2024 Reverb may go down as my favourite Festival experience thus far. What I liked the most was the stellar combination of local talent, world-class acts, and Jungle (which gets its own special mention for reasons we will get to later).
Day one of Reverb features Trophy Dad, Current Swell, The Bankes Brothers, Surfhat, and Black Pumas as the headliners. Trophy Dad started this day off after DJ Bill Stuart with a high-energy performance that proves Nevil Meyer can kick higher with no aircast. It was really nice to see them get another opportunity to be on the Reverb stage with no lead singer injured, and new music (their new song “Nightshift” being one to note). Surfhat was another one of my favourites with their fun music, iconic kicks on the off-beat, and general fun vibes that flowed into the Bankes Brothers set. The Bankes Brothers are another local favorite and Current Swell never disappoints. Headliners Black Pumas blew the crowd away with stellar vocals and an iconic moment where lead singer Eric Burton leapt from the stage to the crowd to sing with festivalgoers.
Trophy Dad - Katharine Brynjolfson @katiebvisionphotography
I was late for Day 2, but it was well worth pretty much running through the festival grounds to make it for jungle bobby. “This is not a cult, it's a family” was the mantra for a high-energy set with incredibly skilled rapping, A+ crowd engagement, and dancers. Jungle Bobby's dancers deserve their own shout-out for their incredible musicality, athleticism, and incredible complimentary choreography for the set! A second honourable mention is Astrocolour. Astrocolour is a local band that blows me away! Their high-energy performance and band compatibility create a really enjoyable and fun listening experience and a band I would love to see again!!
Jungle Bobby - Katharine Brynjolfson @katiebvisionphotography
Day 3 AKA Jungle day.
Each act deserves a round of applause and was absolutely amazing. Something that blows me away is young local people having so much confidence and stage presence and commanding the stage. Posh Coat and Nicky Mackenzie are two local acts with immense talent, both have been band of the month with the Zone and are examples of how hard work and community can make dreams come true and rise to provide opportunity. DRAMA surprised me. I was not sure about how I would feel about an EDM-toned act, but the second they stepped on stage and commanded the audience, I will forever have "As I Am” in my head.
Now let's talk about Jungle.
HOLY SHIT. I was able to briefly chat with some Phillips Brewing Employees to find out that Jungle was a very lucky get for them. Phillips Backyard is considered an “underplay” for this band. That means that this festival is lower profile than Glastonbury or one of the large international festivals! So that being said, I felt incredibly lucky to witness the greatness that is Jungle. The waiting for them to go onstage was incredibly exciting; It was hard to tell what to expect, but we all knew it was going to be great. Excitement built when we started seeing the flash warnings being posted around the stage, and then finally when they began to fill the stage with fog right before the band went on. From the first note, it was CLEAR that this was to be an experience that we would all remember and was well worth the money. They sounded incredible, had the best production I have ever seen and are my new favourite band I’ve seen live (and I would also spend a small fortune to go see them again).
That brings all the Phillips Backyard fun to a close for this year! Each year the team manages to get better and better, and this year is no different!
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