Middle of The Map Fest 2018 brought insane amounts of talent from all corners of the U.S., though none as impressive as our Kansas City-based lineup. (That is, if we do say so ourselves.) Check out some photos of Wonderfuzz, Pageant Boys, Fullbloods, The Beholders, and Other Americans below!
Middle of The Map 2018 was absolutely insane. Not only was it one of the hottest weekends in Kansas City of the year thus far, but there was construction on every corner, and a lot of other events happening in the area. Despite all of the hullabaloo, we were able to nab some photos throughout the weekend. Below, check out some shots of Sports, Red Shahan, The Vik G. Trio, Calvin Arsenia, and Belle & The Vertigo Waves.
On July 21st, Scotty McCreery made an incredible appearance at Summer Splash in Salina, KS. Photographer Rayne Schmidtberger was on hand, and we have some snaps of the evening to share.
On Friday, July 27, the indie rock scene descended on Providence Medical Center Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS yet again to celebrate 96.5 The Buzz’s annual Beach Ball. Photographer Ashleigh Lee was on site, and she nabbed some incredible photos of AWOLNATION, Portugal. The Man, lovelytheband, and Joywave for us!
Ciaran Lavery, an Irish singer/songwriter, performed an intimate solo set at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall on June 22nd.
Playing to a small, darkened room, a reverent silence took hold of the audience the moment Lavery began his first song. Switching back and forth between acoustic guitar and piano, his sparse accompaniments allowed his gentle, hushed voice to soar. With introspective, narrative lyrics, Lavery is a poetic storyteller. His ballads pull at your heartstrings, his words run the gamut of emotional experience. As a performer, he makes meaningful eye contact with each member of his audience, drawing his listeners further into his world.
In-between songs, Lavery continued his stories, revealing his sense of humor. Speaking of nervousness on an airplane, he once tried to relax by watching, as a dog lover, Marley and Me. He wasn’t, however, aware of the ending. Lavery also had a revelation while listening to the radio on a long drive, attempting to figure out the meaning of the genre “soft rock.” With a creeping sense of dread, he put it together: he is soft rock. Lavery easily pulled laughs from his listeners’ throats as he framed simple, universal experiences as ones of casual mirth.
More info about Lavery can be found here.
On June 21st, Aimee Mann and Superchunk entertained a large crowd at the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in New York. Photographer Christie McMenamin was on hand, and captured some stunning photos for us.
On June 21st, Caroline Rose entertained an enchanted crowd at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas. Photographer Erica Tello took a handful of photos to capture the ambiance of the evening.
Keep up with Caroline Rose here.
June 29th and 30th marked another year of Middle of The Map Fest in Kansas City, MO. Having morphed into several different versions of itself over the years, this year the festival narrowed its performance dates to two, and stepped up their local music offerings. Acts like Rachel Mallin & The Wild Type, Mess, Chloe Jacobson, and Other Americans tore up several stages in the Kansas City Crossroads during the day, despite the insane heat. Social Distortion, Built to Spill, Grizzly Bear, Spoon, and more were phenomenal headliners, and made it easy to forget the outside world. Urban magic. Ashleigh Lee nabbed some pictures for us during the two day event, so we thought it was time to share!
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If you can remember back to Boulevardia 2017, you may have been just as bummed out that you missed Guster due to the rain out as most. But — for those of us who didn’t chicken out and bail from heat exhaustion or thunderstorms — Guster regaled an infectiously energetic crowd in a parking garage. As immaculate as it was, it was amazing to have the band back in town for round two at Boulevardia 2018 so they could share their chops on stage with the masses. Thanks to Guster for making it back, and to Boulevardia for one insane weekend.
