City of Trees Music Festival

Sacramento’s City of Trees music festival brought hundreds to Bonney Field at Cal Expo, where people stuck through the extreme heat to see their favorite bands. One look at the crowd would tell you that most people at the festival were there to see Weezer and Panic! At The Disco. Even so, bands like The Unlikely Candidates, Phantogram, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness played and absolutely rocked the main stage. The Music Discovery Stage, placed right next to the main stage, featured secondary musicians like The Struts, 888, and Kungs. These bands, although not the center of attention, matched some of the main stage bands in talent. The Struts, in particular, got the crowd on their feet and riled up. Local bands showed their skills at the Sacramento Tent. Even though these bands were extremely talented, they got less attention.
The two main highlights of the event were Weezer and Panic! At The Disco. Weezer’s performance featured some of their most famous songs like “Island in the Sun” and, of course, “Beverly Hills.” Weezer’s lead vocalist, Rivers Cuomo, had a spectacular stage presence. He had several costume changes, sporting a sombrero during one song and a crown and robe during “King of the World.”They played some of their newer songs off of their latest album, like “California Kids” and “Thank God For Girls.” Longtime Weezer fans and first-time listeners meshed into one and created an extremely enthusiastic crowd. Weezer’s performance gained them some new fans, who originally were there to see P!ATD.
After a short set by Kungs, a French DJ, Panic! At The Disco overtook the stage wildly, first singing “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time. ”Most of the songs they sang came from their latest album, Death of a Bachelor. However, they sang the hits off of their other albums, as well. Classic P!ATD songs like “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” and “Girls/Girls/Boys” had the crowd roaring and singing along. However, I think the favorite moment for so many people was when they slowed it down to sing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is originally by Queen. In my opinion, it has to be one of the best covers of that song to exist. While impossible to perfect what Queen has already perfected, P!ATD pours passion into his words and turns it into something beautiful.
Many C.K. McClatchy students attended this event, mostly to see Panic! At The Disco. However, most people who went to see P!ATD ended up discovering new bands they really enjoyed. Melissa May, a junior, left City of Trees as a new fan of The Struts. “Luke Stiller was very charismatic and had a great stage presence. And he’s beautiful.” I couldn’t agree more.
City of Trees was an absolutely fantastic event. Whether you went to see one band or all of them, the vibe, the venue, and the people made it such a special experience. “I loved just being in the heat of the moment and feeling the bass – it vibrated my voice,” said Melissa May. “My favorite moment was when we got Brendon Urie [lead singer of Panic! At The Disco] to dab,” said sophomore Quinn Sherry. City of Trees, no matter your reason for attending, was an absolutely well-run and excellent event, and I could definitely see myself attending again in the future.