Folk artist from Nashville, TN, Lille May, helped open up the final day of Bunbury. Signed on to Jack White’s label, Third Man Records, this angelic voice added with a range of instrumentals captivated the audience. The chemistry between Mae and her fellow bandmates illustrated the blatant harmonization and melodic tones to every song. Her foot-tapping and swaying songs, really left her audience feeling her music. Her angelic tone is similar to Dolly Pardon mixed with a little Miranda Lambert. Mae, who was a violinist for White, really blew the audience’s minds with her skillful folk-style of playing. She played songs like, “Honky Tonks and Taverns,” and “These Days.” Both of which are produced by White himself. (Natalya Daoud)
Columbus-based rock band, Bummers, drew a decently sized audience at the Sawyer Point Stage. The band consists of Chris Steris on bass, Steven Sikes-Gilbert on guitar, Jeff Pearl on vocals/guitar, and Mike Murtha on drums. Pearl’s voice is Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Tom Petty’s vocals combined. Their repetitive riffs and melodies are catchy and definitely give a summer vibe. The more the music grew louder, the more the audience grew engaged to it. (Natalya Daoud)
As the 10-member band from Pittsburgh, PA walked on stage, lead singer, Clinton Clegg saluted the crowd and immediately shocked everyone his rich and raspy vocals added with the band’s soulful and energetic set. Clegg actually called it, “rock-n-soul.” The trumpet, played by Nate Insko, and saxophone, played by Abby Gross, added with the lead guitar, played by Mikey DeLuca, keyboard and background vocals really captivated the souls of the audience. Each one of their master skillset blended really well with one another. Along with that comes Glegg’s powerful preaching singing voice-which cannot be compare to anyone else. Audience members talked about their performance hours after the ended their set. (Natalya Daoud)
Manchester always plays as if their life depended on it. They are a full-on rock n roll band. No gimmicks, no fancy set design, just incredible musicianship and lyrics. The eleven-song set was packed with hits such as, “Shake It Out,” “I’ve Got Friends,” “Simple Math,” and “Cope.” Everyone in attendance was overjoyed to sweat it out with the band and scream along. Manchester Orchestra ended the set with their recent hit, “The Gold.” If there is a magic formula to be a great rock band, they have it. I am happy the rest of the world is catching on. (Courtney Phenicie)
Hip-hop artist, Lecrae hit it off at the CVG River stage with fans dancing to every song. Lacrae performed songs such as “Come and Get Me,” “All I Need is You,” and “Blessings”-a song ft. Ty Dolla Sign. During his set, he tested the audience on their hip-hop history by asking them if they knew the lyrics to some of the staple hip-hop songs from the last two decades-which the audience knew every lyric. Lacrae then promoted his nonmisogynistic belief of women. He later illustrated his humble generosity by telling his audience about how he performs in prisons. It lead him to believe in not taking anything for granted. “If you woke up this morning, God ain’t done with you yet,” said Lecrae. He added that he is coming out with a new single called, “Get Back Right” ft. Zaytoven. Lecrae then ended the set with “I’ll Find You”-which is featured with singer/songwriter, Tori Kelly. (Natalya Daoud)
When the gates opened on Sunday afternoon, fans ran in to claim their spot in the front for Post. Keep in mind, he wasn’t on for over seven hours. So, to say the anticipation for this set was high is understated. Smoke filled the stage and Post erupted on stage to greet his roaring fans. He exclaimed, “Yo my name is Austin Richard Postand this is my first time at Bunbury…I know I’m not the only drunk one here tonight…” His set was low key but on point, beginning with green lights and smoke which slowly transitioned into red, blue and purple throughout the show. The appreciation he showed throughout the set was admirable. After every song Post showed love to his fans for making him who he is today, “People always told me I would not amount to much and here I am playing for all of you!” Singles such as, “Psycho,” “Takin’ Shots,” and “Cycle” were mixed in with throwbacks. While many rappers bring little more to the stage than racy lyrics and hyper-masculine energy, Post Malone showed that he can get down with both dirty rhymes and tender emotions. It’s not every day that you see an artist rap about beer bongs and Bentley’s while also being able to whip out an acoustic guitar and play it with ease and elegance. (Courtney Phenicie)
Singer/songwriter/musician, Jack White, gave a performance that most audience members will remember for years to come. Everything from the anticipation clock to the end was magical. His back-to-back song playing was memorizing. He performed songs like “Lazeretto,” “Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground” (White Stripes), “Seven Nation Army” (White Stripes), “Icky Thump,” (White Stripes) and “Steady as She Goes.” (The Raconteurs). It was not just the music that signified the performance, but it was the strangely satisfying intricate graphics of space and a doll with antlers, correlated to the music, which added the art to his artistry. Of course, White’s signature distorted playing not only signifies his true talent, but also can literally be heart from a mile away. The entire time, White switched from his Airline Jetson’s Jr., to his custom-built Parsons Guitars, The Blue Randy Tripe Jet. White also talked a little bit about the importance of King Records in the city, telling everyone to do their research. White then performed, what is now a sports anthem, “Seven Nation Army.” During that song, the crowd went wild and chanted the “oh, oh, oh, oh, oh” part ending the night. (Natalya Daoud)
