Washington DC’s favorite festival, HFStival made its return on Saturday for an afternoon, evening, and night of old bands returning to Nationals Park.
From The Postal Service’s final show before a hiatus, their co-partners in Death Cab for Cutie, Incubus, Bush, Jimmy Eat World, to Lit, it was a day that wasn’t short of hits.
Lit
Lit’s first and only other time at HFStival was in 2004, twenty years ago, at DC’s Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.
The band was one of 30 on the day, alongside groups like Fall Out Boy, The Cure, The Offspring, and Jay-Z, to name a few.
Twenty years later, the group kicked off the festival with an early 25-minute set. Concluding with a stadium favorite ‘My Own Worst Enemy,’ it’s tough to ask for a better start to a festival.
Violent Femmes
Following Filter and Tonic, who also played 25-minute sets, the veteran HFStival group managed to jam 10 songs into their half-hour set.
From ‘Color Me Once’ to ‘Add It Up,’ it brought fans back to ’80s punk. The Femmes were featured at HFStival in 1991, 1994, and 2004, so their fourth time returning was welcomed with open arms.
Jimmy Eat World
While there were many, many highlights prior to pop-punk stars Jimmy Eat World, they were undoubtedly a highlight of the festival.
‘Sweetness’ and ‘The Middle’ were made to be played at sports games in arenas and stadiums, so what better way to one-up that than performing them live in a stadium?
Featuring their big hits plus tracks like ‘Bleed American,’ ‘A Praise Chorus,’ and ‘Big Casino,’ Jimmy Eat World made their HFStival debut in large fashion.
Death Cab for Cutie
While we’d love to spend all day talking about Bush and Incubus, the lineup is simply too stacked with good names to get to all of them. Oh, and there goes unbiased journalism.
Death Cab, who have been touring 20 years of ‘Transatlanticism’ with The Postal Service performed an hour of the record and nothing else. Which makes sense, as lead singer Ben Gibbard had to get to The Postal Service’s set just a few minutes later.
The Postal Service
The Postal Serivce’s set was a celebration of 20 years of ‘Give Up,’ which was released in a similar timeframe with ‘Transatlanticism.’
The record features songs like ‘Such Great Heights’ and ‘The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.’ The show was billed as The Postal Service’s final show before going on a hiatus, though the group noted that they will be playing shows in the future.
So, who’s making the trip to HFStival for 2025?
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