Briston Maroney’s 3rd Annual Paradise Fest

Fans gathered at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on November 14th-16th as Briston Maroney checked in for his 3rd year of Paradise Fest. A celebration of live music, whimsy, and friendship, the energy coursing through the room each night was reminiscent of spending time with the people you love, even though most of the room was full of strangers. With the purpose of creating a community within this venue for the next three nights, Maroney set out to make sure every person in that room, including himself, had as much fun as humanly possible. This was going to be a weekend to remember. This is paradise.

Walking into the venue, on the main floor, a station was set up to leave postcards with notes to be delivered to the performers each night, and upstairs was a tattoo booth with a paradise flash sheet for you to get your very own tattoo to commemorate the festival. A friendship bracelet-making station was nearby, as well as a table where you could get a tarot reading done while listening to incredible music throughout the night. 

Clover County was the first to take the stage and kick off Paradise weekend. With her guitar and a smile, A.G. Schiano, who makes music under the name Clover County, won over the crowd with her soothing vocals and charming personality. Mixing themes of modern love, with soft and sweet vocals, the room was silent as they took in her entire set. 

Salt Lake City band Krooked Kings were next to take over the stage. The five-piece band consists of Oliver Martin, lead vocals and guitar, Paul Colgan on guitar, Matt Monosson on the bass, David Macey on keys, and Quinn Casper on drums. Their set was full of indie-pop-rock vibes, and you could tell these guys had a strong passion for performing. 

Gus Dapperton’s set at Paradise is one I will never forget. The band exploded onto the stage as Dapperton took over and demanded the attention of every single person in the room. The energy was on an entirely different level from anything we had seen so far that night. The whole set was full of dancing, both from the fans in the crowd and the band on stage. You could tell every person in that room was having the time of their lives. Towards the end of the set, Dapperton and his keyboardist had a choreographed dance break moment on the stage before they closed out the night with one final track saying, “This one is a dancing song too, sorry”. This was exactly the energy that was needed to pump up the room for the final set of the night.

This last set of the night was the one everyone had been eagerly waiting for. Briston Maroney and his band, guitarist Devin Badgett, drummer Nathan Knox, and bassist Zack Lockwood, ran onto the stage as the crowd lost their minds. Opening the set with “Body”, a track off his most recent album, Ultrapure, the energy levels were being set for the rest of the night. A group of friends doing what they love, for people who love them just as much, the love and excitement was coursing through the venue. Halfway through the set, Maroney shouts out his dad, a man in the balcony wearing the biggest cowboy hat you've ever seen, and dedicates the next song to him, before playing a cover of ACDC’s “Back in Black”. A little bit later in the night, the crowd is asked if they mind if an unreleased song is played for them, and everyone is quick to nod their heads. The unreleased track “Real Good Swimmer”, took the crowd up to an 11. It’s a heavier rock vibe from Maroney’s typical sound, but that didn’t stop his loyal fans in front of him from loving it one bit. Night one of Paradise came to an end as the band left the stage, and everyone was gearing up for the next night of the Festival.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Hana Eid, kicked off night two of Paradise with her guitar and calm vocals. Hana’s set was a softer one, but the people gathered in front of her were entranced. 

BNNY was the next act of night two, and they had an incredibly fun energy. They truly felt like one big family performing on stage, laughing at, and with, each other throughout the set.

One of the most energetic sets of the weekend was next to come. Yoke Lore bounced onto the stage with an energy that took over and infected everyone in the room. Interacting with the crowd, frontman Adrian Galvin made sure to keep the fans involved by having them play beats on his drum pad, and hyping them up to keep the energy high. Playing his most popular song “Beige” the entire room was singing at the top of their lungs.

Briston Maroney closed out night two of his Paradise Fest on another extremely high note. The setlist was almost the same as the night prior, with one or two songs that had been swapped out for others. “Freeway”, one of the new additions to the second night's setlist, gained fan participation when everyone threw up middle fingers when prompted to buy the song, earning a laugh from the men on stage. Each night you could feel the gratitude grow for the loyal group of fans that had come from all over just to be there for his festival. Taking a moment to address the crowd with that thankfulness, Maroney says, “Thank you for giving us your time, because right now time spent with other people is the most important thing in the entire universe. It is the only thing that will redirect the way the world has gone; moments like these that we share with our fellow human beings”. He went on again to thank the crowd once again for being there and being the reason that this 3rd annual festival was able to happen. After he had finished addressing the crowd, the band began to play “Paradise”, the song for which the festival was named. As night two came to an end, excitement swirled throughout the room, and fans left the venue eager to come back for day 3 of the festival.

Noah Pope kicked off the final night of paradise on an incredibly sweet note. His vocals and guitar playing had such a unique softness to them, that it was a no-brainer that the group in front of him would love him. During his set, Pope paused to thank Maroney for having him out at Paradise and thanked the crowd for listening. “Let’s hear it for bowling! Let’s hear it for live music! I’ll probably find myself over there at some point.”, speaking of the bowling alleys taking up the other half of Brooklyn Bowl. And that he did when I was able to meet up with him for some post-show portraits over by the bowling lanes. Pope was a natural in front of the camera, and just as sweet to talk with as he seemed on stage. 

The next set of night two was indie pop band Sun June. Originally from Austin, Texas, this group came to Paradise to have fun. With a set full of good vibes, they had the crowd on their side as everyone swayed and danced along. 

The Moss was another group from Paradise Weekend that I will never forget. About halfway through the set, frontman Tyke James disappeared from the stage and appeared in the middle of the crowd. After finishing the song, and running back on stage he dove into the crowd once again a few songs later, and everybody went wild. From the floor to the balcony, everybody in the venue loved what they saw and heard.

Briston Maroney once again took to the stage, to close out the third and final night of paradise. There was a hint of sadness in the air, everyone knowing the end of Paradise was nearing, but Maroney was going to make sure the festival ended with a bang. Once again the setlist was mostly the same, with my favorite part being hearing “Real Good Swimmer” every night. At almost the very end of his set, Maroney once again talked about his father, and how it is Paradise tradition for him to open up the pit. Maroney didn’t even have time to finish what he was saying, before his father had made his way down from the balcony to the floor, giving out a few fist bumps as he passed by. Once in position, the band played “Steves First Bruise”, as the pit opened up. The entire venue was shaking as the fans jumped, danced, and sang along. After this, Maroney thanked the crowd once again, and closed out the final night of paradise with “June”. 

Truly a celebration of community, love, and live music, Briston Maroney’s Paradise Fest is one of a kind. From live music to tattoos, to bowling, the festival had something for each and every person who stepped foot into Brooklyn Bowl that weekend.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3