July 9, 2023

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The first day of the Wonderstruck music festival at Lakeland Community College got underway just as the skies opened up and let out a downpour.

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Many fans were ready for the elements as several people had ponchos and umbrellas at hand. 

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The diverse lineup saw artists from pop, rock, indie, hip hop and country take to the three stages located across the campus.

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Echosmith was the first band that I got to check out.  The sibling outfit from California hit the White Claw Stage with some technical difficulties from the start.  But these youngsters are true professionals and they soldiered on, adapting on the fly.  They ended their set, basically playing acoustically.  Their biggest hit, "Cool Kids" closed the show that included an updated verse.  Thanks to TikTok, the song saw a resurgence last year.  

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I then walked over to see the last two songs from Siena Liggins.  She is a hip hop/pop artist from Atlanta.  Like many younger artists today, she just had a dj playing the tracks behind her as she sang along.  She did have a lot of energy in her performance.

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After a long set change, Mac Saturn came out and rocked their '70s rock vibe.  This is a band that I really enjoyed and had an opportunity to see them earlier in the year.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for their entire set, but I feel this band could be going places.

 

Next up, I made my way back over to the White Claw stage to see The Struts.  This British band has been around for  over a decade and  they continue to get better each time that I have seen them.  Luke Spiller is a great front man who can control an audience.   They are currently out on a headlining tour but made a stop here in Cleveland with an earlier time slot of 5:40.

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They are a great pop-rock band with tons of charisma and glam attitude. Their brief hour long set included the songs, "Dirty Sexy Money," "Body Talks," "Kiss This" and a great cover of Lorde's "Royals."

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Their set ended with an extended version of "Put Your Money On Me" and "Could Have Been Me."

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During Chris Lane's set, I decided to get some food from one of the many vendors that were set up.  I did get to listen to most of his set while enjoying my gyro and sweet tea.

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After more technical difficulties, Leah Kate finally got things started on the RADD Stage.  During the down time, she invited fans to the stage to take selfies with her.  

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It was a great way to interact with her fans while things were getting fixed.

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Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael followed Ms. Kate with her own brand of indie-rock tunes and a few covers ("Evenflow," "No Rain") as well.  Her backing band was very good and her voice is pretty good as well.  She even picked up her Gibson SG and played rhythm guitar on a few tunes.

 

She is an attractive young woman, but boy she has a long way to go as far as stage presence and attitude.  It really seamed like she would rather be anywhere else but on stage performing.  

 

I thought for sure that she would jump on stage with The Struts to perform their hit "LowKey In Love."  When that didn't happen, I thought Luke Spiller might join her for her set.  Well, that didn't happen either.  Seems like a missed opportunity to do something special since both acts played at the same venue, less than an hour apart.

 

Flo-Rida took the stage about thirty minutes later than scheduled, but when he did arrive, he brought the energy.  He played the hits including "My House" and "Low."

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I made my way out before headliner, Walker Hayes closed out the day.

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Overall, it was a great experience for Cleveland's best music festival. 

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan