We lauded the festival’s first day, praising its wholesome and inclusive party vibe and its killer lineup, including headliner boygenius. The event kept that momentum going throughout the weekend, with alternative hip-hop artist Big Freedia opening on Sunday.
Freedia brought a tight setlist of danceable hits (including her feature on Beyoncé’s “Formation”) and encouraged the sparse early-bird crowd (largely, older millennials holding out for headliner LCD Soundsystem) to “shake ass.”
English punk band Idles built on that momentum, swapping out ass-shaking for head-banging with an electrifying performance that reached its peak when guitarist Mark Bowen jumped the barricade to dance with the crowd.
Noting dark clouds heading for the grounds, vocalist Joe Talbot joked, “Let’s make this a rain dance.”
Just 15 minutes into Idles’ set, Talbot would eat those words as their set abruptly ended mid-song. Talbot cryptically informed the crowd that the interruption was for their safety before the band was rushed offstage.
Shortly after, event organizers announced that all attendees were to evacuate to either the nearby indoors venue at the Texas Trust CU Theatre, or to their cars while the weather (severe thunderstorms were forecast) was being monitored.
Big Freedia entertained the crowd for a bit before hail started a shitstorm at Texas CU Theatre on Sunday.
Carly May Gravely
Inside the theater, fans were initially optimistic. Some openly hoped that the remaining sets would be moved indoors, joking that they preferred the air conditioning. Others made peace with the possibility of the event ending, as they had work the next morning anyway.
At around 7 p.m., coming up on an hour with few updates from Re:SET’s team, morale had soured. Fans of LCD Soundsystem, a band that tours sparingly and has not played Dallas since 2017, felt particularly robbed. In spite of the gloomy weather, spirits were higher in the parking lot. Impromptu tailgates sprung up as attendees literally weathered the storm in hopes that the show would go on.
One fan blasted LCD Soundsystem hits such as “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” and “All My Friends” from his car. Others climbed to the top of an adjacent hill to watch the lightning.
The joy and hope experienced on Friday was running thin as festival officials remained silent on the issue for over an hour. Fans swarmed to social media, predominantly to the comments section of a promo photo that had been recently posted, to express their discontent.
One Instagram comment read, “Weather may not be in your control but communication and overall handling certainly are. Don’t become another in a long list of fail festivals.”
“Time for refunds,” wrote a more blunt customer. “Re:SET is a joke.” Re:SET finally announced via Instagram that the remainder of the show was canceled and refunds would be issued. The post came at 8:49 p.m., 2.5 hours after the initial evacuation. By that point, many fans had already left, doing what organizers had stubbornly been putting off and cutting their losses.
Outdoor events are always subject to these kinds of complications, but Re:SET dealt with the same crisis three times in one weekend. Their concurrently running Atlanta and New Orleans events had also been canceled or rescheduled at the last minute to work around bad weather.
Idles was one of the acts we got to see on Sunday before the storm ruined eveything.
Carly May Gravely
What we said about the event on Day 1 still stands. The streamlined experience and wholesome atmosphere of the majority of the weekend was a refreshing change of pace from the usual chaotic culture of festivals.
However, the cracking under pressure in three different cities simultaneously doesn’t bode well for this event’s future, especially with the festival market being as crowded as it is.
We hope to experience the same vibes, but different logistics, if this festival gets a second chance next year.
