Written by Molly Hardacre
Once a local secret, now a nationwide craze, all eyes were on Hinterland Music Festival in St. Charles, IA this past weekend after facing difficulties with record attendance numbers the summer prior. When we got a surprise email from Sam Summers’ team, inviting us to interview him ahead of Hinterland 2025, naturally, we jumped at the opportunity. Summers’ is the mastermind behind Iowa’s most beloved, and now largest, music festival, and we were eager to hear what was in store this year.
Marketing Director Bria Cox and Assistant General Manager of Publicity and Events Molly Hardacre (that’s me!) represented 88.5 KURE at the festival to soak in the music, vibes, and everything in between at the scenic St. Charles campgrounds. We kicked things off Friday afternoon, wandering through the campgrounds that were decked out with stunning graphics of this year’s headliners: Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator, and Kacey Musgraves (including some other cute signs along the way!). The venue was
noticeably larger than last year, something Sam confirmed in our chat, and the weather was an
absolute dream. Hinterland even introduced a new heat policy this year, adding a clause to
tickets in case of extreme temperatures. Luckily, it hovered around a breezy 70 degrees through
the weekend, which made everything from dancing to lounging feel just right.
With the wind at our backs, Bria and I made our way to the main stage around 2 PM to catch the
start of Good Neighbours’ set. Hailing all the way from Britain, Good Neighbors brought a
refreshing and fun energy to the stage. Their sound was a blend of indie-pop charm and
heartfelt lyrics, and they had the crowd swaying from the first note. It was the perfect way to
ease into the weekend.
After that cute performance, Bria and I got right up to the barricade to witness one of our
personal favorites from Friday (and maybe even the whole weekend), Rebecca Black. Before even
coming out, her team set up some signs that are right on par with her rebrand (and hilarious at
that) saying things like “SEX! Keep it holy! One woman, one woman, and three non-binaries”,
“Homo Sex is life”, and “Turn to salvation!”. When she finally appeared on stage, she was
accompanied by her two back up dancers, and busted through a banner sporting her name with
American Doll projected behind her. Everyone was swaying, screaming, and throwing their
hands up when the music hit. Being in the pit absolutely elevated her whole performance,
effectively turning the venue into a club. While we were all bumping, the new water crew was a
complete lifesaver, tossing boxed water and spraying down anyone with water who needed to
cool-off (another thoughtful touch Sam mentioned in our interview). She closed out her set with
her legendary remix of “Friday” (fitting, obviously) and teased her late-night DJ set that had us
counting down the hours.
After screaming our lungs out, Bria and I took a breather and grabbed food near the campsite.
We went for wraps, which …let’s just say didn’t live up to the hype (in the nicest way possible).
They fell apart in our hands and cost $20 (yewouch). After being refueled and slightly humbled,
we decided to opt for the hill versus the pit when we got back and we were able to catch another
highlight of the weekend for us – Remi Wolf!
From the hill, when we saw Remi Wolf’s set, to say she absolutely lit up the stage is an
understatement. Her energy was absolutely infectious, and she had the whole crowd
dancing/singing within seconds (getting us thoroughly prepped for Tyler). She played a bunch of
tracks from her latest album Big Ideas, and while she didn’t play my personal fave “Soup,” the
performance was still top-tier. Her psychedelic visuals and groovy band added even more
flavor to an already electric set.
To wind down the night a little bit, Clairo took the stage with a dreamy, 70s-like set. She wore
the cutest dress and played several tracks from her album Charm (my favorite of hers).
Although people were death-screaming the lyrics of “Juna” from the pit, her voice was soft and
sweet, like a lullaby for the soul. Bria and I swayed along from the hill, soaking in the calm after
a high-energy day.
Which is why, when Tyler finally hit the stage, the entire hill practically exploded. People who
had been lounging all day shot up within seconds once they heard the instrumentals of “Big
Poe” (it was almost scary how fast everyone stood up). The energy was instant and electric.
Tyler dove into a few tracks from his newest album DON’T TAP THE GLASS, setting the tone
with fresh sounds and sharp visuals. But what really sent the crowd into orbit were the hits;
IGOR classics like “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” and “EARFQUAKE” had everyone screaming
every word. Then came “Like Him” from Chromakopia, and all I can say is wow. It was raw,
emotional, and you could feel the entire crowd shift into a kind of collective vulnerability. I almost
cried, gotta keep it 100. Tyler himself seemed genuinely surprised by the energy we brought. At one point, he even said he hadn’t expected much from Iowa, but we proved him wrong in the best way possible. The crowd was wild, loud, and completely locked in. It felt like we were giving him everything, and he gave it right back. The next day, we even saw clips from his Lollapalooza set on socials, and the contrast was wild. Our show had all the bells and whistles; the pyrotechnics, massive visuals, and lighting so intense he had to keep asking the crew to dial it down because it was literally blinding him. Our show had the heart. The energy. The magic. You truly just had to be there.
To close out the night, at midnight we headed over to the smaller Campfire Stage for Rebecca
Black’s DJ set and let me tell you, to say it was a fever dream doesn’t do it enough justice. We
were right next to the stage, and the whole mix was absolutely random but the best
boiler-room-esque set I’ve heard by a long shot. She had the crowd bumping and laughing, mixing tracks that had no business going together but somehow worked? Imagine: “Careless Whisper” mashed up with “Gucci Flip Flops,” “Ride” by Charli XCX layered over Darude’s “Sandstorm”, and an Apple ringtone chopped and screwed? Like? We were losing it to say the least. We’re still waiting for someone to post that set to socials because it deserves to live on forever. I mean, never in my life did I think I’d be bumping to “Anaconda” with “Satisfaction” as the backing track but here we are. It was so camp, and completely unforgettable in a similar vein to the rest of the first day of Hinterland.
