Hinterland Festival 2025: Day Three

Sunday morning brought the promise of a great final day of Iowa’s most underrated weekend gathering, Hinterland. The same easiness was in the air from the two days prior and it was shaping up to be another perfect-weather day. The lineup was to be an vivacious one, with a bit of a country detour before Lana Del Rey took over the night. Sam Austins started the day out, the singer’s sass and upbeat pop-R&B blends sparking the energy for the afternoon, before Orla Gartland took the stage next to her “The Divas” (as she called her bandmates). The all-girl group offered up feminist punky vibes, playing a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova” — one year after Roan’s own Hinterland performance.

Once Orla Gartland finished, I trucked up the hill to see Miniland, the festival’s kid-friendly experience. On Sunday only, a “mini music festival” was held within the kids tent, with four sets from three different child-friendly artists, all scheduled to occur in between the main stage’s set times. I saw DJ Kitty Cat Twins’ first set and there was much fun to be had, complete with a conga line through the tent! As the Twins played their mixes, several art projects and crafts were happening in and around the tent; these sorts of crafts happened all throughout the weekend at Miniland, as kids’ attendance is encouraged at Hinterland, with children under 10 receiving free entry.

Miniland was not the only external activity occurring on the grounds, separate from the lineup.

There were several craft vendors situated next to Miniland with fun festival-themed items. But on top of the physical activities, there was also a virtual addition made this year: Hinterland Uncharted, a mobile game and “immersive experience” that had users interact by completing quests and finding checkpoints to gain chances to win prizes.

Even with all of these activities going on, contrary to most festivals I have attended, there was no rush at Hinterland — no urgency in the air to make sets. There wasn’t any running between stages sprawled out across massive grounds. Everyone was… relaxed, chill, in no hurry at all. Every set was played on that one stage, to be viewed on that one big hill (other than the performances happening back at the campgrounds). There are no competing sounds; even if you haven’t made it through the gates to that big hill or if you’re in line getting food or drink, chances are, you could hear the performance on the stage.

The product of a festival without urgency is that relaxed energy… and it was infectious.

And that hill may be, in my opinion, Hinterland’s greatest strength and a symbol of the huge, exclusive experience the festival provides. Multiple artists commented on the sight of it while on stage… looking out and seeing a wall of people on a hillside, cheering them on. Even just being down in the crowd, turning around and being surrounded by other music-lovers, I really did feel this sense of being ‘one’ with that community… a part of something bigger than myself. We were all brought to that space as people with one shared interest — a love for music.

Speaking of, the rest of Sunday went along with indie-folk singer-songwriter Evan Honer flipping onto the stage, jamming out a setlist that was equal parts fun and sad boy, Tyler Childers-esque tunes. He even brought out Wyatt Flores, set to perform later that evening, to sing their acoustic duet “Take Me As I Come”. Michael Marcagi kept the sad boy vibes going, with a strong cadence and pretty guitar chords, even a mandolin making an appearance later on. Wyatt Flores then reemerged to re-energize the crowd a bit with his country crew, jamming out with his band members, while smiling big and cracking jokes. It was his turn to bring Evan Honer out, as they covered The Fray’s “How to Save a Life”. Once Flores’ set was done, we waited for the country genre to round out for the night with Sierra Ferrell.

As Ferrell took the stage, in a getup fit for a period piece, her string musicians played “Happy Birthday” as the crowd sang along.

She smiled and thanked them and us, and began a lively birthday set of music meant for a tavern, in the best of ways. During her set, three hot air balloons took flight over the grounds as we listened to her lilting voice.

Bleachers was the last act before Sunday’s headliner and frontman Jack Antonoff knew how to end the weekend with a bang, bringing us music that refused to be defined. Antonoff was practically bullying (in a good way) the crowd into having a good time and encouraging attendees to throw as much energy as they could muster back at the band. The set was a musical explosion, with various instruments bellowing. An obvious love and appreciation for the art of music was on that stage; the band looked like they were having an incredible time — and so were we. Antonoff seemed to be the ringleader of sound, producing even when he’s not in a studio. It was genre bending… 80s pop nostalgia meets funk soft rock, perhaps? And to make it really special, and send the Lana fans in a tizzy, Bleachers performed a lovely cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Margaret”, amping up the excitement for the final act.

The energy once it was Lana’s turn was immediate.

Most acts had been behind schedule that day, but with Lana’s elaborate set design and production, everyone knew the delay would be substantial. Despite about a 45-minute delay, the excitement and emotion of the crowd was palpable. The stage was supposedly meant to be that of a childhood home: an entire house, a tree, several bushes, some lamp posts, a front porch, and benches. Lana entered through the front door, as screams and cries of the crowd echoed around the valley. Even I couldn’t deny how starstruck I felt seeing her that close! Her first song was “Stars Fell on Alabama” and we were instantly entranced. Lana Del Rey’s music is lacy pop… dreamy, silky, acoustic. Soulful backup singers and flowy dancers filled the stage, as every detail popped out beautiful and intentional. At times, there was recorded audio of her singing while Lana’s image was projected into the windows of the house, mixed in between the live vocals.

It was definitely a stunning way to end Hinterland’s tenth year.

All in all, I loved this festival. I enjoyed that it was so laidback and that I didn’t have to rush, and that it was easy to see every act that was billed. This was my first Hinterland experience, but from what I can tell, this very professional event — with multiple precautionary measures and improvements made from those previous nine years — is something I will definitely want to return to! The only thing I noticed was the bottleneck out of GA parking, taking hours to get out of the festival after the last act of the night… but, that’s to be expected with this sort of venue and with that many people. This was the first year that this exact stage site and hill were used, and as I mentioned, that hill felt like a true symbol for the fest. I absolutely encourage those who can get to the countryside of Iowa to give this festival a chance! You won’t regret it for 2026!

Photography by Elizabeth O’Guin

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