Live music continues! This time I’m back at my first festival since 2019, and it was a glorious return. Even better? The weather worked out well and the crowds were into it! I think the collective gratitude at being back at a festival made everyone friendly and just generally excited about life. Myself included.
This also happened to be my first solo concert ever, so for it to be an all day event was even more monumental! I would say that it was pretty darn fun, and this just confirms that I’ll be doing more solo outings in the months and years to come. It should be noted that up until last year, Wonderstruck Music Festival used to be known as Laurel Live. Sadly, last year’s event got cancelled, so the new iteration of this festival took place this weekend instead! Even though it donned a new name and venue, it was still the same minds putting it all on, so I knew it was going to be a nice festival and I was correct.
It took place a Lakeland Community College, so one super nice thing about that was that parking was close by! This year also saw a lot of cool food and merchant vendors. Last time I attended Laurel Live in 2018, the food was good, if lacking, so to see so many options this time around was nice! Aside from three stages to the usual two, there were also a lot of fun activities that people could participate in, like inflatable obstacle courses, CrossNet, face painting, and jumbo “beer” pong! Really though, I was there for the music, so I found good spots at each of the stages for most of the acts of the day and let myself get lost in song.
The show opened with a Cleveland native by the name of Jack Harris, followed by Londin Thompson, both of who admitted to Wonderstruck being their first festival performances. That’s a really cool opportunity! While they weren’t necessarily my cup of tea, I can’t deny their talent and the crowd was definitely feeling it. A performer who really impressed the pants off of me was Royal & the Serpent, whose name I’ve seen pop up on Sirius XM’s AltNation channel, but I’ve promptly skipped past her in the car. She was hardcore and had a truly unique voice with unlimited talent. Shows what I know! On the total flip side of that, JP Saxe, who garnered a lot of recognition before the pandemic seemed to really be lacking. I texted my sister that it might have been the most boring set of music I have ever heard. Again, probably just not for me, because the crowd seemed to be a fan regardless.
The day then started to shift into evening, and I rounded out my time at Wonderstruck listening to three really talented acts. First up on the smallest stage at the festival was the band Hembree. These dudes have some mad skill! Seriously, go check them out. They, like me, were equally as excited to go check out Third Eye Blind next, and I was lucky enough to secure a spot off to the side but at the front of the stage! They certainly didn’t disappoint by playing all the hits you know and love, but also played a brand new track that they announced would be heard on an album due in September! Finally, the evening ended with headliner and Ohio natives, Walk the Moon. They were high energy like I expected them to be and the crowd was loving every single minute of it. They started off hot with a handful of radio hits, but then got to play a couple new songs off an upcoming release, along with some other hits that seemed to surprise the crowd. Naturally, they ended as strong as they started with some more chart-toppers.
Overall, it was a really pleasant return to music festivals. I’m glad it was a fairly local event that I got to support, and I’m even more glad that I enjoyed it on my own. I look forward to more concerts rolling in as long as everyone can get their crap together!