By Jacob Pellegrino
The Re:SET Concert Series is a new music festival format that works to address common complaints and issues with the typical format seen in large festivals. No more competing stages; attendees of Re:SET could easily see every artist performing. As the festival traveled around the country, stopping in Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, New York, and more places, the festival brought an unprecedented accessibility to a format that is normally localized to one place. With an exemplary lineup, Re:SET was a great experience that will hopefully come back for years to come.
We attended the Dallas stop of Re:SET, fighting a hot Texas summer to see the bands perform. While it cooled down at the end of each day as the sun set, finding shade was essential until then. Unfortunately, day three, headlined by LCD Soundsystem, was canceled due to storms and lightning that prevented the artists from playing for the crowd. Updates were handled in a timely manner via the festival’s Instagram account to keep potential attendees safe. Even with that unavoidable change, the first two days of the festival more than made up for it.
Day one was headlined by Boygenius and started with Bartees Strange, who began with a high energy set. Up next was Dijon, who had a video display showing a birds eye view of the group as they jammed for the crowd. A highlight of their set was “Talk Down” and their chemistry led to a great time for the audience. On site food options provided some tasty street tacos and water refill stations were available throughout the experience.
The crowd began to fill in more for Clairo, crowding the stage. While the stage setup was largely similar to other festivals, one point of annoyance was the VIP section, which was sparsely populated for its large size and made it harder for the average attendee to see the show and move through the crowd. Aside from her own songs, Clairo gave a great performance of “Bitter With the Sweet” by Carole King, whom she credited as an influence. Closing with “Bags,” Clairo restarted the song to get help for a concert goer fainting from the heat. The live instrumentation added another dimension to “Bags,” giving a strong close to a great set.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, Boygenius. Featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, the supergroup gave a high energy and emotional performance, getting reactions from the crowd not just for their music, but also for a resounding condemnation of Texas governor Greg Abbott led by the band. Coming out onto the stage with Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” blaring, the group’s comfortable humor and group dynamic captivated the crowd throughout the night, closing with a solo track from each of the members of the group. Their set again had interruptions to help keep crowd members safe, but kept up steam even with the delays.
There was a severe thunderstorm warning on day two that led to different stage setups than initially planned: Steve Lacy was unable to use his usual video screen. However, the storm that was warned of never materialized and the day went along smoothly with more attention given to making sure the crowd stayed hydrated. Learning from day one, none of the artists had to stop their sets for crowd members.
Fousheé began the day with a set that showcased her unique style. Toro y Moi came up next and brought a chill vibe to the venue with his atmospheric music. The crowd continued to fill in throughout the sets. There was a long delay after Toro y Moi as James Blake took the stage around a half hour late due to issues getting his instruments set up. Blake’s layered instrumentals and incredible vocal range were on full display throughout the night, hitting a wide range of notes when he asked the crowd to sing along. “Hummingbird” was a joy to hear live after seeing it in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Blake’s cover of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed” was beautiful and the closest most fans will ever get to seeing Frank perform.
Out of the weekend, the final act, Steve Lacy was perhaps the most engaging to see live. Lacy’s energy and inimitable stage presence kept the audience engaged and showed why he’s such a unique artist to follow. Lacy’s most recent tour sold out with a large margin added to the resale tickets online. The crowd at Re:SET hung onto every word from Lacy, singing along with most of the tracks, with an impressive knowledge of his words. Starting with “Helmet,” Lacy humorously talked to the audience throughout the show, guiding them through his catalog. Fousheé also came back out for a joint performance of “Sunshine.” Near the end of the show, Lacy asked the crowd to “watch this,” going right into playing his viral hit “Bad Habit.” Ending with “Dark Red,” Steve Lacy gave an unforgettable performance that was a fitting end to the festival.
Re:SET largely delivered on its promises to redefine the festival experience. I loved that I was able to see every artist playing, something that I am never able to do at traditional music festivals. Focusing on creating a quality, no-frills lineup, Re:SET also condenses the time commitment of a festival, something that is welcome with how exhausting a weekend-long music festival can be. Re:SET brings a more accessible festival experience around the country with quality acts who often sell out their own solo shows.
