Driving through Cooperstown this past weekend, many were met with a quintessential October Upstate New York picture; that first fall chill that brings cardigans and scarves out of storage, the amazing kaleidoscope of color that is the changing leaves, and the golden hour fall sunshine that happens in early afternoon..
Thousands though, traveled on October 4th and 5th not to marvel at the beauty of Upstate New York, but for one reason and one reason only – Louis Tomlinson’s 5th annual Away From Home Festival at Brewery Ommegang.
Tomlinson, perhaps best known as 1/5th of the boy band One Direction, has spent the past few years as a solo artist, as well as the founder and curator of the indie music festival Away From Home. Beginning in 2021 as a post-COVID celebration of the return of live music after the shut down, former additions have taken place worldwide, in the United Kingdom,Spain, Italy and Mexico respectively. This years edition was the first ever performed in the United States, and the first to span two days.
Away From Home Festival Day One
The Away From Home Festival started off with an explosive set from NYC-based indie girl band Double Standard. Chosen as one of two last minute additions to the festival line up, Double Standard’s set was an incredible insight to the energy and talent the crowd could expect over the next two days.
Encouraged by a group of die-hard fans who managed to get front and center of the barricade to support their girls, Double Standard made the most of their 20 minute set. Performing hits from their newest self-titled EP, “American Psycho” quickly became a crowd favorite, with its infectious pre-chorus that couldn’t help but get stuck in your head and late 90’s indie girl power vibe which got the crowd on their feet and ready for a good time.
Following up was a face familiar to many of the attendees, British singer-songwriter Isaac Anderson. Perhaps formerly best known as the touring guitarist for festival founder Louis Tomlinson, Anderson’s set proved Tomlinson’s fans are dedicated not only to Tomlinson himself, but to his former crew as well. Anderson provided the crowd with stripped down acoustic versions of fan favorite hits, maintaining a magnetic stage presence that fully engaged the late afternoon mood. Anderson’s single “Mess Me Up” from his debut EP Fingers Crossed was the star of the set, with the entire crowd it seems providing Anderson’s backing vocals. .
Mid line up was dominated by more of Tomlinson’s countrymen (and women!) with Liverpool based melodic indie rock band Circa Waves and Manchester locals Dirty Blonde.
Circa Waves brought their Liverpool energy to the stage to rousing success, Highlighted by a performance of their 2015 single “Tshirt Weather”. Their propulsive rock and roll vibe, reminiscent of other notable UK acts like the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, helped re-energize the crowd after a long day in the sun and bring more of that English influence Tomlinson’s fans are attached to.
Day One’s surprising hit was Manchester based group Dirty Blonde. A frequent guest of Louis Tomlinson events fronted by duo Ailis and Hayley, the pop infused alt rock band also performed a stripped down set, but not by choice. Addressing the crowd during their set, Ailis explained that the remaining members of the group had to stay behind due to last minute visa issues.
Speaking to NYS Music after their set, Ailis explained the slight panic and inspiration behind their reproduction. “Louis and his fans have given us so much support, we wanted to make sure this performance was special, so we reproduced all the songs to have a more stripped back pop sound. We have Radio 1 Live Lounge back home and thought ‘ok how would we perform these songs on Live Lounge’ and went from there and created something really special”. The setback was not detrimental to their set in the slightest, with their girl power heartfelt lyrics and fun energy especially prominent on their singles “Northern Twang” and ‘Rage (It Makes Me Feel Pretty)”. Dirty Blonde quickly become a crowd favorite amongst new and old fans and it’s no surprise as why they’ve worked with Tomlinson so many times before.
Perhaps most anticipated of the night was the power EDM set by 2x GRAMMY winning DJ and producer Steve Aoki. Aoki brought his trademark cross-genre discography and high energy to Cooperstown, performing hits new and old to a ravenous crowd. The highlight of the night was when Aoki was joined on stage by none other than Louis Tomlinson himself, performing Tomlinson’s 2016 debut single “Just Hold On” to a stunned crowd. This performance marks the first live performance of the single since 2016, and was a treat for the entire festival, bringing people to their feet, and for some, bringing tears to the eyes. Aoki’s set, with his trademark ‘caking’ and incredible production, cemented exactly why Aoki has had a steady successful career and is often considered the father of modern day Pop EDM.
Rounding out Away From Home Festival Day One was Manchester based rock band Pale Waves. Fronted by lead singer Heather Baron- Gracie, Pale Waves pop/punk rock leaning set was the perfect penultimate act of the night. The Alanis Morisette toned “Jealousy” and early 2000’s Pop Punk sounding “She’s My Religion” were perfect examples of Pale Waves genre bending tones and Baron Gracie’s lyricism revolving around themes of romance, love, acceptance, and queer sexuality. If Pale Waves originals didnt make you a fan, their hauntingly beautiful rendition of The Cranberries classic “Zombies” mid-set did the trick, with the band perfectly walking the tightrope of emotion that song evokes when played.
Capping off the night was Day One headliner Lauv. Lauv brought his trademark eletro-pop and R&B vibes to close the night, performing a set of both old and new tunes to the delight of the crowd. 2018’s “Chasing Fire” also featured a special guest, in the form of a fan’s Louis Tomlinson doll, who joined Lauv on stage for a quick little dance breakdown. Between songs and comments on the balance of mental health and performance anxiety, Lauv had the crowd on their feet the entire set, especially during his encore performance of his breakthrough hit “I Like Me Better”, which ended the day with fireworks and an anticipatory energy building for Day 2.
