PHOTOS: The All-American Rejects, Revivalists get intimate at Live in the Vineyard
NAPA — The All-American Rejects headlined a five-act lineup Saturday at the Uptown Theatre on the middle day of Live in the Vineyard, a contest-winner-only private music festival.
Over the course of 40 minutes, the Oklahoma pop-punk rockers, led by Tyson Ritter, performed an entirely acoustic set that kicked off with alt-rock hits “Dirty Little Secret” and “Gives You Hell,” which Ritter mashed up with a sample from Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” Even with an array of hits, the All-American Rejects squeezed in a couple of lesser-known songs like “Mona Lisa” and “There’s a Place,” and raunchy new single “Sweat.”
The band has been in the studio, recording songs for a new album. Besides “Sweat,” Ritter and co. teased the crowd with a second new track called “Close Your Eyes.”
Vocalist David Shaw and guitarist Zack Feinberg of New Orleans rock septet The Revivalists preceded the headliners with another intimate, stripped-down set of songs, including “Wish I Knew You,” “Shoot You Down” and “It Was a Sin.” The Revivalists are now off to the east Coast for five sold-out shows.
Los Angeles trio Magic Giant’s members Austin Bis, Zambricki Li and Brian Zaghi were running up and down the aisles, and they even performed a song while standing on chairs in the front of the theater. Their 25-minute set was spent on the group’s debut album, In The Wind, which was released earlier this year and included single “Window.”
Perhaps the most intriguing act on the lineup was Ocean Park Standoff, the project of L.A. DJ Samantha Ronson (sister of producer Mark Ronson), Pete Nappi and Ethan Thompson. The trio started the band last year. Ocean Park Standoff performed songs like moody pop single “Good News,” as well as “Get Gone” and “We Do.”
Saturday’s lineup included Tennesee singer-songwriter Keelan Donovan and North Carolina indie rock duo Flagship. The former played three songs off his new self-titled EP, while Flagship’s very brief set included a cover of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.”
Over the weekend, Live in the Vineyard staged several shows throughout Napa Valley, including HAIM, Julia Michaels, Joseph, ZZ Ward, Sara Evans, LeAnn Rimes and others.
The 19th annual private festival gives attendees exclusive access to artists, top tier wine makers and world-renowned chefs. Tickets were available only through special radio station promotions.
— Sara Whitham