Beck, Mumford & Sons, Cage the Elephant, The National, Spoon, AJR, WALK THE MOON, and Dashboard Confessional didn’t mess around at iHeartRadio’s ALTer EGO 2018 at The Forum in Los Angeles on Friday.
Maggie Rogers performed with self-described big bros Mumford & Sons; Dashboard Confessional performed their brand new single “Heart Beat Here” for the first time and — perhaps the most memorable moment of the night — Cage the Elephant proved they can go more ballistic each performance.
Below are the top five moments:
Mumford & Sons brought out muse Maggie Rogers. The singer-songwriter from Easton, Maryland, rose to fame after wowing Pharrell during a master class at New York University. A video of Pharrell listening to her song “Alaska” — which she wrote in 15 minutes about a hiking trip — during the class then went viral. She was then handpicked by Mumford & Sons to perform during their Gentlemen of The Road festival.
She joined Marcus Mumford and keyboardist Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, and bassist Ted Dwane onstage at ALTer EGO to contribute her beautifully haunting vocals to “Awake My Soul.”
.@MumfordAndSons x @maggierogers is perfection #iHeartALT pic.twitter.com/XcGwcw3epD
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) January 20, 2018
It’s been a whopping eight years since we’ve heard new music from Dashboard Confessional and they revived emo at iHeartRadio’s ALTer EGO 2018, performing for the first time the new track “Heart Beat Here.” It is the latest to be released off their forthcoming LP, Crooked Shadows.
Frontman Chris Carrabba, who offered a seriously powerful vocal over a strong acoustic strum, enlisted the help of the crowd, turning on mics to record an acoustic with them singing the chorus.
Beck made his triumphant return to Los Angeles, the city that birthed not only the sonic pioneer also but his eclectic musical style, at iHeartRadio’s inaugural ALTer EGO. After kicking off his performance with 1994 mega hit “Loser," the postmodernist unleashed joyous dance tracks off his 13th studio album Colors, a sublime piece of alt-pop that he crafted specifically for his live performances onto the sold-out venue.
WHERE IT’S AT!!! #iHeartALT pic.twitter.com/Cs8KgJJRX0
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) January 20, 2018
And they’re back! WALK THE MOON officially reestablished themselves as "a band’s band of dudes playing rock music together” at iHeartRadio’s inaugural ALTer EGO 2018. The Cincinnati, Ohio-formed band performed new hits “One Foot,” “Kamikaze,” "Surrender," 2014 smash hit “Shut Up and Dance,” and even 2010 throwback “Anna Sun.”
Did we mention they also got matching tattoos? Because that happened too.
Cage the Elephant came through with that cardiovascular energy closing out the inaugural ALTer EGO. The pumped-up performance featured “To Late to Say Goodbye,” "Cold Cold Cold,” “It’s Just Forever,” “Come a Little Closer,” “Teeth," “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” and “Shake Me Down."
Matt’s got the moves people! #iHeartALT @CageTheElephant pic.twitter.com/E0z60KorIS
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) January 20, 2018
And, ICYMI, shoutout to The National, who performed “Blood Buzz,” “The System,” “Day I Die,” “Guilty Party,” “I Need My Girl,” and “Mr. November,” for this moment:
When you're your own biggest fan . @TheNational #iHeartALT pic.twitter.com/7u7pWzboHr
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) January 20, 2018
Original article by Sierra Marquina at iHeartRadio