I’ve been a yearly attendee of the 97x Next Big Thing festival for seven years now, and if I’m being honest, when I first saw the lineup announced for this year, I was a little disappointed that there was no Twenty-One Pilots, Walk the Moon, or Robert Delong- all artists that 97x loves to bring to the Tampa Bay area.
Initially, I only recognized The 1975’s band name on the lineup. I indulged myself in my dorm room alone for several hours one night with Spotify, pajamas, and a candle to get to know the other bands that were coming to town this year. I came to the realization of two things:
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The Next Big Thing fest is called “Next Big Thing” (or NBT) for the reason that they want to bring new music to the spotlight. Even though I was initially disappointed by the lack of bands that I knew, after listening to several albums from The Naked & Famous, The Head and the Heart, Phantograms, Kongos, and Capital Cities, I completely understood and was in awe of these new bands. I realized that this feeling was the point of the “Next Big Thing,” as far as the popular music industry goes.
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Through exploring these new bands, I was prepared at NBT and could sing along to at least one song with each performer. I really enjoyed the experience of discovering new music to add to my playlist.
Because of these realizations, I found NBT to be more enjoyable and I was able to enjoy the performers with my friends.
We arrived around 1 p.m., missing all of the smaller performances on the secondary, standing room only stage, but made it in time to set up our little picnic blanket and snacks with a clear view of COIN from the grass section of the amphitheatre. As the sky grew darker, we made our way to some of the blue seats. There were, unfortunately, plenty of them throughout the night, but we had a fantastic view of the stage as the remaining bands- Kongos, The Head and the Heart, and The 1975 greeted us on stage. Each of these bands put on amazing performances.
The 1975, of course, was my favorite performance of the night. This was my third time seeing this band, and I was blown away by the beauty of each of their sets. With every song, the background and lighting effects would change, each one more beautiful than the last.
All in all, this year’s NBT was a success in the way that it did just what it was supposed to do: it brought bands that are the “next big thing” to the Tampa Bay area, and succeeded in the lineup that they chose. I can’t wait to see what 97x has in store for 2017’s festivals, the Backyard BBQ in May, and Next Big Thing in December.
HCXOXO
Hayley Garron