The second day of the WonderBus festival started at 2 PM with some new music finds and a strong message about mental health.
WonderBus music and arts festival is so much more with an emphasis on mental health wellness each year through many of the non-profit vendors on site and informative introductions before most stage performances. RADD Ohio had a booth by the third stage with hopes of making sure everyone got home safely. Local hospitals like Ohio Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital are also sponsors of the weekend event. Sometimes, the most basic positivity can play a large role in mental wellness. That is how the Parachute People got started in 2014 as a non-profit organization that spread fun and positivity for all ages to music festivals around the country. Each of the Parachute People has their own story about mental health in their daily life as well.
Safety was a huge focus at WonderBus, too. There were two hydration stations available for anyone who needed water or a moment to chill in front of the misting four-foot-tall floor fans. Although the weather started off hot with the threat of rain by 2 PM, the festival stayed dry and cooled down for the rest of the weekend.
Beach Weather is an interesting name for Nick Santino to choose for his band considering the Ohio weather was proving too harsh for him. He mentioned it a few times between songs but it didn’t hinder their performance. They had a cohesive look and sound on stage for the early afternoon.
The Driver Era was lucky enough to take over the center stage shortly after the weather cooled down. This was exceptional for them because they were a wild bunch on stage. Ross and Rocky Lynch formed the band in 2018 in LA. With such a chill vibe in their sound, you could not predict how wild their performance would get. Much of it came from the rabid fans dressed in pink cowboy hats. Ross would eventually tear off his shirt and borrow two of these hats during the end of their performance. Ross also “borrowed” his brother’s guitar during the performance. Rocky was able to call for another guitar so, no harm done.
In some instances, as with a lot of festivals, bands get booked for the wrong stage. Such is the case with The Orphan the Poet. They are a local band, and a lot of local bands were stationed on the third and smallest stage, but their presence; their performance was simply stifled on this stage. The jumps and moves that they are known for were cumbersome to pull off. They pressed through and gave an awesome performance nonetheless.
Chelsea Cutler performed at the first WonderBus, and once again, she had the audience singing in unison. She played crowd favorites “Cold Shower” and “Your Bones,” and finished off her 14-song set with “Your Shirt.” She comes to Ohio often and has not once disappointed.
If you’ve never seen Oliver Tree perform, the best word to describe it is unpredictable. Eccentric is an understatement. Oliver Tree is an enigma. He will fake an accident on stage, fabricate a backstory to coincide with the town he is performing in, and get mad at the crowd. Every second of stage time is meant to entertain. He doesn’t ask if the crowd is having a good time, he offers one last song 12 times. At WonderBus, he took on three different personas, changing attire twice. He may be a nut, he may be a genius.
Starting out as a child actor on Barney & Friends, releasing their first song in 2008, coming out as nonbinary two years ago, and now supporting Revamped, the first remix release of their earlier music with an emo-rock look and sound, Demi Lovato has been non-stop since they were 8-years-old. Their move in sight and sound was excitedly well-received by the festival participants. They started their set with an explosive rock version of “Confident.” They moved their way to a live debut of “Swine” before finishing off the 18-song set to wrap up the second day of WonderBus.
