Frenship, Cobi, Barns Courtney, Missio Dominate New Tinnabulation Music Festival

Okay so let me set this up by saying that seeing live music, even artists I don't know, is one of my favorite things to do. Nothing gets my heart racing like watching a band crush their set or an artist that connects so strongly with their audience that the world simply falls away. I live for that ish! So you better believe I was all over the opportunity to check out the new music festival that was only a couple hours west of us here in Missoula!

Tinnabulation did not disappoint! Sure there could have been a few more people there, but for a first time festival I feel like it left one heck of a mark on the city of Spokane. Riverfront Park was a beautiful venue with easy parking and abundance of affordable hotels within walking distance. For a first year festival, the lineup was actually underrated, and being able to walk from set to set without the worry of missing even a single note was totally refreshing! To put it simply, Tinnabulation has A LOT of potential...

Going into the festival, I only really knew songs from my Frenship boys (#duh) and Missio and then of course the headlining bands (American Authors, The John Butler Trio and Ok Go). Sure I'd heard of Barns Courtney and the name Cobi sounded familiar, but I was NOT prepared for them to blow me away like they did...

Gotta shout out my Frenship boys for showing me and my mini girl squad so much love this weekend. If you listen to 107.5 ZooFM at all, then you know I've been playing these guys for a long time now. (Click HERE to check out my interview with the boys!) There is something so special about their music and the energy it gives off, it's kind of hard to explain. Seeing their set live, with the addition of a beautiful female voice (aka Camille #GoalsAF) that perfectly blends their vocals, was everything I could have asked for. Capsize and 1000 Nights are still my favorite singles, but I gotta say I was totally vibin' the two new songs they played for us! Stay tuned for those...

And then because Brett and James are the sweetest guys ever, they stayed around after their set for a quick chat and to hook up little Avory with a badass drum stick and sweet guitar pick. To say she loved them is an understatement!

Frenship has had a massive year already, performing at epic music festivals like Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and now Tinnabulation, but they are far from done! They're off to join Bastille on a couple Wild, Wild World Tour dates over the next couple of days and then continuing on touring through mid-November. Hopefully now that we've become low key BFFs, they'll keep Missoula in mind the next time they're in our neck of the woods...

Moving on to the guy with the magic feather and a voice that could melt a platinum statue. Like I said, prior to Tinnabulation I'd only heard of the name Cobi. It wasn't until my drive over and his song popped up on one of my favorite Spotify playlists that I put two and two together and realized that the Cobi I'd been playing on repeat for the last couple months was the same Cobi I was about to see. The double take at my phone was so intense I'm pretty sure I gave myself whiplash. #Spaz

What blew me away MOST about Cobi's set was his ability to absolutely shred his guitar. In my experience, the more bands and artists you see, the easier it is separate the people who know how to play the guitar from the ones who can actually play the guitar. It's one of those situations where you either have "it" or ya don't. Now obviously it's gonna take a lot to get on the same level as legends like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix or even John Mayer, but I gotta say that when he broke off for a couple guitar solos, I 100% got that vibe that one day soon, he could be. I guess time will tell...

Because Cobi has only released two official singles, Don't You Cry For Me and Prophet Story, the majority of his Tinnabulation set was new to me. Gotta say though, there is no better way to hear new Cobi music than having him sing it to you from 10 ft. away. Talk about swoon!

Lyrically, his songs are refreshingly descriptive without being explicit or cheesy. One song in particular, that if I remember correctly (there was a lot of female sexual angst goin' on around me and it was kind of hard to hear over the 'You're so hot' yells) is called In The Arms Of A Goddess, took sexy to a whole new level. It's been awhile since I've heard a song about sex that actually can be classified as romantic, and isn't a country song. Don't get me wrong, it was still pretty graphic, but in a good way that made every person in the audience, male and female, wish they were the 'goddess' he was talking about. Even I, a super professional DJ who always has it together (lol), am still recovering from that song...

Cobi has one of those voices that just belongs on a record with the volume turned all the way up. (Unless you can get the up close and personal version, in which case do that everyday all day.) Even though he has yet to release a full album, I can almost guarantee that it's gonna be somewhat similar to an Adele, James Bay, Sam Smith, Sia etc. album, in the sense that every time you put it on it's because you want to sing at the top of your lungs and dance around or just feel something that's all-consuming -something that hits you right in the feels and gives your soul the release it needs.

After his set, Cobi was sweet enough to come over and say hi to three of his new biggest fans (me #duh, Avory and Avory's mom Christy) and even let Avory keep his magic feather. Who knew you could be jealous of a 9 year-old?!

Another show that I'll never forget, is the INSANE one Barns Courtney put on for us! Seriously, I don't even know where to start with that guy. Haha Other than Dave Grohl, I don't think I've ever seen someone put on a better show after breaking their leg in five places and being forced to wear a massive boot. Heck half the time I forgot he was even wearing a boot because he was jumping around so much. But he did say he was completely baked the whole time so I guess that probably helped with the pain, or at least transported him to a different planet with less gravity for about an hour...

While impressive, pulling off a set with a boot on isn't the only reason why I thought Barns Courtney's performance was so epic. From his first hobbled step on stage, the guy just went for it. There's no other word to describe him other than fearless. And when you combine that confidence with his unique sound and an incredible set of pipes, of course the audience is left wanting more. Even if more means making up a song on the spot about Spokane, getting high (I think) and Free Bird because you already played all your own songs - which is exactly what happened! Haha

Thinking back to his set, I don't think just one part was my favorite. He had me locked in from the very beginning and I stayed that way til the very end! Seeing Barns Courtney live is a prime example of why I love going to shows and why I became a radio DJ in the first place. Music is powerful on its own, but when you have an artist or a band that can give you an experience like that, it's something truly special!

Honestly though I'm really glad I saw him while he still only has one broken leg because after checking out his Instagram and seeing is Lollapalooza performance where he further injured his already broken leg by biting it on stage while in a hospital gown and then army crawling off stage, I think it's only a matter of time before he breaks his other one and has to do shows from a wheelchair. To be fair, I think it'd be just as fun... (Check out the Lollapalooza video below! lol)

Missio was hands down one of my absolute favorite groups at Tinnabulation. While I would have preferred seeing them do a night set with a million people in the audience, their daytime performance was enough to make me drink the Missio kool aid.

The guys put on such a badass set it made it so obvious to see why they're blowing up and getting asked to play pretty much every major festival on the planet. Even though I love Middle Fingers, KDV and Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea, I gotta say that Everybody Gets High is my jam. It's not everyday an electopop musician sings about his own addiction to drugs and alcohol and packages it up in a sick song to share with the world. But that's exactly what lead singer Matthew Brue did, and it was next level.

From their stage presence to their set list, Missio put on one hell of a show from start to finish, and were the main reason why we stuck around for Sunday, instead of getting an early start on our drive home. #WorthIt Can't wait to see them on a slightly bigger scale because they are absolutely savage.

The best part about music festivals like Tinnabulation, is the easy access to so many artists. It's like super fun speed dating where you get to test the waters and decide if you really want to fully commit to the fandom or just stay a side piece forever. The only down side is that if you're like me, once you get a taste of an artist you love, you'll never be able to get enough. So you're left with having to figure out how to get Frenship, Cobi, Barns Courtney and Missio to come do shows at The Wilma. The struggle is so real...