Gallery & Review: Up In The Sky Festival 2025
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY SAMMI SMITH ☆
UP IN THE SKY MUSIC FESTIVAL MADE ITS GRAND DEBUT THIS PAST WEEKEND IN ASPEN, COLORADO - unlike anything the small, picturesque town has experienced in the summer. During the winter, the owners of Belly Up, a popular club in Aspen, put on the Palm Tree Festival, which started in 2022. This DJ centered two day festival in Rio Grande Park is now met by its summer counterpart, Up in the Sky, featuring artists from all genres, nestled between one of Aspen’s four ski mountains, Buttermilk.
Billed at the top of the lineup was Rüfüs Du Sol, Kacey Musgraves, and Glass Animals. Rüfüs Du Sol put on an electrifying sunset show that felt straight out of a movie. Their lights flashed with the mountains in the background as dusk fell upon them. The following night, Glass Animals gave a dynamic performance, blending genres, and interacting with the crowd meaningfully. To end the festival, Musgraves shifted the tempo to a more laid back, country pop vibe, which felt fitting for closing out the weekend.
Beyond the headliners, the daytime performers included SG Lewis, Suki Waterhouse, Glass Beams, Role Model, Nessa Barrett, and Jensen McRae. While the lineup itself was not long, for a first year festival, it was a strong roster offering a wide variety of crowd-pleasing hits for fans of all genres to enjoy. This single-stage event also featured local DJs between artists, introducing out of towners to homegrown talent, setting this festival apart from larger ones with the usual gaps of chatter or faint bleed from other stages. There was never a dull moment here. Blending dreamy indie pop, euphoric electronic, and anthemic alt-rock, the weekend transitioned naturally from pulse-raising sets to serene, golden-hour performances.
While many of these artists were included in larger summer festival lineups, Up in the Sky offered a special, more intimate experience. Not to mention, when they celebrate their ten year anniversary, this special group of attendees will be able to say “I was there the first year they had that festival!”
Friday, August 8th
London star, Suki Waterhouse created a warm, pop, atmosphere with nostalgic influences from the 60s and 70s, making it feel like you’re somewhere familiar, while being at a completely new festival. Waterhouse performed crowd pleasing hits like “My Fun” and “Good Looking,” but even during her slower songs, she maintained this hold on her audience, where their vibe was still uplifting, their faces looking back at her full of excitement. In a sea of performers dressed relatively casually, Waterhouse’s unique outfit matched her set perfectly. An ornate top with multiple patterns that flowed down her sides, almost like two scarves, poking out beneath her faux fur lined leather jacket. Her legs glided across the stage effortlessly, covered in leopard print tights and a skirt that nearly looked hand painted. From her songs to her clothes, the performance as a whole felt like a perfectly crafted art piece designed for the Aspen crowd.
SG Lewis made his long-awaited return to the US, performing live for the first time in three years, giving attendees and fans watching from home a sneak peek into what his upcoming tour will look like. He brought out a special guest, Rahh, who accompanied his vocals seamlessly. The duo’s voices were a perfect match on top of his carefully curated uplifting beats. Whether you were eagerly awaiting his return to the US or a completely new listener, Lewis’ blend of disco and house music had everyone dancing.
Rüfüs Du Sol closed out the first night with a breathtaking sunset performance, captivating the crowd. Candidly, seeing a DJ set begin when it’s still remotely light out felt odd, but as the sun began to go down, the stage lights intensified, and when the light finally tucked behind the mountains, leaving them just backlit enough to see the outline, the lasers sharply cut through the darkness and you could feel the rush of the audience’s excitement at that moment. The group had just come from performing to a sea of 80,000 fans at Lollapalooza, so while this was much smaller, the energy did not disappoint. There were attendees filing up the barricade when doors opened at 3pm to be in front for their 8pm set. While this is not a long wait time compared to the full days or overnights fans now spend waiting for their favorite artists, it was clear these attendees had strategically picked a festival that was smaller and likely easier to be up close.
Saturday, August 9th
Nessa Barrett took the stage singing her emotion filled pop anthems. The crowd was significantly younger than the previous day and predominantly female. The first few rows were screaming every lyric back at her like she had reached into their hearts individually and pulled out lines that were written just for them. Currently on a world tour for her album Aftercare, Barrett clearly saw a difference in this audience, going from playing venues filled with devoted fans to performing in a completely new, outdoor setting, with people gathered for a wide range of artists. Early in the set, she experienced technical difficulties, which she handled with composure and professionalism, a situation where many artists might have shut down. Nonetheless, her fans kept her grounded, continuing to sing every word with her, providing comfort in the situation. Barrett’s mix of heart-aching yet empowering music has created a deep connection with her fan base, where although they may not know her, or each other, they are connected by the acknowledgment of resonating with the experiences and emotions she sings about. Her songs cover everything from relationships, to eating disorders, to grief, breaking stigmas through her vulnerability, creating a safe space for people to be themselves. Yet, despite the heavy themes, she has a way of keeping the crowd’s energy high, moving to the music whether or not they know every lyric or even fully realize what the songs are about in that moment.
