Jumping onto the Music Elevates stage in the late evening, WonderRoad Festival headliners Vampire Weekend followed thirteen talented bands that performed before them during the Inaugural event in Indianapolis’ Garfield Park. Vampire Weekend, a mostly indie rock band that formed in New York,surprised eager fans by starting their set 15 minutes before the scheduled start time in hopes of beating some possible rain showers. Charismatic and personable throughout the entirety of their show, Vampire Weekend played many fan favorites from their four successful studio albums, connecting with the audience in a way many won’t soon forget.
As the evening finally started to cool with the setting sun and the rolling skies filled with patchy gray clouds, Vampire Weekend captivated festival goers not only with their stellar and impressive 20-song set-list, but also with their fun and almost mesmerizing backdrop screen that displayed various colors, designs, and summer-inspired imagery that paired wonderfully with the eccentric band. Even as the clouds began to drizzle, the rain could not dampen the energy of the crowd. If anything, it only added to the scene, giving the stage a movie-like atmosphere while cooling down thankful fans from the summer's day heat.
Around mid-way through their show lead singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig, while reminiscing on their last performance in Indianapolis at White River State Park back in 2019, held up a light green vinyl, album explaining they had created a limited number of custom vinyl records made from that lengthy live performance three years prior. Marking the band's first official live-release album, Vampire Weekend began handing out a few of the coveted records to teary eyed fans in the front rows of the audience, with promises of the limited vinyl becoming available to purchase for the general public soon.
With the sun long gone and Vampire Weekend now playing well into the evening, they ended the night with a bang, tossing two huge inflatable globes into the crowd while playing ‘Worship you’ and ‘Ya Hey’ amidst the light rain, making for a memorable aesthetic as fans jumped in unison to send the globes soaring back up into the dark sky while dancing and singing along to the band’s final moments on stage. After thanking the skies for not completely raining them out, Vampire Weekend wrapped up their engaging set by throwing their guitar picks into the crowd and walking off stage, concluding the first exciting day of WonderRoad and leaving the festival members ready to recharge for the following day, rain or shine.
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