Beyond capacity Hinterland Music Festival revels in the power, pitfalls of summer 2024 (2024)

Hinterland Music Festival graced St. Charles, Iowa once again this last weekend, boasting a fully stacked line up every single day. With names like Hozier, Noah Kahan, Chappell Roan, and Vampire Weekend headlining, there was no shock that this festival sold out in a matter of days.

For the first time since its conception in 2015, Hinterland offered free camping in the Outerlands and free shuttle rides from downtown Des Moines, allowing more people than ever to attend the event. The 15,000 person amphitheater was packed to the brim, with every inch of grass within the fence covered with blankets, inflatable chairs, and people.

Friday

Campgrounds opened at 9:30 a.m., but many were lined up for hours ahead of time. A festival goer I spoke with told me her group of friends had driven almost 10 hours through the night from Michigan and were not the first in line when they arrived at 3:30 a.m. As I drove up I-35 Friday morning, it was apparent why festival goers had nicknamed it “Hinter-Line.” The car line just to exit off the highway was over two miles long.

If you didn’t know, Iowa in August is hot. During every set on Friday, the bands had to stop and alert a medical emergency in the crowd. While Hinterland allowed reusable water bottles in, they greatly underestimated how much water would be used, and by mid-day Friday, one of the two water stations in the GA section was running dry.

Friday’s lineup included Valencia Grace, Debbii Dawson, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, The Last Dinner Party, Sam Barber, Hippo Campus, Orville Peck, and headliner, Hozier.

Friday was a much shorter day for me. I spent a majority of my time on the grounds sitting in a slow moving car parade, but I got a chance to listen to Missouri native, Sam Barber, from the comfort of my air conditioned car.

Barber is a country artist, but there are very few modern artists I could compare him to. His music is what I want to hear when someone says they’re a country fan. There is real experience in his words, real knowledge of what country music is. For years, I have said I am not a country fan, but if this is what the new generation of country has to offer, then maybe my mind has changed.

Hippo Campus took to the stage following Barber. By the time they started, I had just made it into the festival grounds. Hippo Campus’s 10-song set almost felt too short. Even if someone didn’t know anything about the band or their music, it is impossible to deny how great they are live. The energy the band puts out into the air is completely undeniable.

Multiple times throughout their set, they had to stop and alert medics to those who were having emergencies in the thick of the crowd. After hours of standing in the 95 degree heat with limited water and almost no shade, it wasn’t a surprise people were starting to drop. That being said, mad props to the band for doing their best to put on a good show while still making sure everyone was safe.

The sunset behind the hillside welcomed Orville Peck to the stage. Peck’s newest album,Stampede, a collection of duets, was released the same day, and fans were ready. There was something cathartic about hearing a gay cowboy sing a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other” in the middle of small town Iowa. Peck brought out earlier performer Debbii Dawson for a live debut of their song “Back at Your Door,” and the deep, county drawl Peck is known for paired with Dawson’s sweet, airy voice made for a melody almost reminiscent of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson on “From Here to the Moon and Back.”

Hozier brought the hot Friday to a close. Starting with “Eat Your Young,” he brought an energy that the crowd desperately needed after sitting in the sun all day. To fans’ delight, he played an unreleased track, “Nobody’s Soldier,” that will be released as part of his “Unaired” EP coming Aug. 16. Between songs, Hozier took time to interact with fans in the pit, including taking a fans pride flag and tying it to his mic stand, and talking with a beekeeper about their hives.

Before performing “Nina Cried Power,” a protest song originally written with Mavis Staples, Hozier called for a ceasefire in Gaza and encouraged festival goers to call their representatives and demand action to stop the genocide, earning cheers and applause from the audience.

Saturday

At 11 a.m. gates opened, and as the multi-looped line began to trail in, the hillsides became a giant patchwork quilt of blankets. A small market of local vendors was set up along the fences that lined the venue, with a tent selling little hand fans being the most popular.

The water situation was slightly alleviated on day two. In the pit security passed out canned water to those who committed to the all-day barricade, greatly reducing the number of times artists had to stop playing. That being said, the lack of shade and sheer amount of people made it impossible to cool off, or easily get to help when needed. I ended up abandoning my friends and joining a group of strangers to sit under one of the few trees within the grounds after getting a little woozy from the heat.

Saturday’s lineup included Hans Williams, Blondshell, Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, Madison Cunningham, The Red Clay Strays, Charley Crockett, Lizzie McAlpine and headliner, Vampire Weekend.

Hans Williams opened the day with a bang. The singer-songwriter out of Vermont set the vibe for the rest of Saturday with his alternative folk fusion sound. For his last song he premiered an unnamed track, and announced the release of new music following his tour. Williams is one to look out for, and could easily become a headliner in the coming years.

Ritchy Mitch and the Coal Miners went from playing at the Campfire stage in 2023 to the main stage in 2024. With songs “Evergreen” and “Lake Missoula” blowing up on TikTok in the last year, it was no surprise that the pit was packed with fans. The band played the unreleased extended version of “Evergreen ft. Caamp” ahead of its Aug. 9 release, stating, “We recorded this song seven years ago in a closet, and now are getting to work with one of our favorite bands.”

