Darren AnkenmanBefore Vance Joy starts his gig opening for Taylor Swift on her 1989 tour next month, he has a few festival dates on his schedule, including a performance on Sunday at Coachella in Indio, California. The Aussie singer/songwriter tells ABC Radio that performing at festivals is fun, but not as much fun as simply hanging out at them.
"You discover all these acts because there's so much music out there and there's huge, huge lineups," says Vance, talking about why attending festivals is great not only for the audience, but for the musicians too. "You get to totally be fans and also meet all the acts, and often you're going to have something in common with them because you're doing the same stuff," he adds. "So yeah, the hanging out, that's the best part."
Of course, the performance part isn't too bad either, even for someone like Vance, whose stage show tends to be more stripped-down.
"I love playing to intimate crowds as well, but the festival vibe is so great," he tells ABC Radio. "Like, when you're playing an upbeat song to a festival crowd, it's, like, great energy going back and forth."
Vance performs Sunday at Coachella, and will also perform on the 19th, during the festival's second weekend. Next month, he'll perform at the Hangout Beach Music & Arts Fest in Alabama before meeting up with Taylor for the kickoff of her tour on May 20 in Louisiana. On the days Taylor isn't playing, Vance will hit the Governors Ball festival in New York, Milwaukee's Summerfest, Boston Calling, Quebec City's Summer Festival and more.
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