You ever live in a moment that you wish would never end? I think that’s how we’re feeling as day two of Phillips Backyard Music Festival – REVERB has officially come to a close. It was a mixed genre lineup for the second day of the festival, and it featured a headlining set from Phantogram. Day two had something for everyone, and while we may all have different tastes, we can all agree that listening to good music and drinking some great Phillips beverages is a perfect way to spend your Saturday.
Before we get into the festival itself, Music BC hosted a jumpstart chat in Phillips Brewing’s tasting room with the headliners of day two, Phantogram. Moderated by Jenny West Cooney from The Zone at 91.3, the three dived into an assortment of questions. From talking about their beginning, to giving advice to other musicians in the crowd. It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to listen to some premium level artists talk about their craft in a intimate setting. The only downside to the chat, was that we didn’t get to see Phantogram’s dog, but we’ll be okay. Hats off to Music BC and the festival for adding this cool experience this year; we hope it returns for next year’s festival as well.
Back at the festival site, we returned to the main stage for the first artists of the day. Vox Rea is a band of constant reinvention and innovation. their sets can be full of guitars and rock, twee and delicate or as we learned yesterday, a heavy electronic party. Their new synth set was fun, driven, and the best we’ve seen the sibiling duo. The addition of a live saxophonist took their performance to the next level with almost improvisational moments to compliment Kate and Lauren Kurdyak’s vocal harmonies. Up next was Diamond Cafe. Let’s be real – there is no one who does it quite like Diamond Cafe and to be able to say he’s from our own backyard is truly an honour. While his sound is similar to the likes of Prince and Michael Jackson, Diamond Cafe still has his own unique sound and presence, which was loved by the festival crowd. From there, we moved onto Dragonette. We’re not sure if it’s possible to watch her set while standing still, because when they were playing, we saw crowd jumping and dancing the entire time. Especially when she performed Hello, the feeling of fun and joy radiated throughout the festival grounds. All these opening artists brought a beautiful vibe to the main stage, and it was a perfect way to kick things off.
While the dance party was at the main stage, the Music BC stage was home to the more relaxing sets of the day. Starting off with some weird sounds by Clare Twiddy. We didn’t mean that as an insult; they started off with their song My K1nd of W3!rd, which featured some cool vocal effects. Clare’s set was fun and outside the box. The stage then switched over for Cam Blake and his five-piece band. A very chill folky sound with a bit of grunginess from Cam’s electric guitar. Big fans of how full their set sounded and we’re sure the vibes in the crowd were the exact same. Closing out the stage was Emmett Jerome. According to Emmett, their drummer couldn’t make it this time around. If you thought that would stop Emmett from putting of a stellar performance, then you’d be mistaken. He’s a man of many talents including playing guitar, harmonica, and a luggage case bass drum. It was a sight to behold and if you happened to enjoy his set, he’ll be back with day one performer, Antonio Larosa when they play The Duke Saloon next month. Music BC has done it again with a great selection of artists and we can’t believe there’s only a few more artists left to perform on it.
Back at the main stage, it was time for Michigan’s BØRNS. He started his set off with him playing acoustic guitar alone on stage, but as the opening song progressed, the rest of his band joined him on stage. His voice is so powerful as it blended with his band’s pop-alternative sound. Things kicked up a notch when he performed his hit, Electric Love from his 2015 release, Dopamine. Everyone in the crowd knew the lyrics front to back, creating this amazing sound scape as the yellow-blue sunset started coming in to view. A very lovely performance overall and I think it will be talked about in the days to come.
As the night sky arrived above the festival grounds, day two’s headliner was ready to take to the stage. New York’s Phantogram put on more than just a musical performance. When you see them live, you get thumping bass, crazy loops, powerful vocals, and a sick lightshow. A great example of this experience is when they played Fall in Love, all those previously mentioned elements put together in this one song made for an audio-visual masterpiece. Having a crazy show experience can sometimes come at a cost however, and that cost was a technical issue that stopped the show mid-way through the set. In moments like these, the first thing most people would do is panic. However, during their jumpstart talk earlier in the day, Josh from Phantogram talked about not losing your shit when things go wrong. He went on further to explain how sometimes things are beyond your control and that you just have to roll with it. Sarah from Phantogram added on saying when these issues arise, “Don’t let it ruin your night. You are there for the fans”. With this in mind, you could see everyone in the band so relaxed when this technical issue was happening. After a short couple of minutes, everything was powered back on and the set continued. Phantogram practiced what they preached, and as their set came to an end, we couldn’t help but think how professional and strong of a group they are.
Somehow, we have reached the final day of the festival and our final time at Phillips Backyard for 2025. Thinking about it is quite sad really, but there’s no time to be down about it. We still have a full day of incredible music to cover and while we’re sure day three will create some memorable moments, we are already reminiscing about the last two days.
