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Artist Highlights and Photos from Landmark Festival

By
Jaclyn Merica and Lindsay Maizland | 10/5/15 4:59pm
| Updated 10/6/15 1:51pm

Jaclyn Merica /

It’s already been over a week since Landmark Music Festival,
the National Mall’s first music festival, but I’m still listening to artists
that I discovered at and old favorites from the two-day event. Here are a few
of the bands and singers currently playing on my iPhone.

Manchester Orchestra

An old favorite of mine, Manchester Orchestra was the first
performance I attended on Sunday afternoon. With their relatively early set
time, the band struggled to pump the crowd up. At one point in the performance,
lead singer and rhythm guitarist Andy Hull commented on his disappointment that
the camera streaming video for Yahoo! panning by the audience received more
cheers than their performance. By the end of the show though, many people were
head-banging and enjoying the indie-rock band’s passionate performance.

Rhiannon Giddens

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After leaving the Manchester Orchestra performance, I
planned on grabbing lunch, but I was sucked into a performance at a nearby
stage. Rhiannon Giddens (not to be confused with another singer whose name
starts with “Rh,” as Giddens joked) is an award-winning folk singer whose music
draws on stories and sounds from U.S. history. She was accompanied by three talented
strings players, a drummer and a backup singer. Giddens and the band not only covered
several popular country songs, adding their own twist but also played many
originals. Her odd facial expressions throughout her performance made the crowd
laugh and her unique sound drew in many wandering festivalgoers.

BOOTS

Following Alt-J’s performance and during CHVRCHES’s set at another stage, self-taught singer, rapper, guitarist, beats producer and drummer BOOTS managed to capture a small crowd with his jarring sound. BOOTS produced and was a songwriter for much of Beyonce’s 2013 album and has worked with British singer FKA Twigs. His performance was very angry as he stumbled around the stage jamming on his electric guitar and rapping/singing to the beat, but those who stayed for his act definitely felt his energy.

CHVRCHES

A huge crowd gathered for CHVRCHES’s show at 7:30 p.m. on
Sunday. The Scottish electronic band performed popular hits like “Leave a Trace”
and “The Mother We Share” as well as lesser-known tracks. Both were equally
enjoyed by the crowd who danced and really got into the music.

Landmark attracted many different music-lovers because of its wide array of genres and performers. American Word’s photo editor, Jaclyn Merica, captured many of the artists’ unique performances.

CHVRCHES