Wonderstruck Festival
Community College
Kirtland Ohio
Michelle Waters
As summer rolled through the campus of Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio the average festival goer might at first be confused by the music they heard coming from the multi-stage setup at Wonderstruck Festival.
Through a conscious decision, the once more pop and rock-focused fest has begun to morph into a wider variety of performances, including hip-hop and country music. In an effort to reach a wider audience, this is truly set to become the event for people who say they “Love all kinds of music”. After the sheets or rain let up halfway through day 1 of Wonderstruck, music lovers began to peel off their ponchos and trade in those protective layers for sunscreen. Yes, one of the coolest little discoveries I found at Wonderstruck this year was a crew walking around and spraying people with an airbrush gun loaded with sunscreen.
Paris Jackson
No matter your musical interests, you were sure to find something new to enjoy. Local artists were featured-mainly on the smaller Radd Stage, off to the side of festival grounds. Artists like Maybe, Mac Saturn, local favorites Wavrunner and The Vindys, Michael (Jackson)’s daughter, Paris, and true performers like Siena Liggins and Leah Kate all lit up the smallest stage of the three.
Echosmith
Looking for something eclectic? Indie artists, rock artists and hip-hop artists all rotated performances on the middle, White Claw stage. Here’s you could find artists such as Tall Tall Trees, Echosmith, The Struts, and Flo Rida on Saturday of the two-day festival. On day 2, this stage’s performance schedule included The Beaches, Tai Verdes and Nelly.
Walker Hayes
The largest stage, while at first listening seemed to feature mainly country artists, also included crowd favorites Coin, Khalid and Hembree. Folks who stuck around to the end of country star Walker Hayes’ performance on Saturday (night 1) got to see a rare live duo performance of he and Flo Rida performing their famous song, High Heels. How often do you get to attend an event where country and hip hop are so equally represented that this was possible?
Also under question was the possibility of The Struts joining forces with Paris Jackson for a duo of Low Key in Love, but that didn’t pan out. It could have been because the set schedule got a bit jumbled. But you can often only do so much with live performances. I didn’t hear anyone complaining, and really only heard how cool it was to check out such a diverse rotation of music in one place.
Check out a galley of bands Michelle photographed during the weekend.
I’ll definitely be checking out this festival again, next year. The “Wonder Series” also includes several other stops with Wonderbus (Columbus), Wonderroad (Indianapolis) and Wonderworks (Pittsburgh), and all events feature a completely different lineup.
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