Last week on Sunday, Aug. 7, the Duchess County Airport was home to the second annual Speed of Sound Festival, hosted by Radio Woodstock 100.1 and Friendly Auto Group. The Festival hosted six folky bands including the festival headliners, The Lumineers. Aside from the great music, it was decided only aluminum reusable cups would be sold which wound up avoiding the use of 11,300 plastic water bottles and 8,500 plastic beer cups! But back to the music! In case you missed the event, a few of my favorite performers included Swear and Shake, Rayland Baxter and of course, The Lumineers.

Swear and Shake.

Two men and an absolutely adorable but fierce woman make up this trio. As my friends and I were really just waiting on The Lumineers to perform, Swear and Shake began their set and turned our heads towards the stage. Beautiful vocal harmonies and a heavy beat you just couldn't sit still. Throughout every song captured the audience and people slowly gravitated towards the stage to get a closer listen. The group's folky sound is easily flexible between fun, feel good songs like "Marbles," and deep feeling acoustics as in "Johnnie." I was taken aback by vocalist and guitarist Kari Spieler's voice, rich and powerful throughout the whole show. She truly feels the songs she is performing which clearly shows on stage, while still delivering a humble performance. Little did I know, Spieler was not the only member with a voice, when Adam Mcheffney began to sing. I later learned McHeffney and Spieler are the songwriter's of the group and my respect for them then sky rocketed. It truly is rare to find music written by experience and/or inspiration these days.

Rayland Baxter.

Baxter has been traveling with The Lumineers on their current tour and I had heard his name from a friend, but I had no idea the talent this man had. Baxter's sound felt like the dreamy style of Mac Demarco meeting folk to form a perfectly relaxing yet engaging new genre. Throughout the show I was amazed by the similarity of his voice to popular artist Vance Joy. Although the tone of their voices are almost identical, they're delivered in beautifully different ways that set them apart. Aside from his overflowing musical talent, his stage presence deserves recognition. Throughout his set, Baxter kept repeating, "this is just practice." Making the point that performances are really just more practice, in front of people. Rayland gave the whole performance a fun, light hearted atmosphere. His goofy and humorous personality showed on stage as he interacted with the crowd and his band mates making for a perfect performance for the setting. From the captivating guitar licks of "Dreamin," to the popular melodic masterpiece that is "Yellow Eyes" I couldn't look away.

The Lumineers.

The Lumineers closed the festival with a beautiful two hour set that blew me away beyond my expectations. Lead singer Wesley Schultz's voice has even more depth and power to it than what is just recorded on their records. Jeremiah Fraites, another member of the group, played every instrument on stage. Neyla Pekarek beautifully played the cello, and surprised the audience with her soothing voice for a song. I had never had the opportunity to see such a well rounded, musically talented group in person. But after the release of their killer second album "Cleopatra," I shouldn't be so surprised. They made a point to the audience to recognize that their album was recorded and produced in Woodstock, N.Y., only an hour from where the festival was taking place in Wappingers Falls. This immediately made the performance feel even more special, and brought everyone together to appreciate the experience. It was easy to see the love each band member had for what they were doing, and the positive energy never wavered. Throughout their set, the band made room for improvisational fun and changes within their songs, without losing the soul and purpose of the music. The set list was perfectly thought out -- not a song out of place. And just when I thought they had forgotten "Stubborn Love," they came back out for a final encore and closed the song with the ultimate Lumineers road trip jam. The Speed of Sound Festival was a great experience with my greatest friends and provided us with a day of sunshine and laughs.