After a two year absence, music and arts festival Waking Windows stormed back to Winooski, Vermont’s bustling rotary for three days of fun. Bigger and better than ever before, the festival’s tenth edition had a little something for every kind of listener while still maintaining its beloved underdog spirit. Waking Windows 10 was a masterclass in expanding your scope without abandoning the hyperlocal feel that’s brought them such a devoted audience over the years. 

Sure, having big name headliners gets people in the door (and between Dinosaur Jr., Japanese Breakfast, Dry Cleaning, Kikagaku Moyo, and The Nude Party, this year’s edition had plenty), but slotting a host of up and coming and locally revered New England acts on the very same stages is what’s kept people coming back year after year. Putting up shows in the constellation of breweries, churches, restaurants, and dive bars that make up Winooski’s thriving town square is also in line with that ethos. The buzz from audiences across the fest’s 17 different venues was insanely positive. From the heads to folks just there to cut loose for a night, no one left disappointed. Those good vibes are a testament to their team’s innate sense of scale and timing. There were few if any lines for venue entry or concessions, there were virtually zero sets that got uncomfortably crowded or empty, and with purposefully later start times, the weather never got oppressively hot*. With nearly a hundred acts on the bill, that’s a daunting tightrope to walk, but Waking Windows is the rare festival that truly gives back to its community 

*Tossing out an endless stream of free Liquid Death cans in mid 80 degree heat was a nice touch, too.

Here are some of our favorite sets from the weekend as well as a photo gallery of everything we saw at Waking Windows.

Friday: Dinosaur Jr. @ Main Stage 

Some technical issues plagued Dinosaur Jr.’s headlining set at the main stage on Friday night, but the long-running Western Mass trio shook the rust loose while tearing into a number of tracks off their latest Sweep It Into Space. Even outside, Dinosaur is still capable of making your chest cave in, and some of those less-prepared in the audience up front were looking worse for wear by the time they tore into fuzzbomb classics like “In A Jar” and “Little Fury Things.” The extended set ending noise swirl for early track “Gargoyle” felt as though it could have gone on for hours, with J Mascis’ furiously soloing until they shut off the lights. It’s a treat to see them dip so far back into the catalog at a festival where most would be content just to hear the hits. Yeah, they played “Feel The Pain” and “Start Choppin” too and it kicked ass.

Friday: Guerilla Toss @ Waterworks River House

New York-via-Boston art punks Guerilla Toss are no strangers to Waking Windows, and their set on Friday night at Waterworks felt like a well-earned victory lap. Making the jump to Sub Pop for their latest record, the vital Famously Alive saw the band jettisoning some of their latent jam-y freakiness in favor of a technicolor approach that edges up straight up pop music. Ecstatic tracks like”Excitable Girls” come across like cheerleader chants as fronter Kassie Carlson. G Toss thankfully still retains their warped sense of rhythm, with extended sections of their set sending the crowd into a woozy boogie. They ended with an older tune from their noisier era called “367 Equalizer” and in that moment it felt like we were back in a cramped Allston basement. 

Friday: Geese @ Waterworks River House

Hotly-tipped Brooklyn post-punk quintet Geese proved it’s sometimes right to believe the hype when they closed out the Waterworks on Friday night. Sticking to tracks off their debut LP Projector, the band proved to be natural showmen, absolutely leveling the small stage at the restaurant, and elevating their brief oeuvre into a barnstorm of thick noise. On longer, winding tracks like “Disco” and “Exploding House” they moved as a singular unit, swelling and heaving into the hairpin changes with exacting precision. For a group of kids just out of high school, they carry themselves with the swagger of a band that’s been on the road for years. This may very well be the last time we see them in such a small room.

