Night Moves Fest 2024

Earlier in the week before Night Moves weekend, there was a storm brewing in the Gulf and it looked like the festival was going to be at best rainy and at worst a wash out. But this being the Gulf Coast, you never cancel outdoor plans until the day of because things change quickly. Turned out to be beautiful, if a little windy and it was a incredible day and night of music by the bay.

At festivals, the headliners get most of the attention and I suppose, rightfully so. I’ll get to them a minute. But what I love about festivals is getting to discovery new-to-me artists and my day started by being blown away by the local and regional bands on this lineup. Morning Trips from Ft Walton Beach kicked things off in the Discovery Tent and I couldn’t get enough. They blazed through a high energy pop-punk (with some hip-hop thrown in) set and shared some political opinions as every good punk band should. Can’t wait to catch them again.

Morning Trips was new to me but I’d seen Heavy Kid, and The Gills a couple of times in smaller venues. It was great to see them again in a festival setting.

There were diehard local music fans who were there all day but as we got closer to the large font acts on the bill, the crowd started to really grow. People went between stages watching bands and a lot of them visited the food trucks and vendor tents on the lawn including our Scene Pensacola table. We had a blast meeting people and telling them all about what we do.

Because of the two stage setup at Night Moves, there was always a band on stage somewhere. Personally, I like that kind of fest so much more than a single stage fest and after I hustled from the Discovery Tent I caught Southern California's Modern Color putting on a tremendous, high energy show on the Main Stage.

Most of the after-dark acts had a kind of indie-pop sound and that’s one of the things that drew me to the festival. Kinda my thing. But the band performing right at sunset took us into the night rocking a little heavier than the rest. Drug Church came in hot and had the crowd hyped with a ton of interaction between lead singer Patrick Kindlon and the first few rows on the rail. At one point he tossed the mic into the crowd so they could scream the lyrics themselves. These guys were so much fun to hear and photograph.

The other band that got close to rocking as hard was Soul Blind a little later over in the Discovery Tent with a 90s grunge sound that the smaller stage could barely contain. And it almost got me kicked in the head when I got a little too close to the mosh pit. (Anything for the shot, right 😄)

I know I'm jumping around in the timeline here but before Soul Blind in the  Discovery Tent, the band PONY also delivered a 90s flashback with a somewhat lighter indie-pop Veruca Salt feel. I'm gonna need to dig a little deeper into their music.

Back over on the big stage, the temperature had dropped and the wind off the bay made for a perfect night for an outdoor amphitheater show. Tigers Jaw and Beach Fossils both seemed to be having as much fun as the crowd while they put on great sets and made new fans... including me. Like I said, this was my kind of lineup.

Next up was the band I was most excited to see at Night Moves. I photographed Silversun Pickups a few years ago and have been a fan ever since. But after the performance at Night Moves, I’m a bigger fan than ever. I had them on loop for a week after the fest. 

They’re a four piece who somehow seem so much larger than that, with more than enough energy and power to fill the big stage and have the crowd eating it up. I have much love for all the bands that day but Silversun was my favorite set of the night.

Alvvays capped off an incredible day of music and sent the crowd home smiling. Exhausted and smiling in my case but it was the best kind of exhaustion. I love live music and I love music festivals and I know it takes a ton of work by a small army of people to pull it off so that's why I appreciate it so much. The fact that we have Night Moves Fest here in Pensacola is a wonderful thing. Can’t wait to see what next year brings.