Dre.” The references are probably a nod to his childhood, as Dreamland is the first autobiographical album entirely produced by Bayley. For one of their most hip-hop-influenced tracks, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” the finger-snapping tight beat laid the foundation while Bayley rhymed about “playing too much of that GTA” and “listening too much to that Dr. “Black Mambo,” their breakout 2013 track, for example, was extended with more of a jammy guitar rendition. Glass Animals often remixes and plays different iterations of songs for their live shows. Dropping the guitar and twirling around the stage for the bouncy pop number “Tangerine,” with a Pac-Man animation playing on the screen in the background, the group dazzled the youthful audience from the jump. After the “Dreamland” intro, Bayley picked up his guitar and shouted, “Are you guys ready?” queuing the rumbling drums for “Life Itself,” and the dance party ensued. Lights and psychedelic visuals illuminated the stage, mimicking the trippy album cover for Dreamland.

After the whimsical keys started playing from the title track of their latest album, Dreamland, the applause subsided and Bayley simply stated, “Hello, everyone. tour at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle Back Yard venue on August 28. The UK psychedelic pop outfit fronted by Dave Bayley was slated to play Bonnaroo on Friday night before it was cancelled due to rain from Hurricane Ida, kicking off their U.S. Glass Animals walked onto the stage to a screeching applause. Opening for an international touring act like Glass Animals can be a daunting task for an up-and-coming artist, but Binki charmed the crowd with his disco-y tracks like “Heybb!” (a song recently featured in a 2020 Apple iPad ad campaign) and the indie rockish, “Clay Pigeon.” He even broke out some props and magic tricks during his set to lighten the mood as he rifled through his short but promising catalog. Binki has seen a brisk rise with his music since graduating from UNC Greensboro in 2018. Signed to the FADER Label (Clairo, Lewis Del Mar, Matt and Kim), he released his debut EP MOTOR FUNCTION in August and has amassed millions of streams from the momentum of TikTok and Spotify playlists. Transitioning from acting to music shortly after graduating, Binki released his first single, “Marco,” and moved to New York City. B araka Ongeri, better known by his stage name Binki, has seen a brisk rise with his music since graduating from UNC Greensboro in 2018 with a theatre degree. It was a picturesque evening with a cooler-than-normal late summer backdrop as the youthful and lively crowd trickled in for opener Binki. Binki opening for Glass Animals’ Dreamland tour.

There was even on-site testing outside of the venue. But, unlike the hundreds of thousands across the country that filled football stadiums, all attendees of the sold-out concert were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test. While Labor Day weekend brought the masses to Charlotte for the kickoff of college football, UK indie rockers Glass Animals brought their bouncy brand of synthy electro-pop to Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre. Live concerts and large gatherings continue to be a point of contention for many since the onset of the pandemic and the recent surge of the Covid-19 Delta variant.

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