Friday: The Range @ The Monkey House

Those brave enough to stick around Winooski’s beloved Monkey House (think O’Brien’s but they serve the best beer in the country and also really solid pizza) til 1:30am on Friday night were treated to a remarkable set from Providence’s The Range. The producer had been noticeably quiet for a while before trickling out a few singles of his typically emotional and cerebral dance music, and his set at Waking Windows had the low-key nature of a public rehearsal. Armed with an array of analog electronics, some lo-fi projections, and a full drum kit, The Range got to work building up his sample heavy tracks into loops that he would then play along to on the drum kit via in-ear monitors. While not always exactly on beat, his drumming had a nervy punkish energy to it that had those in attendance sporting wide eyed stares. The sheer physicality and skill required to pull this off is certainly commendable. Give him a few more tune ups and this set will be hard to beat.

Saturday: Bethlehem Steel @ Four Quarters

Saturday afternoon on the patio at Four Quarters Brewing was Bethlehem Steel’s first full band show in two and a half years, but they attacked their noisy, splintered songs with tour-tight precision. Now scattered between Vermont, New York, and elsewhere their set technically counted as a local one, plus fronter Rebecca Ryskalczyk hosted karaoke later that night at the Asian Bistro restaurant, so they had themselves quite the day. Tracks from their 2019 self-titled record still hit with huge force, but the hardest moments came when Ryskalczyk dropped the guitar and went full pop star mode. A cover of No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” was absolutely thrilling, a grinding ugly-pretty take on a song who’s message about oppressive societal expectations about women is unfortunately more relevant than ever.

Saturday: Fake Fruit @ The Monkey House

Whip-smart Oakland indie rockers Fake Fruit were stacked towards the end of a sweaty all day marathon on Saturday night at The Monkey House, but their punchy set cut right through the fatigue. Running through nearly all of their self-titled debut with little room for banter or breathers, the quartet were content to keep their heads down and work, much like the characters in their slice-of-life songs. There’s a certain wrath boiling just below the surface on their recordings that really jumps out on stage, a good look for a band that’s clearly destined for bigger things. Their tourmates in Dry Cleaning were also hanging out despite playing on an entirely different stage, definitely a strong co-sign.

Saturday: Spud Cannon @ Waterworks River House

Hudson Valley indie pop troupe Spud Cannon played second on another New York centric Saturday night at Waterworks. Dressed in matching all white outfits, the quintet tore into their songs with an intensity that’s thus far been absent from their tuneful and catchy recordings. The crowd was ready to dance with them too, turning the restaurant on the water into a swaying sea of bodies while fronter Meg Matthews sang sweetly over the band’s heavy chug. It’s about time bands started sounding like Velocity Girl again.

Sunday: Clover Koval @ The Monkey House

Vermont indie pop act Clover Koval kicked off the Sunday showcase at the Monkey House with songs from their debut Me and the Animals. Sporting a nice mix of sighing dream pop and twangy Americana shuffle, the quartet proved to be a nice kickoff to the final day of Waking Windows for us. Their best tracks also featured the band’s principal member Chloe Koval sneaking some brass horn in between the shimmery layered sheets of guitar. Also, they covered “Tiny Flame” by Boston emo legends dæphne, which was so sick. 

Sunday: Rough Francis @ Rotary Stage

No Waking Windows is complete with a monstrous set from Rough Francis, the long-running Burlington, VT punk crew. The sons of legendary Detroit proto-punks Death have been putting out catchy but gruff punk records for a long time, and it’s always a thrill to catch them destroy at the fest. While rain kept most people away from the outdoor Rotary Stage for most of Sunday afternoon (we may or may not have been watching the Celtics take care of business against the Bucks over at Mule Bar), the sky seemed to open right when Rough Francis kicked into “Deathwire,” their addition to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 soundtrack. The pit opened up too, and we absolutely got involved. It seemed like the folks who hung around for all three days started to recognize one another, lending their celebratory set a kind of community building atmosphere. Just another bit of magic from a festival that does just about everything right.

Here’s a gallery of our weekend at Waking Windows, featuring Clever Girls, Greg Freeman, Bethlehem Steel, Acquamossa, Rick Rude, Dry Cleaning, Vagabon, Japanese Breakfast, and Carinae. All photos by Sarah Wilson.

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