Lakeland Community College was abuzz on July 9 as festival-goers from the Cleveland area and beyond anxiously awaited night two of Wonderstruck.
The second day’s lineup promised big names in pop, rock and hip hop, as well as lesser known yet wildly talented indie artists, ultimately setting a high bar for the festival to live up to. And live up to that bar it did.
The most notable performances included Tai Verdes, COIN, Nelly and Khalid.
Tai Verdes came out strong with a high energy performance of his hit song “Let’s go to Hell,” happily interacting with the crowd. He even asked couples how long they'd been together, talking to random people, and pleading the crowd to respond to “You’re beautiful” with a proud and sassy “I know.” Verdes also instructed the crowd on what to do during his songs. He cycled through many of his popular songs for a fantastic sing-along for the crowd, with hits like “AOK,” “Stuck In The Middle” and “sheluvme” echoing around the campus as the singer climbed the stage’s metal framing for a fun culmination to his set.
Next to take the neighboring stage was COIN. The indie rock group’s performance had an even higher energy, starting with some of their hits like “Hannah” and their recent effort “Chapstick.” The lead singer then went into an energy frenzy during the succeeding songs, getting into onstage antics such as jumping on the drums, nearly knocking over their lead guitarist before steamrolling across the stage and taking several hits of a breath spray for about two minutes straight. This occurred shortly before an emotionally charged rendition of “Malibu 1992,” with the crowd scream-singing the lyric about “Your parents’ house in Ohio.” The set then culminated in a brightly re-energized performance of their two biggest hit songs, “Talk Too Much” and “Crash My Car.”
Next up was Nelly. Despite his 23 years as a solo artist and nearly 30 years in the music industry, the rapper proved he could still put on a show, and brought his a-game to the “Heartland.” Alongside his rap hits like “Hot In Herre” and smoother songs like “Dilemma,” Nelly also embraced his time spent dabbling in country music, performing songs he’s been featured on like Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.” But what really showed the most in his performance was his gratefulness for how far he’d come and the support he’d garnered along the way, routinely shouting out his “day one” fans throughout the show (even though many in attendance weren’t old enough). Jokes aside, Nelly put on quite the show, even after nearly three decades of doing it.
The final one to take the stage was Khalid, and the 25-year-old artist got down to business right away, running out on stage and immediately breaking into a performance of his smash-hit “Young Dumb & Broke,” before going through a medley of other songs complete with electric guitars and backup dancers. He then paused to interact and talk with the crowd, sharing a vulnerable story about the car accident he had been in just weeks prior and how grateful he was to be out on stage again.
He also made a point to playfully flirt with an audience member, pointing out and remembering the faces of many of the fans who had brought signs to the show. He then returned to performing, slowing down a bit with songs like his collaboration with Billie Eilish titled “lovely,” encouraging his fans to sing along. He then picked the pace right back up with his hit song “Location” after explaining some of his timeline in songwriting. Overall, Khalid managed to strike a good balance between high-energy and extravagant vs. vulnerable.
While on paper Wonderstruck’s lineup may have seemed a bit disjointed, ranging from rising indie artists to 2000’s hip hop artists, the festival’s second day came together quite nicely, and marks another good year for the Cleveland area’s music festival.
