New Phoenix music festival was a muddy mess and a great time: Highs and lows from Zona

Sydney Sprague had the honor of welcoming early arrivals to opening day of the inaugural Zona Music Festival at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix on a cold and rainy Saturday, Dec. 2, the first act on a bill topped by Beach House and Bleachers.

Sunday brought headlining sets by Portugal. The Man and Japanese Breakfast.

Several dozen other artists played on four stages over two days, including some of the Valley's finest homegrown acts, from Playboy Manbaby to Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra.

We were at Hance Park all weekend sharing the highs and lows as we experienced them. Here are the highlights and lowlights of the 2022 Zona Music Festival.

More:Jack Antonoff drags Ye's antisemitism at Phoenix concert. We can't print what he said

High: Portugal. The Man provided an intense finish to the weekend

Portugal. The Man brought the inaugural Zona Music Festival to an intensely psychedelic finish with a set that often felt like one extended suite. “Atomic Man” morphed seamlessly into the rousing gospel of The Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter.” “All Your Light (Times Like These)” became “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by the Beatles. Countless songs took off on epic instrumental detours.

Other highlights ranged from the scene-setting “AKA M80 The Wolf” to the organ-driven climax of “Purple Yellow Red and Blue," a deeply soulful “So American” and “Sea of Air.”

And when they leaned into the Motown-worthy bass groove of their Marvelettes-interpolating, multiplatinum breakthrough “Feel It Still?” I felt it still. And it seemed like they did too, following through with the other hit from that same album, the horn-driven “Live in the Moment,” before signing off with a crowd-pleasing “Creep in a T-Shirt.”

— Ed Masley

Low: All that mud

It didn’t rain at all on Sunday, but the damage had been done before the music even started.

The park was transformed into a field of mud. It was impossible to get close to the two main stages without sinking deep into muck and mire, which made the absence of video monitors a bigger issue than it would’ve otherwise been for those who'd have rather hung back to avoid the sludge.

I actually saw people stepping in puddles to wash off the mud that was caked on their shoes, as though wet shoes are somehow more appealing. It also made it hard to trudge from one stage to another. And the mud puddles only got deeper and grosser as the day went on.

— Ed Masley

Zona Music Festival 2022 updates: From muddy mosh pits to a psychedelic finish

High: Japanese Breakfast's soft sounds from another planet

Michelle Zauner was nearing the end of a mesmerizing MainStage set at Margaret T. Hance Park when she announced that this was also Japanese Breakfast’s final concert of the year.

Zauner’s ethereal voice felt especially haunting as it gently drifted out across the night sky over the vast expanse of mud, where a large crowd stood transfixed by the performance.

The appeal went well beyond the sound of Zauner’s voice. Her bandmates definitely added to the magic, fleshing out the songs with keyboards, violin and a saxophone running through a cavernous amount of echo.

— Ed Masley

Zona Music Festival 2022 guide:Everything to know about the brand new Phoenix event

High: Sydney Sprague joined Front Bottoms on the MainStage

The Front Bottoms and local rocker Sydney Sprague, who kicked off the Festival Saturday afternoon, are tour mates. So it’s only so surprising that the Jersey folk-punk heroes brought her out to join them on the MainStage Sunday evening.

There’s no way I was the only one who didn’t see that coming from a mile away.

It was an unexpected highlight and the kind of boost you love to see for local artists.

Sprague came out and sang on “Cough it Out,” one of the many highlights of a wildly entertaining set.

— Ed Masley

High: Fun, Fun, Fun with the Regrettes

Lydia Night’s enthusiasm, energy and buoyant personality were all beyond contagious as she led the Regrettes through a spirited second-stage set whose highlights ranged from the forward momentum of "Dress Up" to "La Di Da" and "Seashore."

The crowd ate it up. She had them moshing like their lives depended on it, slow-dancing to "Pumpkin" (a bittersweet throwback to the girl-group era), waving their hands in the air like they just didn’t care and crouching in the mud until she gave the go-ahead to start jumping.

“I know it’s muddy,” she said. “But that’s what makes it fun.”

