In a shady nook at the Porch Stage (the best stage) this weekend at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest, I was impressed by a soulful rock band from Detroit called Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas, who were perfectly described as “think Gwen Stefani meets Amy Winehouse” (thanks Ty). She had all the 90s fashion spunk of Gwen, and the sexy dark retro vibe of Amy, and a powerful voice and dance moves to match it. Behind Jessica was a band of young guys, including a trombonist, playing upbeat and highly danceable music. The crowd went wild for them, and they even made an older drunk couple grind erotically. FUN!

Listen to them here.

Another highly honorable mention of the day was 21-year-old Oklahoma native Parker Millsap, who played soulful, crooning ballads that were brought to energetic life with his honky tonky band and his rockabilly moves. Check him out!

[Cheez-It lover by Dex; hairshirt by Lindsey]

Fresh off his inspiring performance last night at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Thurston Moore opted for a more subtle undertaking at one of our neighborhood’s highly-touted coffee shops this morning.  Fortunately, my savvy cousin Nushin was on the scene and snapped this pic so the exploit would not be lost to posterity:

Suspicions confirmed by the highly agitated and blushing barista. We were too shy to invite him to the knockout tonight for the sonic youth cover band.

How rad would that have been?!?  Thurston, if you see this, come to the Knockout tonight!

(Thanks Lauren and Nushin!)

Although on the surface this seems like a terrible idea, it’s definitely one way to get to see Elvis Costello at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival today.  It doesn’t seem quite as safe or elegant as our previous “rack & belt-loops” solution, but at least it gets the job done (until you have to stop, that is!).

Previously:

2 Guys 1 Bike and 2 Bikes 1 Guy