XPN Fest Recap: The Vaughns bring scrappy indie rock to the Marina Stage

The Vaughns | photo by Ashley Gellman for WXPN

North Jersey four-piece The Vaughns were right at home here at XPNFest, kicking off Saturday’s lineup on the Marina Stage. Since the group of mutual friends have broken out of their small-town scene, they’ve been spending more and more time in the Philly area — and lead singer Anna Lies just moved to the city, so they’re inching closer to being a true Philly band.

The Vaughns moved swiftly through a selection of tracks off their debut full-length album, F.O.M.O., which was just released in May. With their brightly colored guitars and fun song titles, The Vaughns play scrappy indie rock that’s perfect to dancing and/or shouting along to, and it’s clear that the band isn’t afraid to have fun while they play.

They did test the waters of their Philly fans’ devotion with the controversial remark, “Go Phillies… and the Yankees, too,” but we can’t blame them for holding on to a little bit of their hometown pride. Navigating some technical difficulties, The Vaughns improvised with “Stiff,” before closing with a song you may have heard on XPN lately, the album single “50%.”

Setlist
Coffee Sundae
Shout
Bring Your Kids to Work Day
Santa Cruz
Stiff
50%