photos by Tim Griffin

Kendrick Lamar / Flying Lotus / HEALTH / U.S. Girls











To the great relief of ticket holders, festival organizers, music bloggers and the hip-hop gods themselves, Kendrick lived up to the hype. Giving the rapper a giant stage with perfect weather in a city that loves him might have been equivalent to tossing a nice, fat softball to a man holding a flat-bottom shovel, but he still gets credit for knocking it out of the park.

Introduced by a tight vamp from his four-piece band and a massive screen that read "Never trust a n*gga with cornrows," the braided-up Lamar took the stage with a graceful humility, smiling gently and waving to the sea of people before him. His flow was up to speed beginning with his very first song, the jazzy "For Free?" and a lot of people in the crowd were nailing every word, too. This was it. This was the weekend's headlining act. Fans were going nuts for stuff like "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe," which featured a maniacal guitar solo in the middle, and "Swimming Pools (Drank)," another one from his breakout album, good kid m.A.A.d city. [Houston Press]

After a successful day 1, Houston's inaugural Day For Night Festival wrapped up on Sunday, December 20. The second and final day had sets from Kendrick Lamar, Holly Herndon, HEALTH, Death Grips, Dan Deacon, Flying Lotus, Nicolas Jaar, U.S. Girls, and more. Pictures continue below...



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Fredster



FLCON FCKER

U.S. Girls

Matt Thibideau

The Vanity

Elliphant

Holly Herndon

Hearts of Animals

HEALTH

Children of Pop

Nicolas Jaar

Death Grips

Wrestlers

B L A C K I E

Dan Deacon

Flying Lotus

Com Truise

Dillon Francis

Kendrick Lamar