5 Acts You Shouldn’t Miss At Mamby On The Beach

For fair-skinned fans of air conditioned spaces, hitting the beach on a hot summer day may not seem like the greatest of times to be had. Fortunately, a few times a year music festivals give us a reason to sweat in the sun while we dance and enjoy the sweltering sunshine. This Fourth Of July weekend Mamby On The Beach provides Chicago with one such event, featuring music that crosses genre lines all over the place. These are some of the acts that you should be sure to check out. Headliners are a given, so those will not be discussed here.

Miami Horror (Saturday July 2, 3:30 on Beach Stage)-They’ve been around since 2007, but I didn’t take notice until last year’s All Possible Futures. The song “American Dream,” in particular, got me into them. It should be a nice laid-back set to get you into the swing of things before Wild Belle and Milky Chance take over the main stage.
Overlapping Miami Horror a bit is K Flay on the Park Stage from 3:15-4. The Wilmette native may have left the midwest for the California sun, but she still represents her Chicagoland roots. She’s been gaining momentum over the past couple years, most recently with her album Life As A Dog and video for the single “FML.” A while back she went from performing solo to adding a live drummer and bassist, which makes the show much more interesting.
Immediately after K Flay on the Park Stage is Haitian producer Kaytranada. His newest record 99.9% has been one of the great discoveries of the year. It features artists like Anderson.Paak, Vic Mensa, and Craig David. It’s as atmospheric as anything you’ll hear this year and has already been featured on a lot of mid-year “best of” lists.
Many have called Gallant the next Frank Ocean (except Gallant puts out music), which is a lot to live up to. He seems to be handling the hype, and you can see him for yourself on July 3rd at 4:45. Just head to be Beach Stage and be sure to bring your guy or gal because Gallant is singing for all the lovers out there.
A little before Gallant is playing, you should check out Chrome Sparks on the Park Stage. They play really early (2:30), but that doesn’t mean they won’t be great. The trippy tunes definitely lend themselves to an evening state of mind, so wear your sunglasses and pretend it’s almost closing time.