Away From Home Festival Day Two
Day Two was off to a strong start with Nashville based pop-rock band The Band Light. The self described “rock ‘n’ roll boyband” was a last minute addition to the line-up, only finding out they were performing days before. Even without ample time to prepare, the foursome dominated their time on stage.
The electric stage presence and nostalgic pop- rock sound of The Band Light was perfectly summed up by the performances of their latest single “Turning Red’ and Fleetwood Mac’s classic “The Chain”, an impeccable tip off to the final day of the festival.
Next up on the main stage was another familiar face for Tomlinson fans, Michael Blackwell. Another former touring member of Louis, Blackwell was welcomed on stage to loud and expressive cheers from the crowd. Indulging the crowd in acoustic versions of his solo work, such as single “Signs Of Life”, Blackwell captured the crowd’s attention and never let it go, at one point leaving the crowd chanting his name for more. His stripped back set and modern alt pop lyricism, executed the perfect tee up to those who followed him on stage.
Adding to the previous days girl power energy was mid lineup act Florence Road. The Irish foursome was an indulgent palette cleanser that had many of the crowd leaving as fans. Coming off of successful tours with the likes of Olivia Rodrigo and sombr, Florence Road charmed festival go-ers with energetic renditions of their work, including power anthem “Break The Girl”.
Bringing mainstream pop energy back to stage was Daya. The GRAMMY award winning pop star brought her iconic anthemic tunes to stage with a nice mix of newer work and nostalgic hits, getting the crowd to flash back to 2016 with her performances of singles “Sit Still, Look Pretty” and The Chainsmokers collaboration “Don’t Let Me Down”. As the sun began to set, Daya’s pure pop energy made sure the crowd was just getting ready to spend the evening dancing their hearts out.
While stage hands began to dutifully transform the main stage for the final two acts of the evening, guest DJ Zach Sang helped bridge the gap with his guest set. Sang, most notably known as the creator of celebrity interview vehicle the Zach Sang Show, was a surprising personal addition of Tomlinson’s to the festival. The set kept fans on their feet, with an eclectic mix of today’s Top 40 pop, 70’s classics and 80’s power anthems. Sang also indulged the ever faithful One Direction fandom, mixing classic 1D tunes with the boys solo work. Topping off the evening with a raucous sing along to Frozen’s ‘Let It Go’, Sang kept the crowd happy and ready for more.
Away From Home Festival’s penultimate act was late noughties icons, Plain White T’s. The band brought their millennial pop energy to the stage, playing classic tunes such as 2x Platinum certified “1,2,3,4”, as well as more current hits from their 2022 self-titled album. The crowd, some of which brought their own plain white tees, was absolutely endeared by the group’s performance of their GRAMMY Nominated single “Hey There Delilah” . Lead singer Tom Higgenson dedicated the tune to Louis Tomlinson, who famously (or infamously in his own opinion) began his One Direction journey auditioning for Britain’s X-Factor with the hit. Higgenson called the performance a full circle moment for them and Tomlinson, and the band ended their set with many thanks and praise for both Tomlinson, and his fans, as well as the warm welcome they received.
Finally, the moment the whole festival was waiting for. The moment campers lined up at 11pm Saturday night and traveled thousands of miles for – Tomlinson’s headline set. Arriving to sheer ear piercing screams, Tomlinson opened his closing set with fan favorite “Written All Over Your Face”. In between songs off his first two albums Walls and Faith In The Future, Tomlinson spent his interludes speaking of his gratefulness to his fans. “Every single time I do a show, I just feel utterly grateful to every single one of you, you’re the reason I play stages like this, the reason I’m able to put on this (expletive) incredible show”.
Tomlinson’s set included some magical moments for both his diehard 1D day fans to his newer audiences, including the first ever live performance of his newest single ‘Lemonande” as well as “Palaces”. Both which are set to debut on Tomlinson’s upcoming third album “How Did I Get Here”. Fans were also treated to an emotional acoustic performance of his Aoki collab “Just Hold On”, which left not a dry eye in the audience. Perhaps the most viral moment of the set, was Tomlinson’s performance of One Directions “No Control”.
The single, which was the subject of many a fan project back in 2015: especially post Zayn Malik departure, was adopted as unofficial final single of the original 1D line up, charting in multiple countries and becoming one of the groups best selling songs. Prior to the songs first ever post One Direction performance that evening, Tomlinson cheekily told fans “This will be the only time I play this”.
Rounding out Tomlinson’s set were fan favorites “Silver Tongues” and “Out Of My System”, the latter which featured Tomlinson’s trademark barricade hop and led to the loss of his in-ears. Tomlinson indulged fans with an encore of Faith In The Future tracks “Saturdays” as well as fan beloved “The Greatest”, which some call an ode to Tomlinson’s fans, who’s line “life for us is never over” summarized the festivals energy and more than likely was heard throughout Cooperstown that night, accompanied by festival ending fireworks.
This year’s Away From Home Festival was a rousing success. While one could wax poetic about the musical talent featured, this festival perfectly captured what it means to be a fan. International friendships were made, online communities met in person for the first time, strangers became friends, friends who had met at previous shows reunited, friendship bracelets and pride flags were exchanged and forever memories were cemented in the mind. The usual “post concert depression” was instead pushed aside in favor of that unique sense of happiness, love and feeling of belonging that every fan deserves to feel at least once, and that many have yet to find in any other avenue besides live music.
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