BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB
Bombay Bicycle Club’s atmospheric pep-pop has fast-tracked their careers as a staple indie band. The band capitalized on their recent fame by drawing much of their set from their wildly successful third album “A Different Kind of Fix.” Moody guitar and ethereal guest vocals showcased the British quartet’s nuanced musical style. BBC revealed unexpected musicianship as they meandered into slithery funk master jams while soloing into the keyboard-mashing crowd-pleaser “Shuffle” to wrap the set.

MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
Seattle rapper Macklemore delivers cathartic lines of poetry depicting drug addiction and social adversity. His fast track spitting juxtaposed against Ryan Lewis’ tantalizing vocals created a meaningful rendition of single “Otherside ” while remaining true to Macklemore’s hip-hop sentiments. Maklemore worked the crowd like a seasoned pro, whether he was divulging his love for David Bowie’s “Labyrinth” as he introduced new single “Thrift Shops” or orchestrating a “visual spectacle” during the chorus of soulful anthem “Can’t Hold Us.”
Macklemore’s “take no prisoners” showmanship and eclectic musical approach cemented his place as one of hip-hop’s major players.

GARY CLARK JR
Gary Clark Jr. has graced the most festival bills out of any other artist this year, and for good reason. In support of his EP “Bright Lights,” this axe-shredding Texan has gained some traction thanks to the resurgence of lo-fi blues-rock. Shielded from the beating sun by a black felt fedora and dark shades, Clark personified his fuzzy, down-by-the-bayou sound as he unleashed a strain of blues never heard by this generation as he began the set with a 10-minute jam of “When My Train Pulls In.” Throughout the draining hour-long set, Clark refused to relent and attacked every solo with no-holds-barred gusto without fail, weaving through riffs like Clapton with southern comfort and topped off with a tab of Hendrix psychedelia Clark wrapped an electrifying set with a rendition of his lead single “Bright Lights,” scuffed with grime and wrought with emotion that was overshadowed in the squeaky-clean studio version

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Florence Welch has trail blazed her own genre of mystical chamber rock and become one of the most eccentric images in the music industry as one of the most original front women to traipse the stage, with the mysticism of Stevie Nicks and bombastic vocal power of Celine Dion. True to her theatrical form, Welch seemed to levitate across the stage, clad in a flowing floor-length crimson and black gown, and the purred the languid intro to her most recent single “Only If For A Night.” Welch spent much of the set showcasing her powerful pipes with “Cosmic Love” and “No Light, No Light.” Rather than the bombastic wailer that her music seems to suggest, Welch is more of a Woodstock hippie with access to copious amounts of lights, a theatrical wardrobe and a fully loaded orchestra. As long as Welch continues to revolutionize her own genre with her powerful vocals and progressive compositions, she can continue being the charming bohemian visionary she has become, but on a headlining stage.

JACK WHITE
Closing the weekend’s festivities, the Detroit rocker stormed the spacious Bud Light Stage alongside his all-male band and shattered sound barriers with the ripcord riff of “Sixteen Saltines.” White had the dedicated chord wrapped around his finger as he oscillated between bluegrass crooner and garage rock wild child, pulling from a seemingly interminable catalog encompassing three accomplished bands and solo projects. White used lead solo single “Love Interruption” as an opportunity for an unexpected set change as he switched from his dapper backing band, Los Buzzardos, to jazzy femme outfit The Peacocks. Following a handful of upbeat fist-pumpers, White dusted off old Danger Mouse collaboration “Two Against One” with a spine-bending riff and impassioned vocals. White briefly screeched the set to a painful halt for what fans speculated was a smoke break and burst back out to crank out a rapid-fire four-song encore set, which capped with “Seven Nation Army.” As the crowd stood in awe that the perfectly constructed set-and the festival weekend, for that matter-was over, White bowed alongside both of his gender-centric outfits and bid fans farewell. His parting words? With a self-satisfied smile and twinkling opal eyes White muttered in a throaty drawl, “Go home and hug your mothers and fathers.” And after that performance, that’s the least we can do.
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