A review of the Daytime Stage artists

While most people in Fargo were coming down from the high of Greta Van Fleet on Friday, September 23, I was on my way to the airport in Minneapolis. This was probably one of the most exciting weekends of my life, I mean Don’t Worry Darling was released, I saw Greta Van Fleet at the Fargodome, and I went to Las Vegas for the first time ever. 

The IHeart Radio Music Festival is held for two days every year in Las Vegas, Nevada, right next to the strip. They have three shows in total, one on Friday night, and one Saturday morning and night. Every year they have some of the biggest names perform on their stage in front of thousands of people. 

The lineup consisted of Big Time Rush, 5 Seconds of Summer, WILLOW, Avril Lavigne, Girl in Red, Maggie Rogers, Lauv, Gayle, Chlöe, Black Eyed Peas, Chase Rice, Halsey, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Pitbull, Carly Pearce and many more. 

Each artist only performed about 4-5 songs each, making sure to leave enough time for the next artist to perform. The event took place at Area 15 in Vegas with one stage for the artist to perform on.

I only attended the Daytime Stage, which was the smaller stage of the whole weekend. The Daytime Stage lineup was Avril Lavigne, Big Time Rush, 5 Seconds of Summer, WILLOW, Chlöe, Latto, Lauv, Chase Rice, Girl in Red, Maggie Rogers, Carly Pearce, Ryan Hurd, Gayle, Lauren Spencer-Smith, JAX and Cheat Codes. I didn’t get to see everyone on the setlist, like Girl in Red or Big Time Rush, but the other artist didn’t disappoint.

Avril Lavigne

Now, we all know and love Ms. Avril, but her show was not the best one I’ve been to. She came out on stage in a hoodie and shorts, which I personally thought was a little crazy, I mean come on, we’re in the desert. She sang Sk8ter Boy, Girlfriend and Bite Me.

 Hearing Sk8ter Boy live was definitely an experience, even if she wasn’t all the way into it, I was. Avril is not in her prime anymore, but it was still very cool to see one of my favorite childhood artists perform. 

5 Seconds of Summer

5 Seconds of Summer is the whole reason I was at this festival. I’ve been a huge fan for years and have seen them live three times before this, my third time being in July in Indianapolis. They never disappoint with their performances; they have a little something for everybody. They sang She Looks So Perfect, which is a classic, Easier and No Shame, from their fourth studio album, CALM and Complete Mess, from their new album 5SOS5. 

When they came onto the stage, everyone screamed, it was almost like everyone was also there just for them. They also weren’t dressed for the weather, maybe no one got the memo that they were going to be playing the dessert this weekend? They overall put on a good show, which was not surprising, if I hadn’t already lost my voice at Greta Van Fleet the night before, I would have lost it during their set. 

Other Artists

Maggie Rogers also put on a good show, she was very entertaining and even helped someone in the audience after they almost passed out. There were two country artists, Carly Pearce and Chase Rice, it was different to have a bunch of pop and faster paced music and then randomly have some country music thrown in there, but they both put on a good show and Chase Rice even threw a few beers into the audience. Even though I didn’t see all of the artists, it was still a very good experience.

My Experience

When I read “IHeart Radio Music Festival” I’m not going to lie, I was expecting a huge venue filled with people, not a parking lot with small vendors and a couple hundred people. Granted, it was the Daytime Stage and also 100° outside. The Daytime Stage l and took place from 11 am to about 7 pm. 

I personally didn’t get there until about 1 pm, when Avril was performing, so I missed a few artists. My flight got in at about 8:30 am and my cousin took me out to breakfast before, so I’d say it was a pretty good excuse. Like I said, I was basically only there for 5SOS, but the other artist did not disappoint, and I even found a few new artists to listen to. 

I didn’t get to see Big Time Rush, trust me, I’m very upset about it, but from the recordings, it seems like they put on a good show for everyone. Even though I didn’t get to see everyone perform, I still had an amazing weekend and will definitely be back for another show.