Festival Republic presents… Orlando Calling with guests Jack White, The Pixies, Kid Cudi, and others.
Orlando got to see its very first music festival this weekend happen at the famed Citrus Bowl! Know for hosting college football games, Monster Jam and various concerts, Festival Republic brought over it’s European festival stages and vibes to Orlando for a 5 stage, 2 day rocking event. The festival had everything any festival would. Great food, lots of free stuff, and helpful people to direct where to go for what band.
This was the first festival I have ever covered and it was a blast. Day 1 was more of an indie rock vibe and saw a crowd I’m pretty much used to. The gates opened at 11am and the first band on was Civilian on The Festival Republic Stage. Shortly after was The America Secrets over on the Free Credit Score Stage. If you don’t know them, you already do. They are the Free Credit Score band from the commercials! A last minute addition to the Authentic Stage was a Dollface. An all girl rock group which was pretty good.
As the day went on, other bands filled out the stages. Civil Twilight, Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas, Parachute and more. A little bigger names were also on the bill such as Pete Yorn, Iron & Wine, Lucero, Gavin Degraw, O.A.R. and The Roots.
But of course, it’s always about the Main Stage. The Ettes opened up and played a solid set. First time I ever heard of them and they were a really good three piece. Catchy tunes for all the early concert goers that morning. Gogel Bordello was the next band and like always, they were all over the place with their Gypsy punk rock. After some delay, Kid Cudi finally took the stage to a very patient crowd. He interacted with the fans quite a bit which was really good since not a lot of bands had done so through out the day. Long after the sun had gone down, the first band to play in the dark was the Pixies. They started off their set by playing “Doolittle” in its full! Crowd loved it! The Raconteurs were next and were really awesome. Jack White is a very skilled guitar player and the crowd was totally into it.
Sadly though, the headlining band for this day, The Killers, were NOT allowing photographers. So I don’t have any photos nor a review of their set.
Overall the first day was pretty solid. A fair sized crowd, lots of activities to keep everyone busy, and an array of amazing bands rocking it all day.