Everything about the set was fun.

They’ve never sounded more comfortable pushing their pop sensibilities forward than they do on “Further Joy,” their latest album. But their riot-grrrl roots were showing Sunday as they filtered elements of ‘60s girl-group music, New Wave, dance-punk, straight-up pop of the sort you might expect from Katy Perry, a Lily Allen song and more through the reckless abandon of punk.

High: Jeff Rosenstock brings full-throttle vocals and lots of humor

Jeff Rosenstock was every bit as animated as expected, throwing his whole body into the performance with the reckless abandon we’ve come to expect as he led his bandmates through a set packed with highlights, from “Scram!” to “Perfect Sound Whatever.”

He’s also really funny. Early in their set, he encouraged anyone who wasn’t into their performance to “free to email ZONA and let them know not to book us again.” On “9/10,” he encouraged the fans down front to wave their arms from side to side by instructing them “Do some festival (expletive), c’mon!”

When someone booed a reference to “Back to Future,” he called that person out for the horrible weather we experience this weekend. “That’s why it rained!” he shouted.

That sense of humor also served their music well. On “Nausea,” for instance, Rosenstock applied his tortured vocals to shouting: “I used the stationary bike and I watched the end of ‘The Price is Right.’”

He’s the perfect kind of goof for what they do, introducing their final song with last month’s banter: “Make sure you got out there and vote and have a happy Thanksgiving.”

— Ed Masley

Low: The one place that was totally dry? The hydration station

At a weekend festival shaped by extremely wet weather, from Saturday’s rain to Sunday’s mud fields, the one place you couldn’t find water at ZONA was in the hydration station. That had to hurt the people who partied too hard Saturday and were hoping to stay hydrated on Sunday.

— Ed Masley

High: Beach House

Fans who came to the inaugural Zona Music Festival at Hance Park had to survive a chilly, rainy Saturday that felt like it never let up as the day progressed. But that didn't stop an enthusiastic crowd from sticking around for the headlining set from Beach House.

Lights flashed and smoke billowed as they played the dreamy indie pop songs that earned them high accolades from the likes of Pitchfork and The A.V. Club, thanking the crowd for braving the elements to see them.

"It's been an awesome day. You're super troupers," lead singer Victoria Legrand said. "We're going to give you everything we've got."

— Michael Salerno

High: If you're here for the merch, you'll be pleased

Anyone looking for a T-shirt or sweatshirt from their favorite band could find them at the merch tent, which also had a small selection of vinyl records from artists who played the festival, such as the National Parks and Chicano Batman.

A tent near the Eddy stage exclusively sold Zona-specific T-shirts, posters and drinkware. Not far from there, Zia Records, the regional chain of record shops, had a booth with vinyl records and CDs from artists playing the festival, as well as Tegan and Sara, Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee, who canceled their appearances because of COVID-19.

— Michael Salerno

High: Zona Music Festival is ADA-friendly

Both the Nicks and Ronstadt stages were equipped with ADA-accessible areas, consisting of an elevated platform with a ramp that allows wheelchair entry and exit.

John Tellez attended the festival with his wife, Patricia Munoz, who has scoliosis and spinal fusion surgery and uses a walker. They appreciated how accessible the festival is, compared to small venues where they've seen concerts that offered little to no access for people with mobility issues.

"It's nice to know she's looked out for," Tellez said.

— Michael Salerno

Low: Tegan and Sara canceling in the lead-up to Zona Music Festival

There's no getting around how disappointing it was to learn two days before Zona Music Festival began that Tegan and Sara had been forced to pull out of their MainStage set, tweeting the news that "unfortunately, Sara has been bitten by the COVID bug."

They were one of the festival's biggest draws, they're really good in concert and Sara has COVID-19. No one wants that. The good news is, the tweet went on to say, "She's in bed and doing okay," just "in no condition to travel or play a show, obviously."

Even Psyko Steve was disappointed. When I texted him about it, he texted back a photo that showed that Tegan and Sara were his top artist of the year on Spotify.

