Throughout Father’s Day weekend, SPIN was on-site at the Firefly Music Festival at the Toyota Music Den, where we invited many of the fest’s best and brightest to stop by for intimate performances and portraits shot by photographer Ryan Muir. We also asked the artists for a quick quote to accompany their photos, discovering that Wet’s Kelly Zutrau once bit her sister’s cheek, Grouplove’s Hannah Hooper got life wisdom from the movie Dazed and Confused, and Nathaniel Rateliff spends way too much time watching Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Check out the photos and quotes below.
Who: Grouplove
What: Colorful, indie-pop collective
Quote: “Dazed and Confused told me everything I need to know about fitting in.”
Who: Walshy Fire
What: One-third of electro supergroup Major Lazer
Quote: “My favorite dinner is a conch salad from Chef Creole in Miami. Sorry mom.”
Who: Wet
What: Soulful Brooklyn-based trio
Quote: “One time I bit my little sister’s cheek and blamed it on the dog.” — Kelly Zutrau
Who: Fitz and the Tantrums
What: Modern soul with a dash of indie pop
Quote: “If I wasn’t making music, I’d be sitting around watching There Will Be Blood all day.” — Fitz
Who: Saint Motel
What: Multi-hyphenate L.A. indie rock outfit
Quote: “We’re outdoors guys. We’ve almost died mountain climbing.” – A/J Jackson
Who: Quilt
What: Boston-bred psych-rock band
Quote: “Louie and Ren & Stimpy both changed the way I see the world.” — Anna Fox Rochinski
Who: PVRIS
What: Anthemic rock trio
Quote: “Bath, England is my idea of heaven.” — Lyndsey Gunnulfsen
Who: Boy and Bear
What: Australian indie folk-rockers
Quote: “I could read Fantastic Mr. Fox for the rest of my life.” — Tim Hart
Who: The Wombats
What: Liverpool indie rock trio
Quote: “I’m really into old prog records by YES and King Crimson right now.” — Tord Øverland Knudsen
Who: Night Riots
What: Epically-charged L.A. rock quintet
Quote: “Event Horizon and Jurassic Park scare the crap out of us.” — Travis Hawley
Who: POWERS
What: L.A.-based dance/funk duo
Quote: “I want Nile Rogers and the ghost of Bob Marley playing my house party.” — Mike Del Rio
Who: Atlas Genius
What: Australian alt-pop collective
Quote: If I wasn’t making music, I’d probably be grinding coffee beans somewhere.” — Keith Jeffery
Who: The Shelters
What: Classic rock-tinged L.A. quartet
Quote: “All I can think about is olive tapenade on ciabatta right now.” — Sebastian Harris
Who: Son Little
What: R&B-tinged roots-rocker Aaron Livingston
Quote: “My perfect Sunday is waking up at the crack of dawn, turning on my machines and making a lot of noise.”
Who: Laura Stevenson
What: Electric power-pop collective out of Brooklyn
Quote: “I’m pretty sure my Teddy Ruxpin was haunted.” — Laura Stevenson
Who: Transviolet
What: Four-piece synth-rock ensemble
Quote: “We all love Steve Brule. Jackprot!” — Sarah McTaggart
Who: Louis the Child
What: Funky, tropical DJs/producers
Quote: “We both once jaywalked and stole a pack of gum.” — Freddy Kennett
Who: Nathaniel Rateliff
What: Electric, brassy folk singer/songwriter
Quote: “My life is a lot like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Sometimes too similar.” – Nathaniel Rateliff
Who: Slaptop
What: San Francisco DJ/producer Luke Frisher
Quote: “Cracklin’ Oat Bran is OG. There’s nothing better.”
Who: Sun Club
What: Raucous indie rock quartet
Quote: “Holy shit people came out for this!” — Mikey Powers
Who: Jermaine Fowler
What: Hilarious up-and-coming stand-up comedian and Music Den host
Quote: “The Delaware state flag should be a guy in a toll booth.”
