Muddied grounds and a hunt for ponchos didn’t keep an audience of thousands from enjoying the music.
The third annual Sweetlife Festival brought throngs of crop top-wearing concert-goers to Merriweather Post Pavilion Saturday, featuring such headliners as rap phenom Kendrick Lamar, synth-pop rockers Passion Pit and French alternative rock crew Phoenix. Earlier in the day, up-and-coming blues artist Gary Clark, Jr. serenaded crowds with his guitar on the main stage.
A downpour of rain – and bogs of mud plastering the grass – didn’t keep audiences down, as performances from the brazen Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the ecstatic Solange had a sea of poncho-donning attendees dancing throughout the sets. Brooklyn synth-pop duo Holy Ghost! and ambient rocker Youth Lagoon entertained smaller crowds at the venue’s Treehouse Stage.
The annual music festival, sponsored by Sweetgreen restaurant, emphasizes environmental sustainability, with solar panels lining the roof of its main stage and extensive recycling efforts across the venue’s expansive lawns. Keeping things local, the festival featured area food vendors like Big Cheese and Takorean.