Festival goers painted with glitter and draped in tapestries danced for hours under the hot sun.
This year’s Float Fest has been a celebration of sunshine, summer, and life. From Saturday July 21- Sunday July 22, Martindale TX hosted Float Fest along the San Marcos River. Guests camped, floated the river, and enjoyed a weekend of live music.
Camping, offered for $30, spans the surrounding green area. Tents, RVs, and cars are packed tightly in where guests recuperate for the night.
Harmony Maloney and Melek Oz, Austin locals, experienced Float Festival for the first time this weekend. Maloney said they are camping the entire weekend and have already made enjoyable memories.
“We had one person to our right playing rap music and the person to our left playing this music,” Maloney said. “It was definitely an experience.”
Floating the river is $40 for the full weekend. Tubes are offered for rent and a shuttle is available to assist guests.
Oz said cooling off in the water was was the highlight of their day.
“It took hours and everyone floating was so nice and chill,” Oz said.
The festival offered food, drinks, and carnival rides for guests. Booths selling henna tattoos, rave gear, massages and more lined the grounds.
Performances were separated into two stages, the Water Stage and the Sun Stage. Beginning at 2 p.m., artists began alternating between the stages. Each performance ran an hour and fifteen minutes.
Artists such as Pres Hall, Cashmere Cat, and Bun B livened up the crowd before sunset. Jazz music to Electronic Dance Music music guaranteed a good time for all walks of life. Positivity and friendliness was a commonality among crowd members.
At 7:45 p.m., Lil Wayne took the stage. He greeted the crowd, crediting God for his life and his fans for his career. His set included throwbacks and current singles, the audience readily singing along.
Modest Mouse took the stage after the sun went down. The crowd had grown significantly at this point and continued to do so as the band performed Lampshades on Fire and Float On.
Run the Jewels performed 90’s style rap/hip-hop music. They spoke to the crowd about feminism, gratitude and artistic expression.
Run the Jewels Rapper El-P, performed a spoken word poem filled with humor. The crowd cheered them on through their upbeat songs and cheerful banter.
They ended their set on a note of compassion and love. Run the Jewels Rapper, Killer Mike, discussed the importance of mental health awareness and empathy.
Bassnectar concluded the night with lively EDM music. His performance was accompanied by wild lights, bubbles, and dancing crowd members.
Alex Andrade traveled from Houston to Middleton to mark his 27th time seeing Bassnectar live. Andrade said it is a fad for Bassnectar’s devoted fans to follow him on the road.
“It was so cool to see him again,” Andrade said. “Every time he performs his set list is completely different so it’s always a surprise.”
At the end of the night, guests headed home to prepare for the star-packed line up tomorrow will bring. Snoop Dogg, Cold War Kids, and Tame Impala are destined to wow the Sunday crowd with their performances.