By Saturday, another of the weekend's most anticipated sets — Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby performing together — was canceled due to COVID-19. And the Pom Pom Squad was bumped from Saturday to Sunday, prompting more last-minute schedule revisions and a hostile comment thread on the festival's Instagram post.

— Ed Masley

High: Bleachers and Bartees Strange cover Tegan and Sara

Fans of Tegan and Sara were left disappointed when they had to drop out of the Zona Music Festival two days before their show after Sara Quin tested positive for COVID-19. Bleachers tried to make it up to fans during their set with a cover of a Tegan and Sara song.

Bleachers, with help from Bartees Strange, covered "Call It Off" from Tegan and Sara's 2007 album "The Con." Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff dedicated the performance to all the Tegan and Sara fans at the festival who were hoping to see them.

— Michael Salerno

They're out:Tegan and Sara cancel Zona Music Festival concert due to COVID-19. Here's what we know

High: So many great local musicians

Between the COVID-19 cancellations and the weather best enjoyed by ducks, it's safe to say the bloom was off the Zona rose before the music even started.

Which is sad because by any reasonable metric, Zona Music Festival was primed to be one of the better music events Phoenix has seen in quite some time.

And part of that is the strong local presence.

Psyko Steve has always placed a premium on bring local talent to the stage, and this was no exception.

Sydney Sprague, who recently opened a banner day for local music at Arizona Financial Theatre when Jimmy Eat World and The Maine joined forces on a co-headlining bill, got the festival off to a promising start with a set that left no doubt as to how she keeps finding herself on bills like that. She also played Innings Festival this year.

The second act to hit the stage, Pariah Pete, a rapper whose Instagram page helpfully instructs, “Pariah like Mariah with a P,” is also local. His set was a blast, offsetting crowd-pleasing raps with hilarious banter. Favorite line? "Make some noise if y'all like charcuterie."

Saturday's lineup also features sets by Playboy Manbaby, Snailmate and Phoenix-spawned, L.A.-based Miniature Tigers. And the local hits keep coming Sunday with Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, Black Carl, Luna Aura, Upsahl, Breakup Shoes, Glixen and Diva Bleach.

All told, Psyko Steve made the most of a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the local scene.

— Ed Masley

Low: Saturday was a terrible day for footwear

You've heard talk of Arizona's dry heat? Saturday was neither.

In fact, it was pouring rain and I’d already waded through several of the small lakes forming at one of the smaller stages by 2 p.m., when Bartees Strange kicked off his performance on the Nicks Stage with “Mustang.”

It was not what any reasonable person would think of as festival weather, unless you’d been secretly hoping for an opportunity to rock that styling plastic poncho you picked up for a camping trip a few years back and had stashed in the back of the living room closet.

The weather didn’t seem to dim the crowd’s enthusiasm as Strange and his bandmates tore it up on stage, the PA briefly cutting out on two or three occasions.

But that may have a lot to do with just how great the man's performance was.

A lot of people came prepared with ponchos and umbrellas. Some of us just stood there getting rained on in the sneakers we regretted wearing as we accidentally walked through all that water.

— Ed Masley

More:Portugal. the Man singer thought he'd never sing again. How that inspired their new album

Low: No cold relief for general admission fans

Temperatures were about 55 degrees at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Phoenix.

Fortunately for guests with VIP wristbands, the VIP areas near the Nicks and Ronstadt stages were equipped with torch-like heaters that emitted a controlled flame to provide relief from the chilly, damp conditions of the day.

Casing around the festival grounds, no such heaters were available for general admission passholders. It would have been beneficial to have them available for everyone in attendance to make the experience more comfortable.

— Michael Salerno

High: A reentry policy for cold, drenched fans

The cold and rain wouldn't let up on Saturday afternoon and many festival goers walked around in soaked sweatshirts and ponchos immersed in raindrops. So Zona Music Festival organizers offered a reentry option: Guests could leave the grounds to dry off or change into warmer clothes and then come back.

— Michael Salerno

Exclusive:How an ex-opera singer transformed a Phoenix festival into a star-studded concert series

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Zona Music Festival 2022: Lows, highs and just plain wild in Phoenix