XPN Fest Recap: Sunflower Bean burns it down on the Marina Stage

Sunflower Bean | photo by Ashley Gellman for WXPN | agellmanphotos.com

Brooklyn natives and WXPN regulars Sunflower Bean shared more of their Twentytwo in Blue record with the day two crowd as the sun beat down on the Marina Stage. To open the show, they played the fan favorite “Burn It,” and front woman Julia Cumming’s signature alto-toned vocals welcomed the crowd back to Twentytwo. Interspersed with quick drum fills and lead bass tones, the band was tighter than ever.

Cumming’s voice, both shouty and incredibly smooth and mellow, is essential to their sound, and is bound to elicit chills from the audience. They’re such a fun group to watch, always in sync with their movements and almost theatrical in their choices of wardrobe. They’re a unique group, dedicated to psychedelic vibes as well as lazy but powerful indie tones.

The set slowed down during key tracks like “Only A Moment,” and the grunginess in the vocals and smooth rhythmic bass notes took over and wooed the crowd. The guitar almost always has some sort of intrinsic riff mixed in between moments of repetition, and it fits in so perfectly. Cummings had the crowd repeat after her, “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be,” and it was such a unifying moment.

Sunflower Bean has a long east coast to Canada to Europe tour planned for the fall, so if you want to see them, you have to be quick. You don’t want to miss a chance to see Twentytwo in Blue in person. Below, listen to their performance and check out a gallery of photos from the show.

Setlist
Burn It
Come On
Twentytwo
Crisis Fest
Human Fur
Only A Moment
Easier Said
I Was A Fool
I Was Home