The Second Night of the Adult Swim Festival was all about Philly | The Triangle

The Second Night of the Adult Swim Festival was all about Philly

Photo courtesy of Adult Swim

The highly anticipated Adult Swim Festival took place earlier this month, spanning over the weekend of Aug. 5-7. This festival was highly advertised all over Philly, especially targeting the community with endless ads on social media leading up to the festival. For this reason, it seemed everyone was buzzing about the festival, extremely excited for the stellar lineup which included several Philly locals, including Tierra Whack and SPIRITOFTHEBEEHIVE.

The event was spread out between Brooklyn Bowl, The Foundry, The Fillmore and a sectioned-off outdoor area which was in front and snaked around to the side of the buildings. Traveling between these areas was not an easy task, as there was confusion from both festival goers and security as to exactly which events your specific ticket had access to. For this very reason, we were unable to see Hannibal Buress perform upstairs at the Brooklyn Bowl. 

There were also discrepancies between “ins and outs,” meaning if a festival goer walked into the Fillmore, they were not allowed to go back into the outdoor section. This rule was later overturned after much confusion and upset. The discrepancy created an odd atmosphere at first, but the vibe was redeemed by the array of food, drinks and activities onsite. Specialty beer was served as well as free Wendy’s items from a food truck, including a “Pickle Rick” Frosty which was mint-flavored, topped with pickle potato chips. There were also delicious tacos, dumplings and more to munch on between sets.  

The Foundry, a small club above The Fillmore, served as an air-conditioned safe haven from the blazing sun in the late afternoon. The space had a full-service bar and was screening unreleased and special adult swim animated episodes. 

At 7 p.m. on Saturday, local Philadelphia DJ Jewelssea came to the stage.  Her name was projected in giant marquee-esque letters behind the stage, illuminating them behind the DJ booth. A DJ mostly known for performing in the underground rave scene, this particular event was a breakthrough moment for Jewelssea. They were outfitted with an elven-style vest, designed by local clothing brand A Life Among Ruins. 

Jewelssea’s style was only the beginning of her captivating stage presence and performance. Opening a festival is by no means an easy task- setting the ‘vibes’ for the night is imperative for any set first on the roster. Jewlessea did just that and set an electric tone which energized the crowd who enjoyed themselves thoroughly while they eagerly waited for Tierra Whack to perform. 

The second performer of the night was DJ Diamond Kuts. She is a Philly legend – the first woman to a have a slot on Power 99, mixed for the BET Awards, official DJ for the Philadelphia Eagles and many more. Her set had it all— the perfect mix of songs to dance to and tons of people on stage to make everyone as hype as possible. She brought out all the Philly talent to create the perfect energy—two little kids dancing in classic Philly fashion accompanied by a lot of dancers that made the audience not stop for a single minute. They were waving flags, doing flips and getting everybody ready for the main act of the night—Tierra Whack.

Having come straight from Australia, Tierra Whack was ready to be back in her home city. She was wearing a bright floral dress with a pair of high white boots while rocking her bright red hair. At this point, the venue was completely packed. Tierra wanted everybody to sing along. She wanted her home city to match her energy and that is exactly what happened. Everybody was singing along, dancing and having the best time. You could feel the Philly love in the air. Everything was really magical. There is nothing like an artist coming back home and seeing them perform for the crowd that has always been there supporting them. 

The second night of the Adult Swim festival was an interesting success. What started out with some weird energy ended up being saved by the amazing performances. The Philly-themed night of the festival made people go home very satisfied.