Rock, folk and hip hop artists took the stage on June 25 in Dunn Meadow to perform and showcase their music as part of RealFest. Local music organization Midnight Reality presented this musical festival in partnership with Visit Bloomington and WIUX, among others.
Class Action, a Bloomington punk rock band, opened the festival with a punk version of the The Suite Life of Zack & Cody theme song: “Here I Am.”
Parodying a formal lawyer-like dress code, the band wore white button down shirts juxtaposed with black shorts. Their dress code and ongoing jokes are part of the band’s lawyer theme.
The band joked about law throughout their set. Before they played a cover of “Dear Maria, Count Me In” by All Time Low, they pretended to make a call to their lawyer, asking for the rights to the song.
“If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an appreciation of original music written by our lead singer Michael Walters, this next song might be for you,” bassist Luc Charlier said during the set.
Later in the festival, Fleeter, IU alumna, performed with a full band and led the audience to explosive applause.
Fleeter dedicated a cover of “If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow to the group of mothers that came to watch her perform. She also played her newly released single, “She Was an Hour.”
For her last song, Fleeter sang “Cobalt,” a song she wrote a couple weeks ago.
“I’ve always been a passionate person; I don’t know how to do anything less than one hundred,” she sang.
Grace Leckey performed songs from her debut solo album, “Best Supporting Actress.” Released that same day, she said the album is about women being praised for performing a script given to them.
Local band Saffron performed multiple original songs, including one that vocalist Barbie said they wrote with an ‘80s Japanese pop funk influence.
While other bands promoted their new music and vinyl records, Saffron exclaimed their feelings on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We have nothing to promote except fuck the Supreme Court,” Barbie exclaimed before begining their set. “Your laws will never touch my body.”
Pat App, a hip hop artist from Indianapolis, performed original rap songs. During his set, he said his performance was an outlet for repressed rage.
“I don’t strive to fit in, I just play my part,” Pat App said in his unreleased song “Scars.”
Loveseat!, Damion Schiralli, Fern Murphy and Turquoise Mansion also performed throughout the summer festival. A recorded livestream of RealFest is available on Midnight Reality’s Youtube Channel.
