[REVIEW + PHOTOS] Forecastle 2022

SUNDAY

KennyHoopla

The final day of Forecastle was a little hotter than the preceding two, but, still I was loving this late May weather compared to the old July timeframe. We were dragging a little on Sunday, but after some more great local food nearby, we made it just in time for KennyHoopla. I grew up obsessing over the pop punk scene of the ’00s, and after falling out of favor for a number of years, I’m loving seeing Gen Z revive it in a major way. Kenny, one of Travis Barker’s numerous young protégées, temporarily transformed Forecastle into Warped Tour, rocking out with his high energy, nostalgic pop punk meets genre-bending modern indie style. Jumping on speakers, getting into the crowd, and looking beyond excited about enthusiastic to be there, KennyHoopla’s set was one of the absolute most fun of the fest, and left me a bigger fan than I already was from his recordings.

glaive

I admittedly didn’t really know glaive before checking out all the Forecastle performers, but I was instantly struck with how fresh the young artist’s sound is. His whole career has basically taken place post-pandemic, and has seemingly evolved a lot just in that two year space (I expected his set to be more hyperpop and modulated, but it was a bit more indie pop meets Soundcloud rap in style). At 17, I imagine he was the youngest performer of the weekend, and that combo of youthful confidence meets inexperience (he asked if he was “allowed” to jump down from the stage) made for a fun and amusing time. Drastically overdressed, the singer ended up shirtless after a few songs, lest he pass out from heatstroke, and seemed to win over the crowd with his awkward charm and genuine talent (I noticed quite a few people really enthusiastically singing along).

FLETCHER

FLETCHER is one of my favorite up and coming pop artists right now, and I think there’s a good chance she could follow a similar trajectory to buzzy festival performers I’ve caught early on who’ve subsequently blown up, like Dua Lipa or Halsey. Opening up with crowd-pleaser “girls girls girls,” the singer was a commanding presence from the start, eliciting singalongs, playing off her great band, and flexing her incredible vocal talent. Even without Hayley Kiyoko, duet “Cherry,” a song that’s been stuck in my head for weeks, made for a fun, unabashedly queer singalong, and FLETCHER’s ability to work a crowd felt like witnessing a big star in the making. I loved every minute of it, and I’m sad I wasn’t in town for her recent stop at Basement East to see an even more intimate performance.

Oliver Tree

A performer I’ve been so curious to see live thanks to his living meme persona and carefully crafted online identity, I’ve long found Oliver Tree infinitely fascinating, because if you take away the gimmick and jokester element, his music on its own is quite good and interesting. The shtick definitely adds an amusing layer to it all though, and his Forecastle set was easily one of the most memorable parts of the weekend. Entering to Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” dressed as his signature “Turbo” character (in a windbreaker and impossibly huge JNCOs; a look his band also rocked) but sporting the long, blond mullet of his apparent recent pivot to “country,” Tree set the absurdist, performance art comedy tone from the jump. After most every song he’d say “we only have time for one more,” occasionally exiting the stage, among other antics, like tearing off his (and his bandmates’) outfit to reveal another underneath, proclaiming himself a Louisville native over and over again (he’s from California), starting fake beef with Tyler, the Creator for “ripping him off,” shedding believable tears, fighting with the festival cameramen, attempting to bust the entire audience for weed, and constantly asserting his own artistic greatness. And that’s all within the first few songs. The songs themselves- hits like “Alien Boy,” “Hurt,” and show closer “Life Goes On”- sounded quite good, and Oliver’s band were both in on the gags, and also quite professional. He only played a few from recent Cowboy Tears, but, amusingly, we got a wardrobe change for it. What a weird, wild, hilarious performance unlike anything else at the fest.

JPEGMAFIA

Maybe the toughest scheduling conflict of the weekend, JPEGMAGIA and Dayglow were slotted at exactly the same time, and since we’ll have a chance to catch the latter soon at Bonnaroo, we opted to trek over to the Ocean Stage one more time. I’m definitely glad I did, as the rapper sounded absolutely fantastic, and brought a sort of energy and intensity that felt much more grand than the small, simple production of his stage. Leaping onto speakers, shouting out the fellow bald men, and undertaking some great crowd work, JPEGMAFIA felt like a great warmup for the Tyler, the Creator set a few hours later, and for my money was one of the most underrated artists of the fest.

Black Pumas

Once again needing to eat, take a breather, and catch up on our coverage before the evening’s final set, I only caught a couple of songs from soul rockers Black Pumas before ducking the media lounge. They sounded as awesome I remembered though, and definitely provided a great, spirited transition into evening as the weekend’s final acts grew closer. At this point, Forecastle had the biggest crowd I’d seen all weekend, looking pretty much on par with any other year (which is doubly impressive in 2022, as I’m hearing festival attendance is largely down across the board). Though we didn’t shoot their set, I caught a little of RÜFÜS DU SOL after in passing, and though it was a bit bright out for their production heavy performance, they sounded awesome and commanded a gigantic audience (to the point where not putting them on the main stage felt like an oversight).

Tyler, the Creator

Having Tyler, the Creator close out the whole festival was such perfect scheduling on Forecastle’s part, as he truly stole the show, delivering the best and most impressive performance of the weekend (I’d say Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, Tame Impala, and Oliver Tree rounded out my top five). I’ve seen Tyler a couple times over the years, but he’s released a couple albums since last time, and has seemingly grown quite a bit as a performer too, bringing more attention, fine-tuned artistry, and engagement to his headlining set (though not shy about proclaiming himself awesome, Tyler did have a few earnest moments where he expressed his uncertainty about how headlining a fest in Kentucky would go, and how quickly he was blown away by the level of enthusiasm from the crowd). Before the rapper even took the stage, it was clear we were in for something special, as a huge team erected a literal mountain of steps and faux-greenery, illuminated by a super cool and dynamic LED array. Grabbing a spot up close, the crowd was surging with excitement around me, and when Tyler emerged on stage, decked out in outdoorsy gear that matched the vibe of his recent LP CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, the cheers were deafening. What followed was a truly career-spanning set, which, though heavy on the new album, touched on literally every LP in the Odd Future founder’s decade-long catalog. I notice that rappers, especially performing at such a grand scale, often lean on a live band, hype men, performance artists, lots of guests, or other flourishes to help take their set to the next level, and few who perform totally alone on stage manage to quite capture that same feeling of grandeur and excitement. Tyler, through sheer talent and magnetism, absolutely captivated all alone, in a way I’ve only seen performers like Kanye and Kendrick Lamar manage to. He has a great sense of humor, and his stage banter is definitely funny and off the cuff, which can sometimes distract from the fact that he’s incredibly serious about his art, both the music itself and the immaculate aesthetic that surrounds it. Working the stage with mastery and working through tunes like “WASYANAME,” “911,” “Yonkers,” and “EARFQUAKE,” all backed by changing lights and staging, some gigantic pyrotechnics, and a whole lot of heart, in just over an hour, Tyler delivered my favorite Forecastle show since Outkast, and reaffirmed why he’s one of his generation’s most critically-lauded and important artists. Tyler has always been great- a true creative genius- but now that he’s a little older, a little more serious, and a lot more seasoned, he truly is one of the best hip hop artists of all time, and absolutely one fitting of a headlining festival slot. What a perfect end to a very, very wonderful return to Forecastle.

Outro