Hinterland Festival 2026: Day Two

It’s time for Day Two of Hinterland! I think Friday might have been one of my favorite lineup days; it was an incredibly strong selection of female artists from the beginning to the very end of the day. When I think back to this day, the first thought that comes to mind is, “This one is for the girls.”

Kicking the day off, Saint Avangeline took the stage beneath overcast skies. In a white tulle dress, she stood surrounded by large red roses and a tree with a giant serpent slithering into its leaves. Saint Avangeline is the stage name for singer-songwriter/model Adeline Troutman. While her music presently takes on a gothic metal sound, some may be familiar with her earlier work creating WLW (women loving women) covers of notable Lana Del Rey songs. Since then, she’s taken a major pivot and created music tailored more towards her personal vision of Saint Avangeline. Her performance was beautifully done and gave the audience the opportunity to hear her incredible range of vocals.

Since Hinterland takes place on one single stage, allowing the audience to comfortably enjoy brief breaks in between artists to grab food and drinks or check out the merch tent (and Hinterland had some very awesome merch!!).

Following Saint Avangeline was Wisp, otherwise known as Natalie R. Lu.

Another female singer-songwriter with a full band accompanying her, Wisp made for a great transition between sets with her alternative shoegaze/nu gaze style following Saint Avangeline’s siren sounds. The day was quickly picking up speed as the crowd grew larger, during Wisp’s set, with many people running down the hill to join the others in the pit. It was a smart move, too, because Sofia Isella was performing next.

Nothing is quite as incredible as being front-and-center for one of her performances. As per usual, Isella was covered head-to-toe in cakey, dried mud spread across her skin and oversized clothes. She wore bandages and rubber bands wrapped about her fingers, all of this as a style choice I have greatly admired.

It’s a metaphor of the female experience.

The moment Sofia walked out, a bottle of water was poured over her head and she instantly took hold of the mic stand to sing. The crowd (myself included) gazed up at her with pure admiration and disbelief. To this day, I still cannot believe I stood just mere inches from her! Everything about her performance was engaging and deliberate. What I enjoy so much about her as an artist is that she uses her voice and platform to bring up important issues that so few are willing to speak about. Sofia Isella’s sings about the mistreatment women and young girls endure at the hands of men and society at large. Her lyrics are so raw that they border on the grotesque and I don’t know of any other musician right now that has ever been so bold.

After her set wrapped, the audience had another chance to see Isella when Paris Paloma pulled her back up to duet her well-known song, “Labour”. It was beautiful getting to see these two talented women together. Paris Paloma, like Sofia Isella, also uses her music to bring awareness to women’s issues, with topics ranging from sexism to self-esteem and body issues. There couldn’t have been a better pairing.

By late afternoon, there was a chill in the air… not just from the wind, but also with Snow Strippers up next.

I was especially excited for this performance, too, after I had recently seen Snow Strippers earlier this summer at Bonnaroo. Consisting of Tatiana Schwainger and Graham Perez, their set was no different from the first time I saw them: chaotic, bizarre, and so incredibly fun. Each song cranked the energy of the crowd up twofold, with not a single break in between. Their songs go so fast; you can hardly tell when one ends and another begins. Not to mention the fact that the duo bring an electrically charged beat to their hyperpop techno, another reason why Snow Strippers are so insanely good to watch live.

MUNA‘s indie synth pop hit just as the sun descended. Made up of three queer members, MUNA brought a playfully fun (and let’s be real here, sexy) performance as the day’s direct support before Lorde topped the bill. MUNA’s music also tends to express larger ideas and topics, especially about gender and sexuality. With this day’s lineup, it made so much sense including MUNA in the mix. By the end of their performance, the crowd was fully charged with anticipation for the day’s final showcase.

As the hum of Lorde’s voice rang out, the stage lights flashed and raindrops started gently falling.

With a set of background dancers to accompany her, Lorde‘s combination of movement and vocals was immaculate. A large black cube was placed on the stage with visuals frequently projected upon its sides — often live videos of Lorde as she held a camcorder and sang.

As a millennial, I grew up listening to Lorde. After seeing her performance at Hinterland, I found myself wanting to return back to her music… not just the songs from my youth, but particularly Lorde and her lyrics presently. There were many incredibly beautiful moments from her set, yet one stood out from the rest that my mind keeps returning to all these weeks later: a rainbow of lines lit up the stage at one point, shooting up into the sky and, as it rained, Lorde pointed upwards in awe as the raindrops sparkled in the spectrum of lights — like glitter was falling from the sky. She proceeded to walk back and forth onstage talking and having a conversation with the thousands of people gathered on and around the hill. Lorde spoke of her mother and her love of libraries, her dream to always be a poet, her life and her music, and so many other things so calmly. While I’ve always known of Lorde’s music, I’ve never realized just how profound of a speaker she is.

It was so simple of a moment, but it carried so much weight in my memory.

I think it’s easy during music festivals to get caught up in the spectacle; it’s easy to fall into the excitement and mindset of a fan, as you watch celebrities stand before you so close. I think it’s important to have humbling moments to remind ourselves that we are not all that different from celebrities. We may not have the same amount of money or fame tied to our name, but we’re all still people at the end of the day.

Lorde, like all the Day Two acts, gave an incredible performance. I honestly would have been completely satisfied if the festival had ended that night since the day was so perfect in every way. Luckily though, there was still plenty more to come with two more days of music!!

Photography by Sean Rider; recap article by Michelle Zigler

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