Audrey Hobert, Geese, Suki Waterhouse, & more: Days 3 & 4 of Hinterland!
CMAT performing at Hinterland on Saturday, August 1st.
Following a very stormy first two days, Hinterland kicked off the weekend under the sun. Nestled just south of Des Moines, the festival has become a summer tradition loved by music fans traveling from all over the world.
Established in 2015 by Sam Summers, Hinterland began as a festival that highlighted folk music. This year, the lineup expanded to spotlight a more diverse bill with artists like Audrey Hobert, Wet Leg, Kali Uchis, and Young Miko. The first two days were very electronic-heavy with artists like Jane Remover, Snow Strippers, and Katseye.
Despite the expanse into different genres, Hinterland hasn't lost the qualities that made the festival so special. Thousands of people travel to the Iowa countryside to attend the fest, but the overwhelming sense of community didn't stop at the shared campgrounds.
Strangers were recommending artists between sets, solo festival-goers were making friends in the crowd, and fans were crowding together underneath trees to seek relief from the sun. Hinterland also introduced festival trading cards, which each included a blind-box style set of 5 cards that each sported a different artist. Fans were encouraged to meet up at certain times each day to trade for the artists that they wanted.
This year, Off The Record covered the latter half of the festival, Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd.
On par with Hinterland’s folk roots, Saturday kicked off with Amble, an Irish folk band that formed in 2022. The band took the stage at 12:45 following an intense barricade run by the festival-goers who wanted to secure a front-row spot for that night’s headliner, Mumford & Sons. Both Amble and Mumford & Sons have similar sounds, so the energy in the crowd for Amble’s set was already incredible. Waylon Wyatt followed, bringing a similar folk vibe to the stage as well.
Julia Wolf was the third act of the day, garnering a large crowd and many fans with signs lining the railing of the barricade. She had a very simple production, but her voice and stage presence carried her set. Closing her slot with her hit song “In My Room,” she had the entire crowd singing her lyrics back to her.
CMAT brought on an incredible performance at 3:45 right after Julia, her striking red hair and eclectic outfit owning the stage. Joined by her Very Sexy CMAT Band, she performed many songs from her most recent album, Euro-Country, accompanied by a few fan favorites and deep cuts. She came over the barricade and into the crowd for “Stay For Something,” dancing with the general admission section while she closed out her set.
At 5:00, Santigold came on stage with her two backup dancers. All wearing all white, her backup dancers sported sunglasses and over-eye veils. She had a diverse setlist spanning from early music to more recent work, closing her set with her hit “Disparate Youth.”
Watching The Format from Hintermarket—Hinterland’s row of vendors consisting of artists, food trucks, and small businesses—was an incredible experience. Fronted by Nate Russ, an Iowa native and frontman of fun., the band had the entire crowd engaged and moving.
Jessie Murph was the second-to-last act of Saturday, starting at 8:00 and opening her set with an intimate cover of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” She graced the stage in a nightgown and robe, decorated in elaborate jewelry and white heels. She had a wooden piece of furniture and mirrors onstage with her, using her flowy robe as a prominent visual element in her performance.
Mumford & Sons closed out the night with a headlining slot at 9:45, opening with “The Wolf” and closing with “I Will Wait.” Their frontman, Marcus Mumford, jumped the barricade and ran into the crowd during their show, going all the way to the hill and running through fans while being chased by security during their song “Ditmas.”
As fans were walking back to the campgrounds, they were still singing and relishing the day they had just had. The energy on Saturday was nothing short of phenomenal, and everyone was buzzing to see what Sunday would hold.
Audrey Hobert performing at Hinterland on Sunday, August 2nd.
As the gates opened on Sunday at 12, the festival goers repeated the barricade run a few minutes before Haute & Freddy’s opening set. The duo took the stage alongside two backup dancers. They had a very distinct clown theme, with vocalist Michelle Buzz emerging through a stage prop which was designed to look like the entrance to a circus tent. The two dancers were decorated in elaborate clown makeup and outfits. It made for a very visually compelling performance, with Freddy—drummer Lance Shipp—even coming to the front of the catwalk to juggle, turning Hinterland into a carnival for a few minutes.
Samia had a much calmer vibe, with her hit song “Pool” evoking a very emotional performance from the Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter. Her production was very minimal, but her vocals and stage presence stole the show completely.
Audrey Hobert started her performance at 2:15, starting her performance with a hilarious bit. Hobert stood atop a stepladder with a very long coat on, making her look extremely tall. Over the speakers, a recorded talking excerpt played, which detailed how Audrey would “never make it as a 7-foot popstar.” Clearly, they’ve been proven wrong. Audrey is nothing short of a star, with a majority of the crowd screaming her lyrics back at her. Hobert spoke about how she had performed at Lollapalooza just three days before, and how she thought Hinterland was “more her speed.” She closed out her set with “Sue Me,” which included her jumping on a small trampoline and throwing roses into the crowd.
Suki Waterhouse’s stage setup included a large anatomical heart, which was covered in a shiny disco ball pattern of mirrors and had a gold keyhole on the front. There were arrows covering the stage and her mic stand, and a beautiful garden visual was projected onto the screen behind her. Suki took the stage in a pair of orange shorts, beige fishnets, a bedazzled gold top with fringe, and black lace-up boots, all under a sheer flowy beige robe. She followed the Saturday trend of joining the crowd and performed between barricades.
Aisle of Wight rockers Wet Leg came on at 4:45 pm, front-woman Rhian Teasdale kicking off their set with her iconic muscle-flex power pose, staring down the crowd as she made her way to the microphone. She later sported her—also iconic—see-through neon green guitar. Three songs in, fog graced the stage and their visuals really came together.
Geese followed, opening with their song “Husbands” off of their 2025 album, Getting Killed. They played a mix of recent music and fan favorites. The crowd had a very consistent moshpit going the entire set, and there was a crowd member holding up a stick with a small goose stuffed animal at the end of it. The barricade was lined with hardcore fans sporting handmade merch, art, and signs—the New York-born 5-piece was well loved by the crowd in Iowa. They closed out their set with “Trinidad,” a song whose chorus finds frontman Cameron Winter repeatedly screaming, “There’s a bomb in my car.” Before launching into the track, Winter offered a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer, telling the crowd the song they were about to play was “up for interpretation.”
Young Miko was the second-to-last act of the day, starting off her performance at the top of a large stage riser with “En el Ritz.” Her energy was incredible the entire set, and so was the crowd’s. She played “Fina,” a song she has in collaboration with fellow Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. Countless bras were thrown on stage, and the barricade had at least two lesbian pride flags with photos of Young Miko printed on top, along with tons of homemade merch and signs.
Headliner Kali Uchis closed out the night with a phenomenal performance, which began with her being driven onto stage in a white carriage. She wore a beautiful pink dress and was surrounded by backup dancers sporting feathered fans around her. She ditched the dress after a few songs and wore a white corset, pink skirt, and white top that read “Fuck Ice” in bedazzled lettering across her chest. The camera work on her set was so compelling, with Kali getting onto the floor at certain parts and singing into a camera that was positioned above her. During one track, a plush bed was brought on stage, and she sang on the bed while her backup dancers had a pillow fight. The song ended with her lying down and going to sleep as the lights dimmed.
As applause gave way to the walk back to the campgrounds for one last time, it was clear that Hinterland’s true identity extends beyond any one lineup. As fans filed out, there was talk of who they hoped to see next year, set highlights of the weekend, and exchanges of information of friendships that formed just days prior. Hinterland’s willingness to evolve without abandoning the close-knit atmosphere that first put it on the map is what continues to make it such a favorite amongst music fans.
