Hangout, day 1: Weather, a surprise appearance, crowd-favorite hits headline Gulf Shores beach music festival

BY JEFF CLARK
Special to Gulf Coast Media
Posted 5/21/22

After a two-year absence, Hangout Music Festival returned on Friday to the beach at Gulf Shores.

Festival organizers said the event, which runs May 20 through May 22, sold out all ticket levels at …

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Hangout, day 1: Weather, a surprise appearance, crowd-favorite hits headline Gulf Shores beach music festival

Posted

After a two-year absence, Hangout Music Festival returned on Friday to the beach at Gulf Shores.

Festival organizers said the event, which runs May 20 through May 22, sold out all ticket levels at 40,000 admissions. Packages started at $350 for general admission tickets to the three-day festival.

Day one of the Hangout Music Festival was full of headliners, some surprises and the predictably unpredictable lower Alabama summer weather.

Here are some of the highlights of Hangout Music Festival, day one:

The evacuation

Festival-goers were asked to exit the festival site shortly after they opened due to nearby lightning and the threat of inclement weather. After a downpour and an almost two-hour delay, the gates re-opened. Most of the acts scheduled for Friday were able to play their shows, some with shortened set times.

The cover songs

Surfaces was first out of the cover song gate with a version of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on the Hangout Stage. During his set on the Surf stage, Kane Brown did a medley of covers that included an acapella version of Blake Shelton's "Ol' Red," Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" into "Stand By Me" and Soulja Boy.

Maren Morris

With the March release of her new album "Humble Quest," Hangout Festival was one of only a handful of dates Morris has played before her tour starts in June. There were no hiccups in the new mother's Hangout debut, only a scorching hour-long set that seemed like it ended way too soon. Morris played a few new songs, including her new single "Circle Around This Town." But it was the one-two punch of the show's closers, "My Church" and "The Bones," that had the crowd singing the loudest. And the end of her set wouldn't be the last time Morris would appear on the Hangout Stage.


Maren Morris and Zedd

Yes. During Zedd's EMD set after Morris' performance, she returned to the stage to sing the hit "The Middle." This surprise appearance was a crowd favorite of day one.

Fall Out Boy rules the Surf Stage

The most well-attended show before Friday's closer was Fall Out Boy. The band hit the stage ready to rock with the flame-filled opener of "The Phoenix" from their 2013 album "Save Rock And Roll." And if you haven't heard tens of thousands of people singing "Sugar, We're Going Down" in unison, you missed an opportunity. And if you were there, you shared in a collective experience you will probably not soon forget.

Post Malone

Friday's headliner and the most crowded day one show was Post Malone. Last weekend, Malone appeared on Saturday Night Live. He followed that up with Friday's headlining gig. The first four songs were straight-up bangers: "Wow," "Better Now," "Saint-Tropez" and "Circles," which were introduced with explanations of his inspirations behind the songs and a heart-felt thank you to the crowd for making it through the last couple years.
Post Malone is the king.