People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive nominee and self proclaimed diva, Role Model aka Tucker Pillsbury (no relation to the doughboy), had arguably the largest most energized crowd of the weekend. Although not billed as a headliner, the Up in the Sky lineup was announced just as he released his now-hit song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out,” currently nearing 100 million streams on Spotify. Had the lineup been finalized even a few weeks later, it’s likely he would have been placed higher on the bill. In the past year, Tucker has taken the internet by storm, growing a rapid die hard following through his catchy music, sarcastic, slightly self-deprecating sense of humor, and inside jokes with his fanbase, the biggest being introducing himself as a completely different artist at each show. Throughout his set he claimed to be The 1965 (instead of The 1975), Troye Sivan, and Sabrina Carpenter.
The barricade was lined with signs reading everything from “Gays 4 (diva) Tucker” to “Shake some ass for us Pillsbury Doughboy,” with an image of his head on the Pillsbury Doughboy’s body. His pop sound crosses slightly into indie, moving from songs like “Some Protector” with a bridge that feels like an emotional exhale where fans headbang while screaming the lyrics, as if they’re at a rock concert. Followed by danceable tracks like “Deeply Still In Love,” where he instructs the camera man to “keep it on him” before turning around to playfully shake his butt to the audience, one of his signature moves. Another beloved tradition during “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” is bringing out a different “Sally” every night during the second half of the song. On tour, it was usually someone from the crowd, but at festivals where there’s a sea of celebrities to choose from, he’s brought out massively notable people including Natalie Portman, Bowen Yang, Olivia Rodrigo, and Troye Sivan. The anticipation builds as it’s known this part is approaching, viewers at home refresh their TikTok feeds eagerly awaiting a video revealing the next “Sally.” Many expected Aspen’s to be Suki Waterhouse, who has shared she loves his music and even covered “Look at that Woman” on Triple J’s Like a Version series. Instead, when the moment finally came where Tucker asks, “where’s my Sally tonight?” Out came an icon nobody ever would have predicted, the one and only Kate Hudson.
The packed audience roared as the two jumped around on stage. People who hadn’t taken out their phones all set, likely unfamiliar with Role Model, suddenly started filming, while others in the back looked confused, not understanding why actress Kate Hudson was on stage with this tall, funny musician who seemed to treat his performance like a variety show– singing, cracking jokes, and bringing out random special guests. That slight confusion was outweighed by the majority who knew exactly what was happening. Overall, Role Model’s music is something everyone can enjoy, but has become extremely hard to see. After dropping out of some dates as Gracie Abrams’ opener to film the upcoming Netflix rom-com, “Good Sex,” resale prices for the remaining shows that were initially ~$400 skyrocketed to over $1,000 for nosebleeds. While his crowd in Aspen was energized and on the larger side in comparison to other sets that weekend, the festival itself was intimate and felt like this could be the last time many fans, including myself, will see him perform for a crowd fewer than 10,000 people.
Glass Animals, known by many for their hit song “Heat Waves,” put on a versatile, electronically charged performance. Dave Bayley, the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist controlled this one of a kind magnetic bond with the crowd the second he stepped on stage. If he moved to stage right, the crowd would attempt to shift and follow him, when he moved back to the center, they would too, swaying like an ocean. You could tell he was soaking in every second of it, also noticing some had made bracelets stacked all the way up their arms with every single song in their discography, while others were dressed as aliens. Drew MacFarlane, the second leading member, was on the guitar and keys while also singing backup vocals, seamlessly switching back and forth between the three. He frequently came out from behind his keyboard, interacting with the audience and Bayley, which isn’t always common to see in a band. Their upbeat energy was the perfect contrasting precursor to the final set of the weekend.
Country Pop star, Kacey Musgraves, closed out the festival with a calming, yet radiant performance, settling festival goers into a beautiful end to the weekend. Her stage was draped with greenery, matching the views behind her. Musgraves sang classic hits like “Golden Hour” and “High Horse” as she shimmered in a sparkly polka dot dress and tall cowgirl boots, encapsulating the vibe of Aspen in the summer impeccably. Her lights and visuals changed from bright pinks and greens, to blended blues, yellows, and oranges throughout the set. While the front of the crowd was standing and engaged, as the hill sloped up, a lot of people had laid out picnic blankets and were enjoying the music while seated. This was the perfect wind down, allowing people to enjoy it however they wanted, based on their level of energy after an exciting, but tiring two days.