The Red Clay Strays absolutely knocked it out of the park. Hailing out of Mobile, Alabama, this southern rock band solidified itself as a weekend favorite for me. Most known for their song “Wondering Why” that blew up on TikTok earlier this year, The Red Clay Strays changed any formerly known perception of themselves with this set. Lead singer Brandon Coleman says, “They refer to us as country, but I would say we are more of a rock band if anything, so lets play some rock music.”

While lead singer Coleman was definitely the center of attention, not only with his killer vocals but also looking like what I can only describe as “Indie Elvis,” seeing the band play was almost a reward for enduring the killer heat.

Nothing I could say about Lizzie McAlpine could sum up just how amazing she is live. Donned in a University of Iowa tee and her signature headphones, sitting on a chair in the middle of the huge stage, McAlpine fools us with her outward appearance. Her sweet soft vocals also hold a power to them that is easy to underestimate. She was very open about being nervous and not understanding festivals much, yet you would never be able to tell.

As an artist who translates songs through very heavy story-telling, McAlpine’s inclusion of a cover of “Bless the Broken Road,” which she stated she only knew from the “Hannah Montana Movie,” was a welcome edition. As the sun began to set and the heat began to subside, McAlpine’s set felt like a warm hug from a friend.

As Vampire Weekend closed out Saturday night, crowds dwindled as festival goers began leaving early to beat the end-of-day rush, but that did not stop those who had camped all day in the pit from going just as hard. Vampire Weekend’s alt-rock set was a deviation from the indie/folk line up for the rest of the weekend, but I enjoyed hearing some songs from my emo teenage roots.

Sunday

I learned from my mistakes from Saturday, filling my water bottles with ice and parking myself under a tree early. As expected, Sunday was the busiest day, with reports of festival goers lining up at 4 a.m. to claim barricade spots as soon as the gates opened. With Chappell Roan set to perform, the “Pink Pony Club” members were in attendance and repping their favorite artist. Every few feet, there was someone dressed fully in pink with a cowboy hat and glitter.

Despite being the busiest of the three days, Sunday ran the best. Staff were wetting down cooling towels and bandanas in an iced filled cooler for barricade campers, passing out cups of ice, water, and even spraying people down with water guns. Over night, 20 canopy tents were set up along the back wall of the festival grounds, providing a little extra shade. That being said, for a festival that has run since 2015 and has had the same complaints every year about water accessibility, lack of shade, and overcrowding, these are things that should have been done the first day.

Sunday’s lineup included Odie Leigh, Katy Kirby, Flipturn, The Japanese House, Chappell Roan, Ethel Cain, Mt. Joy and headliner, Noah Kahan.

Flipturn shows what it means to have fun when performing. It seemed like no matter who in the band I looked at, they had a huge smile. The only song by Flipturn I knew coming into this was “August,” and clearly I have been missing out. Bassist Madeline Jarman put on a show on her own, leading the crowd in a wave, dancing, laughing, all while shredding it on the bass.

Everyone’s favorite “Midwest Princess,” Chappell Roan, made every day of dehydrating myself into leather absolutely worth it, just days before she had the largest Lollapalooza crowd in history, and for good reason. Roan might be a Midwest princess, but she is also a pop queen. Every single song is a 10/10, even other performing artists were scrambling to get to the private tent at the back of the pit to watch her set. Noah Kahan was spotted doing the “HOT-TO-GO” dance by people in the crowd. She really is “your favorite artist’s favorite artist.”

The band entered the stage dressed as nuns, with Roan following behind in a giant bonnet and black sheer robe. During “Femininomenon,” clips of Roan on a BMX bike played in the background with lyrics flashing over top. With her eccentric outfits and campy visuals, Roan has brought back what made Lady Gaga so popular, but taken to another level.

Watching 15,000 people do “H-O-T-T-O-G-O” was as close to world peace as I’m ever going to witness in my lifetime.

I did not watch Ethel Cain from the crowd, but rather while laying on my back under a tree with my eyes closed. What started off as a way to cool off and regain some energy made me realize this is absolutely the way everyone should be listening to Cain’s music. Something about laying in the middle of a field in Iowa made “A House in Nebraska” hit so much harder. Her set was shorter than most, which was a little disappointing, but I ate up every single moment.

This was the fifth time I have seen Noah Kahan live and it was just as amazing as the first. I met so many people who traveled from all over, saying that, while the lineup was great, Kahan was the reason they came. Fans brought signs, gifts, even a Lexapro bottle that Kahan signed. There is unity that comes with knowing every single person around you is there for the same reason, with the same love and appreciation for an artist.

When he entered the stage, Kahan gave a shout out to Chappell Roan saying, “How can I expect to headline after Chappell, this isn’t fair.”

On social media, it’s often joked that a Noah Kahan concert is group therapy, but with the amount of crying and hugging I saw, they might be right.

While the weekend was full of amazing lineups and killer sets, Hinterland left a lot to be desired. With the overselling of tickets, unbearable heat, lack of water and shade, and a major lack of communication between staff, it’s hard to say the festival is worth it. In the future, allowing in water, setting up canopies, and keeping ticket sales to a reasonable level day one could have made the festival more bearable tenfold.