After a few hours of shut eye and a bite to eat in Summerside, we hit the road and headed back across the island for Day 2 of Sommo Festival, and here are Claire’s Thoughts and Shots from Day 2.

Customer Service

Customer Service is SUCH a cool band. Their set kicked off our day two and man were they amazing. They have so much energy as a unit and they all combine SO well. I spoke with Leigh, who sang as well as played the tambourine with the band, before Hozier’s set, and she was so unbelievably kind. I loved seeing them, and couldn’t believe I had never before. They have such an incredible sound, and drew in such a crowd for the first set of the day, nearly packing the sandbar tent. They deserved all the audience for their sheer talent and amazing performance. I can’t wait to see more of this spectacular crew later along the line, and they set the tone for an amazing day.

Brooks & Bowskill

It was a difficult task for Brooks & Bowskill to size up to the amazing opening of the day from Customer Service, but I think they did it. The duo and their band has such an amazing vibe, and their lead vocalist, Brittany, reminds me of Dolly Parton in all the best ways. Serving 60s in a floral romper, her talent blew me out of the water, and I would love to see more of the rock n roll/country duo. With the sun shining at its peak, the weather aligned with their music as though it were meant to be.

Good Dear Good

Good Dear Good is one of my favorite sets out of the whole weekend. They have such an immaculate vibe, and their stage presence was out of this world. They appeared on the lineup due to a last minute cancellation, and I couldn’t be happier. I had never heard of them before, but it’s safe to say that I am 100% a fan after their amazing set. With an EP on the way, they rocked their newer songs, and they’re SO unbelievably talented. In matching suits, they rocked the sandbar stage, and alike to Customer Service, they reeled in equal crowds to evening sets on Saturday, so early on in the day. Their talent is unmatched, and their collaborative sound was absolutely amazing. Speaking to a part of the band, Tim, later on in the evening, was so cool, and I’ll definitely be making an effort to see more of Good Dear Good in the future.

Chiara Savasta

I was so excited to see Chiara Savasta on the lineup, and she did not disappoint. Her talent is so out of this world, and she has such an amazing stage presence. I found myself in the photo pit for the first time for her set, and she photographed so well. Her music is so beautiful and she was everything I was expecting. She doesn’t have quite enough music released for a full hour long set, so she performed several covers, and I was in love with her cover of Metric’s “Black Sheep” off of the Scott Pilgrim vs The World soundtrack. Her voice was so perfect for the song, reminding me so much of Brie Larson it blew me away. She is so talented, and was another of my favorite sets of the weekend. I hope to see more of her in the future, and would love to photograph her again.

Charlie Houston

Once again, scheduling such an amazing artist and talented chef at the same time should be a crime. I wish I could’ve seen more of Charlie Houston’s set, but we had to leave early to make it to the culinary stage in time for chef Michael Smith, who did not disappoint. I wish there would have been more time between the sets, as I really enjoyed Charlie’s energy, and would’ve loved to see the performance through to the end. I’ll definitely be making an effort to see more of Charlie’s striking talent in the future.

Hollow Coves

Hollow Coves reminded me of Ducks Ltd. in a lot of ways. I’ve heard of plenty of their music, and I love their sound, but they weren’t anything remarkable on stage. The duo has a very soft folk sound, and they’re very talented, but beyond that, they weren’t anything crazy. They had a decent stage presence, and their live performance sounds exactly like their studio productions, if not better. I honestly can’t see much happening on stage even if they were to put in more effort. Their music is lowkey and honestly sleepy, but it didn’t quite match the energy of the day. I would love to see them in a more intimate venue, where their vibe would be properly received, but their set seemed kind of dull compared to the rest of the day. 

Billianne is an artist I had never heard of before, and I’m shocked at how. Her music is right up my alley, and I loved every second of her set. She was so beyond talented, had such an amazing stage presence, and on top of that she was so funny, making jokes and talking with the crowd between songs. I wish my camera hadn’t been low battery, because she would’ve been so cool to photograph. Her soft arrangement and beautiful vocals were so amazing, and she was out of this world. I hope to see more of her later on.

The Sommo Crowd

Adam Baldwin & the Jenny Wren are so spectacular to the point that their set almost took some attention off of the absolutely amazing Ichi-bons, who had a smaller crowd than they probably should have. I only caught a snippet of that band, but from what I saw, they are absolutely phenomenal. I’ve seen Adam live so many times before, and each time he blows me away. The whole crew is so talented, and I wish it hadn’t started pouring mid set, as we had to take refuge in the car to waterproof our cameras and get out of the rain for a few minutes. Adam Baldwin never disappoints, and I never get sick of his beautiful folk/country sound and amazing stage presence.

Setting the stage for Hozier, PVRIS was beyond all of my expectations. Her talent absolutely blew me out of the water, quite literally, as it was pouring rain for the majority of her set. I had never really heard of her before the lineup was announced, but her sound reminds me so much of lights, and I would love to see the two collaborate on a track someday. Her stage presence was absolutely phenomenal, and I loved how much she interacted with the crowd. She set the stage for an amazing headliner, and I was pleasantly surprised by her energy. 

I wasn’t expecting much from King Cruff, as his style of music isn’t usually my thing, but man was he amazing. The first few songs were his brother, who DJ-ed a couple of songs for the crowd. He didn’t have much of a stage presence, and I was afraid that his whole set would be that way, but once King Cruff came onto the stage, the whole energy shifted. His energy is unbelievable, and it seemed almost contagious, the way the entire crowd was so energetic, singing along, jumping, and overall having the best time. I hadn’t seen a crowd quite so hype before through the whole weekend, even during Rich Aucoin’s set the night prior. His talent was out of this world, and I found myself enjoying the performance a lot more than I thought I would.

Hozier

Seeing Hozier live is something so special to me for so many reasons. I’ve been a fan of him for about as long as I can remember, and it’s been a longtime dream to witness his out of this world talent in person. He matched all of my expectations and then some. The weather cleared just in time for his set, and even though my camera died practically as soon as he stepped onto the stage, he was still beyond perfect. He put on such an amazing show, and was so present, it blew me away. Everything was so beautiful, his lights, his beautiful, and by far the most diverse I have ever seen, band, his gorgeous visuals, and of course, his radiant folk-rock sound. I find myself constantly awestruck by the absolute talent that radiates from him. Hozier had the second largest crowd I’ve ever seen from sommo, eclipsed only by Noah Kahan, who rocked last year with ~25000 in attendance. Hozier is, in my opinion, one of the best performers of this generation, and uses his voice to share what matters, taking a moment out of his set to shine a light on Gaza, and I admire his confidence and wisdom. I would absolutely love to see more of him, and hope so sincerely that he should return to the maritimes soon. 

It feels like in the blink of an eye, the weekend I’ve been waiting all year for has come and gone, and man was it perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, and I can’t wait to see what the festival organisers have up their sleeves for next year. I met so many unbelievably cool people, and had the best couple of days of my life. Sommo fest, you were too sweet, and went beyond any of my wildest dreams. I feel as though this weekend has sparked something in me, and I hope to venture further into concert photography, and maybe by next year I’ll have improved. I can’t recommend Sommo fest enough, especially to festival beginners. This year was a lineup of pure talent, kindness, and grace, and I was blown away at how smooth the weekend ran. I hope to come back for next year’s festival, but for now, only time will tell. 

Claire’s Shots from Sommo Day 2