The inaugural Landmark Music Festival took place in West Potomac Park over the weekend, as artists including The Strokes, TV on the Radio, Ex Hex, Wale, Dan Deacon, CHVRCHES, and Miguel showcased their eclectic sounds to raise awareness and funding for the renovation of the National Mall.
As many who have wandered around the 700-acre Mall can likely attest, “America’s Front Yard” certainly needs a bit of sprucing up. The grounds, structures, and facilities are showing their age and the wear-and-tear that inevitably comes with hosting over 29 million visitors per year. It’s been four decades since the Mall’s last major renovation, and Landmark Festival was conceived to help enable $750 million worth of long-delayed repairs and upgrades for the nation’s flagship public space.
Given the local cause, it was fitting that a D.C. band kicked off the proceedings on Saturday afternoon. Ex Hex, current standard-bearers of the city’s rock scene, launched the festival with a rousing set on the Jefferson Stage (the festival’s largest), as Mary Timony led the three-piece through new-wavy power-pop gems such as “Waterfall,” “Don’t Want to Lose,” and “Everywhere.” A few hours later, D.C. rapper Wale hyped the crowd into a frenzy as he led off his performance with the DMV-themed “LoveHate Thing,” briefly jumping into the crowd to engage fans up-close.
Saturday’s highlights also included a lovely indie-folk set by Daughter and a raucous salvo of funk-inflected R&B from Miguel, who proved to be one of the weekend’s most dynamic and charismatic performers. Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. offered a mid-afternoon set of his (unsurprisingly Strokes-like) solo material before holding an impromptu autograph session for fans. The War on Drugs closed down the Miller Lite Stage with their textured, well-crafted (though somewhat bland) avant-Americana.
(DCist wasn’t among those bestowed with the privilege of photographing Drake’s set on Saturday, so we happily skipped it altogether. If you’re reading this, feel free to let us know how it was in the comments.)
While sampling from 42 artists over five stages spread across the riverside park, festival-goers had access to a smorgasbord of food vendors “curated” by José Andrés, including Oyamel, PEPE, Beefsteak, Ben’s Chili Bowl, Maki Shop, and Pete’s Apizza. The beer selection wasn’t quite as appetizing, as sponsors Miller Lite ruled the day and Blue Moon was the best beer available. Free water refills were provided by CamelBak, and the event also featured services and amenities such as phone-charging stations, a “Kids Land,” ASL interpretation services, and full ADA accessibility.
Landmark organizers estimated that the festival drew 25,000 per day, and Saturday’s attendance seemed like it easily exceeded that figure. By late afternoon, queues for food vendors and Porta Potties had grown extremely long, and the lines at every bar station were downright ridiculous, with patrons waiting upwards of half an hour before stockpiling as many adult beverages as possible.
The park didn’t feel quite as packed on Sunday, making for more comfortable, relaxed conditions for which Hiss Golden Messenger’s mid-afternoon country-rock jam seemed entirely appropriate. A couple hours later, singer and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens furthered the rustic vibe as she offered what she called “a tour of musical Americana.”
Energy levels spiked considerably during Dan Deacon’s set. The Baltimore native ignited the Roosevelt Stage with his manic electro-pop salvos, marshaling fans into crowd-participation routines that were equal parts performance art and dance party.
One of the best live bands in the business, TV on the Radio, delivered as usual, tearing through a blistering set that featured crowd-favorites like “Young Liars,” “Wolf Like Me,” and “Staring at the Sun.” Scotland’s CHVRCHES drew a rapt, devoted audience towards the end of the night, as singer Lauren Mayberry led the trio through an hour’s worth of winsome synth-pop anthems.
Finally, The Strokes capped off the festival with a solid, though not spectacular, set on the Jefferson Stage. Though they may be gradually devolving into a nostalgia act, the NYC rockers showed they could still thrill their fans with well-loved songs like “Is This It,” “Last Nite,” and “Hard to Explain.” Frontman Julian Casablancas was not in great vocal form (his languid singing marred an otherwise engaging “Automatic Stop”), but the rest of the band carried him well enough to get smatterings of fans dancing throughout the park. People started heading for the exits en masse (getting out of the festival was a bit of a logistical challenge for many) as The Strokes closed their performance with the aptly titled “Take It or Leave It.”
With the event by and large a success, local music fans can probably look forward to the Landmark Festival becoming an annual occurrence over the next few years as the campaign to restore the National Mall continues.
