“Louisville, I thought there were only horses here…” –Andre 3000, Outkast

Forecastle Festival was held in Louisville just a few weeks ago , and Matt, Doug and I got on board to take in the festivities. A few days after the fact, here are some superlatives I gave the artists, as well as people at the festival.

All photo credits: Doug Siegel

Most Likely to Succeed: Reignwolf

Reignwolf, like Twentyone Pilots, is a true performer. He’s just one dude with a guitar and a kickstand. You won’t expect him to do flips and stuff like the electro-duo, but he puts his heart and soul into his music, and that’s something the audience wants to see: passion.

Best Guitar Riff: Gary Clark, Jr.

Gary Clark Jr. is a favorite in the Grammy world, and for good reason. He’s an accomplished musician, who is a real technician on the guitar. Doesn’t hurt that he’s a real crooner. Making hearts melt with the drizzle on Friday.

Biggest Comeback: Billie Joe Armstrong with The Replacements

Last we really heard from Billie was…interesting. It’s great to see him happy, healthy, and playing a great set on Sunday. He even showed his dear affection to fellow bandmates (sorry we don’t have real pictures of those ;) )

Best Dressed: Lucius and Jenny Lewis

This isn’t about their awesome outfits, but more or less that the ladies kicked butt at Forecastle this year. Lucius and Jenny Lewis lead the pack along with Lauren Grace of Against Me! with amazing charisma and, of course, good tunes.

Most likely to show you a good time: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Brooklyn born and bred, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings brought the funk and soul to Forecastle and kept everyone on their feet. The songstress and the crew from Daptone records were probably the most, if not one of the most, entertaining act(s) at Forecastle.

Forecastle’s Party Animals: Twenty One Pilots

I know absolutely nothing about this group, but I saw them perform and I was floored. They were changing costumes every other song, they were wearing masks, crowd surfing, I think they did some blue man group moves? I don’t know it was all a blur. Anyway, the duo left all of their emotions on the stage, and luckily not a bone or two. I know if I were them, I’d try to jump off the piano and then proceed to kill myself. I’m not graceful.

Forecastle MVP: Beck

Beck, one of my personal all-time faves, closed Forecastle in a colorful, swaying performance heavy of tracks from the past 20 years. Everyone had their favorites from oldies like Loser to tracks from his newest album Morning Phase. I’m more of a Guero fan, but I was greatly satisfied with his performance. It was a great ending to a great festival.

The real MVPs, however, were the festival-goers of Forecastle. The bourbon-loving, down home Louisvillians were so welcoming to us and we had such a great time meeting everyone. Until next year!