PHOTOS: CAITLIN STOWE | At 6:00 this Saturday evening, Dallas-Fort Worth was already drunk and partying like it was 1999. If you were anywhere near Fort Worth’s Panther Island Pavilion around that time, you might have heard what sounded like a ‘90s themed rager clamoring from under the Henderson Street bridge. Actually, not so far off, it was the sound of Los Angeles’s underground hip-hop outfit People Under the Stairs, rallying Untapped Festival-goers in unified fist pumping and lively chanting. Brewskis in hand and emboldened by Double K and Thes One’s humor and bouncy beats, the crowd sang along, “If you don’t like beer, get the fuck outta here!”—lyrics to the duo’s appropriately-named party anthem “Beer,” but moreover, a motto gloriously summing up the Untapped experience.
You could say, then, that Untapped Fest was once again victorious. After debuting only last year, the festival made its return to Fort Worth this weekend. Despite an unfortunate bout of wet, wintry weather—a serious matter of concern for us Texans—the evening’s events proceeded through the toe-numbing cold, bringing festival attendees more craft beer and even bigger, bolder acts than before.
While its selection of more than 200 beers inevitably drew many to the event, Untapped’s rich, rather diverse lineup of indie talent gave them reason to stay. Over the course of six hours, eight local, national and international acts took place on the festival’s two stages, providing non-stop music to pair with the non-stop drinking that inevitably ensued.
The lineup commenced with Parisian outfit La Femme, whose eccentric, European spin on surfer pop made for a dance-worthy albeit quirky start to the day. Highlights of their set include the group’s quintessentially-French uniform of berets, leather moto jackets and pouty faces—amusing, to say the least—and a whimsical performance of “Anti-Taxi,” a song about taking the bus because, as the band says, “in France, taxi drivers are fucking assholes.” Awesome.
Switching gears, next, Dallas-based rappers Sam Lao and -topic both took to the stage for a collaborative performance. Despite differences in style, the two complemented each other well. While both artists commanded the crowd with some serious flow, Lao’s quick tongue, Iggy Azalea-like tones and psychedelic, effortlessly cool vibes outshined -topic’s performance, although the latter’s knack for hard-hitting beats and thoughtful, socially-conscious lyrics were not to be disregarded.
Again switching from one extreme to another, next up were local favorites Quaker City Night Hawks, a Fort Worth-based rock n’ roll band with a tinge of soul and blues, and a whole lot of Texas boogie. With a brand of down-home, harmony-laced rock rooted in the South, they indeed are the sonic equivalent of a cold beer on a Texas Saturday night. Their set featured a range of warm, groove-worthy songs off their discography as well as a song written by young emerging talent Leon Bridges, whose smoky, soulful vocals call to mind a younger, perhaps sweeter, Gary Clark, Jr. Bridges joined the band on stage for the beginning half of the show, only adding to a bluesy performance that was indubitably what you’d expect—and hope—to experience at a Texan music and beer festival.
On the other hand, you wouldn’t have expected to see two middle-aged West Coast hip-hop artists who rap about getting stoned and drinking 40s. But that didn’t make People Under the Stairs’s performance any less dope (pun intended). In fact, their set was one of the most entertaining of the entire event. So these guys aren’t 20 years old anymore, but there’s no denying they’ve still got the swag to get a crowd going. As the duo took to the stage, they proceeded to own every song, as well as the attention of every festival-goer within earshot. Whether they were appealing to nostalgia with performing crowd-pleasing favorites, freestyling about members of the audience or cheersing to intoxication, the pair charmed the crowd with humor and the power of cool, breezy West Coast vibes.
As the night began to settle in over the event and the last trace of sunlight took its leave, unfortunately so did a good chunk of Untapped’s crowd. To reiterate, Texans and below-40 temperatures don’t exactly mix well—a sad fact and damn shame, too, because the festival’s best was yet to come.
While New York-based folk band The Felice Brothers gave an energetic yet admittedly forgettable performance, indie pop quintet Lucius, also from the Empire State, served up a heaping of delicious perfection yet again. Leading ladies Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe braved the cold, in tights nonetheless, to give one hell of a show, easily a highlight of the entire festival. The two have an uncannily powerful stage presence. As the band moved through their set, the duo’s gorgeous voices ringing out in perfectly-pitched harmony and stunning the crowd into silence, the faces of those doubting audience members, who’d perhaps never heard of Lucius before the evening, quickly transformed from skepticism to intrigue to absolute amazement.
Ah, the power of live music.
And yet, despite the extent of stand-up acts to grace the festival’s stages on Saturday, the real star of the day was a long-blond-haired, bespectacled hippie. Needless to say, 25-year old soul singer Allen Stone stole the show by a mile. As the Seattle-based artist opened his mouth to sing, any preconceived notion of what you thought you were going to experience was completely shot. The guy’s talent is legendary, and something only truly understandable in the context of his live set. Maybe because it comes as a surprise when hailing from a singer who looks more like a backwoods folk artist than an all-out powerhouse with downright raw, hair-raising, take-you-to-church soul—and coordinated hips, to boot.
Throughout the set, Stone sang a combination of feel-good tunes off his two records and introduced several new songs, a favorite of which is called “Voodoo.” An appropriate choice for a man who so easily casted a spell over his audience. From his buttery, knee-melting pipes to his funky, gospelesque performance—think bouts of arm flailing, fancy footwork and a glorious stank face—everything about Stone just oozes good vibes. As evident by the sheer volume of bodies swaying in time to Stone’s performance, Untapped Fest undoubtedly ate it up. Highlights of the set included “Sleep,” a jumpin-and-jivin number off his latest album, and the singer’s super jazzy cover of Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good,” which only reinforced the fact that Allen Stone might damn well be the funkiest cat you’ll ever meet.
Stone’s performance was hard to beat. In fact, a sizable portion of the remaining crowd called it a day afterward, despite that headliner The Joy Formidable had yet to perform. The beer had long gone by this point, anyway. Still, despite the somewhat small, rather drunk audience willing to bear the cold another hour, the trio made the stay worth their while with a high energy show to cap off the evening.
Overall, despite the weather, Untapped succeeded in giving Fort Worth one hell of a time. With a diverse lineup of artists and craft brews to appeal to many a palette, the event brought Texans from all walks of life together to enjoy the two things these folks love most: good music and good beer.
Yes, the air was cold, but the beer was even colder. And the music was well worth the risk of pneumonia.
