XPN Fest Recap: The Revivalists breathe new life into festivalgoers

The Revivalists | photo by Noah Silvestry for WXPN | silvestography.com

In one flawless motion, The Revivalist‘s trumpet player and keyboardist Michael Girardot climbed onto the speaker system to shake his tambourine, then threw it to the side and continued to slam to the ground himself, all the while being sure to bang on his keyboard midair and as he landed. The New Orleans soul rock band exploded with this kind of heart-racing excitement throughout their set on the Riverstage during XPoNential Festival. The seven piece had a distinctly rich and full sound, thanks to the diversity of their instruments and arrangements — the horns section made way for some killer sax solos.

“We believe as a band that entertainment at its core is not stupid,” frontman David Shaw said as they began their set, joining the ranks of musicians to call out Father John Misty’s behavior during his set at the festival yesterday. And then the band promptly delivered a set that proved the importance of entertainment and music as a release.

For the song “Stand Up,” Shaw ditched his guitar to mosey across the stage and get up close and personal with fans, at one point jumping down into the photo pit. His personable nature amped up the audience participation during the set, clapping and waving their hands whenever a song warranted. The song “Fireflies” featured a trade in of the electric guitar for an acoustic and offered a noticeable country twang.

Dancing and spinning his sax around in the air, Rob Ingraham took part in plenty of groovin’ horn breakdowns that shook the stage. The audience’s dancing of their own despite the extreme temperatures was a testament to the band’s ability to rally and rock the house.

Setlist:

Keep Going

Stand Up

Fireflies

Monster

Criminal

Mary Jo

Soulfight

Wish I Knew You