performance of Chappell Roan, but we can get to that later. This year’s edition experienced volume of crowds never before seen and while some festival goers expressed displeasure in the elements, there were zero complaints about the bands that took the stage. From Friday afternoon until Noah Kahan closed down the fest on Sunday night with “Stick Season,” there were several moments that will be hard to forget. Here is a list of the five most memorable moments of Hinterland 2024.
5) “Ramblin” by Red Clay Strays
From the opening “1, 2, 3, 4,” from lead singer Brandon Coleman, the Alabama southern rock band announced their presence with a massive jam out. I thought I knew who the Red Clay Strays were, but I had no idea. With powering guitar riffs, heart-piercing bass, and soaring drums, it was impossible not to be pulled right in and captivated. But it is the voice of Coleman that completely floored me. Bringing to mind comparisons to Chris Stapleton, or Kings of Leon, I was transfixed. What followed was 45 minutes of discovering the next big thing in Southern Rock.
4) “Mary Boone” by Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend has always been an incredibly self-aware band. After debuting in 2008, the Brooklyn alt-rock group was the definition of cool indie kid band. Their sound oozed of young angst, carefree party anthems, and Ezra’s falsettos. But as the band has aged and matured so has their music. Their latest album Only God Was Above Us showed the evolution of a band 16 years in the making. Gone are the Paul Simon comparisons, and Beach boy guitar solos. Instead we find a band finding a much much bigger sound. “Mary Boone” was the best part of their concert in terms of staging, lights and music.
Starting with just lead singer Ezra Koenig standing next to drummer Chris Tomson, lit only by a florescent lightbulb, the opening verse serenaded the crowd, but as the song built to the drop of their chorus, the audience was literally and figuratively blown away.
The crispness of the sound and introduction of horns, brass, piano and others have made the punky, hip 2000s band transform into a borderline arena rock group. This album was a huge step in the progression of their catalog and their Saturday headline set shown that fantastic evolution.
3) “Cherry Wine” by Hozier
As mentioned before there were a lot of people at Hinterland. To plan for a headline set in front of that many, it usually takes a lot of planning. Whether it’s putting on a theatrical themed show with dancers or visuals. Or including a spectacular light show to pull of something big and “headline worthy.” Yet, somehow towards the end of Hozier’s Saturday night headliner, it was just Hozier, his guitar and a setting moon on the screen behind him. As he strummed the acoustic strings and his incredible voice soared over the Iowa field he held every single person in the palm of his hands.
In the social media driven age we live in now where people’s attention spans usually only cover seconds the audience was silent for 4 minutes as he took us all to church. There is no one better than Hozier right now!
2) The amazing crowd work of Noah Kahan
Noah Kahan put on an incredible show Sunday night for the highest attended day of the festival. Playing his massive hits like “Dial Drunk,” and “Stick Season” while mixing old favorites the crowd was loving every second. But what has left the most lasting impression is how in tune he was with the crowd. I don’t ever remember a festival set where the main artist interacted with the crowd so much.
About 4 songs into the show he spotted a fan with a torn apart beer box that had a message on it. After reading it, Kahan yelled “(Heck) Yeah I will autograph your Zoloft for you.”
So the fan threw his prescription medication on stage, a guitar tech brought Noah a marker, he signed it and returned it. A few songs later, fans in the front row showed a giant beach towel and Noah jumped off the stage to take a closer look. What he found was his face placed on the label of a giant bottle of ranch. An inside joke? Maybe. But he grabbed it, tied it around his neck then played the next three songs with it on.
The most heartfelt moment was when he found two girls holding a poster with a checklist.
“Travel 500 miles to Hinterland” Check
“See Noah Kahan on our birthday that we share” Check
“Hear Noah play “Strawberry Wine” with an open box
Kahan smiled and said, “well thats a super slow sad one, not sure if it’s the best song to play for a headliner at a festival, but alright”
It was charming, sweet, and made those girl’s nights and maybe lives. It showed what an amazing person Kahan is, alongside what a talented artist and performer. It was the perfect way to end the festival.
1) “HOT TO GO” by Chappell Roan
The fact the seminal moment of the weekend is when an artist was singing about how hot something is is what you may call irony. But for anyone that attended all three days of Hinterland it is impossible not to admit there has never been anything like Chappell Roan’s afternoon set. The anticipation and atmosphere was like nothing I had ever seen. Thousands of pink cowboy hats all over to be seen. Men and women in white makeup and glitter, so much glitter. Sparkly jackets, sparkly pants, sparkles everywhere. In the hours leading up to, it was the most crowded with the highest temps, but no one was complaining. They were just counting down. Then, she took the stage.
As she walked out in a Nun costume the crowd went absolutely bonkers. From the opening chord to the last note of her final song “Pink Pony Club,” the audience moved up and down in a way that was almost in perfect unison and the joy and excitement matched the levels of what you are seeing in the stadiums around the world hosting another massive pop star.
As the opening of her hit “Hot to Go” started she decided to teach the crowd how to do the dance. At this moment the whole crowd realized they were about to be apart of something incredibly special. What followed was her poppiest song and the largest display of crowd participation I have ever seen in the state of Iowa, Tens of thousands of arms in the air like you were at a high school dance when “YMCA” came on.
WATCH: Hot To Go by Chappell Roan
At this moment I realized I was a part of something incredibly special. Roan is not just a budding superstar, she is a supernova. An artist on the cusp of reaching a level only the Gagas, Swifts and Adeles have hit in recent years. Is she the current day Madonna? She just might be. I will never forget her Sunday set, and everyone that was there will be talking about it for years and years to come.
For more details about Hinterland, which takes place annually in Iowa, USA, head to hinterlandiowa.com.
