Opening for festival closers The Strokes, Haim took the stage with intense energy, finishing out the last show of their Days Are Gone tour with fervor. It’s no secret why the three sisters have gained national attention as the pop-rock nineties band of today. They have a vibrancy when they perform, and their closeness as sisters reflects in the form of a familial fan-base. “I like seeing people on top of other people’s shoulders,” Este announced. And their fans were happy to oblige – immediately jumping up on each other’s shoulders as the sister’s opened with “Falling”, a fan favorite off the stacked album. They wanted the show to feel like one of their house-party jam sessions – as Este announced before they broke into a seriously gnarly version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”. Danielle’s time in the music business is glaringly apparent, especially during these moments – she toured with both Jenny Lewis and Julian Casablancas when she was just 17. Their intensity continued as they yelled their love of everything LA into the crowd. Hailing from San Fernando Valley, it’s not surprising the sisters were excited to play their last show of the tour at home. Home: the theme of the evening. – Jennifer Mergott

Living up to their hardcore punk reputation, The Bronx opened a spirited show with vocalist Matt Caughthran stage diving into the crowd. Their 10+ years together as a band were apparent throughout the set as they played to their high energy strengths and appeased their zealous fans. Caughthran delivered a screaming version of “Knifeman” and then cursed the end of the weekend, “Live and let die. Monday’s no joke… Let’s dance. Let’s dance.” The band, who also performed at FYF under their associated act, Mariachi El Bronx, continued to thrill as the sun set during “Shitty Future”. Between profanity laced call and responses with the crowd and a generalized hatred for the looming work week, The Bronx definitely knew how to get their fans riled up and the energy lasted long after the sun set. – Jennifer Mergott

Flying Lotus, who’s LA roots are deep (he named his second album after the city), was in his hometown element on Sunday. Perhaps also hyped from the anticipation of his fifth studio album You’re Dead, FlyLo performed for all the senses. In front of his trippy Layer 3 visuals, which worked in unison with the music, FlyLo performed a mix of “Putty Boy Strut”, “Physics for Everyone” and “Clock Catcher” to a crowd of loyal listeners. His show, as expected, was by far the most interactive at the festival. His performance of “Zodiac Shift”, which samples both Carlos Santana and Alice Coltrane (his great-Uncle) sent the crowd into a fury, with background mimicking the music video. Between the visuals and trippy beats and mixes, FlyLo more than set the stage for his next album. – Jennifer Mergott

Having Stephen Brunner, known for his stage name of Thundercat, at the Lawn stage of this year’s festival made perfect sense. The six-string bass maestro brought his peculiar brand of avant-garde jazz to what was suitably the chillest of all the stages, and though a good few of us were standing up, you could sense that the majority of relaxed attendees – most of them laying face up and letting the sundays hit – were letting his improvisational psychedelic arrangements sink in. Brunner plays with crisp sophistication, letting his masterfully precise fingerpicking speak for itself with the backup of top-shelf musicians who each add their own improvisational grit with seamless momentum. It was a welcome respite from the bustling activity going around the festival grounds, all of us nodding in unison with casual ease as the sun began to make its descent. – Juan Rodriguez

Photo Credit: Jennifer Mergott

One of last year’s surprises was Kelela’s startling mixtape Cut 4 Me, a fine collection of experimental R&B featuring a who’s who of producers that shined the light on a bright and exciting young voice. Glowing in a darkened arena inside the LA Coliseum during a mid-afternoon scorcher, the MacArthur park resident caught the attention of a modest amount of attendees who were instantly drawn by her dark, yet inviting dance music. Kelela’s voice shimmered and soared above a series of perturbing, icy synths, demonstrating a great deal of overpowering versatility even when the samples she plays against are so commanding. She also gave one of the most genuine call-outs in the festival’s two days, thanking her fans for supporting her mixtape with an affable glee after mentioning how she was working at a call center in the Valley just a year ago. Kelela may be a fiery, even threateningly seductive on stage, but her warm radiance and humility outside of it makes it easy to root her. She enter a new stage in her rising career, proving that her journey to megastardom is just getting started. – Juan Rodríguez

Photo Credit: Carl Pocket for FYF Fest

Slacker rock foursome LA Font continue their prolific streak with the video for the track "Onshore", a ramchackle lo-fi romp that finds them echoing the straightforward hooks of Robert Pollard. As for the visuals that accompany the track, well, imagine if the band takes the concept of "loose lips sink ships" into literal terms; the band members play guitar heroes as they fend off a flying army of vicious, computer animated lips causing havoc around Echo Park, Hitchock style. LA Font is currently touring the East Coast, but they’ll be back soon enough. I mean, seriously, haven’t you seen them yet?

Kayla Cohen, otherwise known by her moniker, Itasca, is set to release her first full-length album, entitled "Unmoored By The Wind", on October 14th under Matt Mondanile’s (Real Estate) label, New Images. Originally hailing from New York, Cohen moved to LA in 2012, the same year she released "Grace Riders on the Road". Almost two years later, the growth in Unmoored’s standout track, "Nature’s Gift", is apparent. Cohen has a distinct and slightly ironic mix of influences past and present. Her unique and wandering vocals have the ancient, other-worldly sound of a Gregorian chant, but the new age melancholy of modern day powerhouses Lana Del Rey and Sharon Van Etten. There’s an ethereal exoticism to her lyrics that is both captivating and sensual. She invites you into her world; a vulnerable, dream-like setting that’s hard to say no to. – Jennifer Mergott

Former Riverside residents Francisco The Man play a finely-tuned brand of indie rock that is instantly timeless, bringing to mind a large number of late 90s, early 2000s bands that primordially relied on a catchy hook and a driving melody when alterna-pop was still especially all the rage. A tiny whiff of atmosphere accompanies the urgent beat in "Progress", the first single from their upcoming debut full-length Loose Ends, which could’ve lightened up a number of early-afternoon festival slots this summer had festival curators been truly paying attention. Singer-guitarist Scott Cantino’s high-ptiched, yet luminous vocals are refracted against an explosion of twinkling guitars and airy synths, accompanied by a dense, yet bouncy charge that’s smartly accesible. Loose Ends comes out on September 30th via Small Plates.

Youth Code’s electro-hardocore mash is an industrial assault. Their recent single, "Consuming Guilt," off their new EP, A Place to Stand, is an intense collection of heavy synths, pounding back beats, and plenty of noise. Ryan George and Sara Taylor make up the complex duo; their use of samples and sonic manipulation create strange fusions of 80’s hardcore claustrophobia with synth noise chaos. Their EP is out on Da Is Records, and stream the single below . – Jake Saunders

Their Wedding is a unique clash of Matt Healy from The 1975, sister Danielle from Haim, and Alex Clare. The simply refreshing and igniting dynamic group grabbed my attention with their new EP, Wine, with my favorite single, "I Tried To Leave You". The vocals of member Celese Hernadez are so hypnotizing and spellbinding that I caught myself dancing in my living room while my mother brought groceries in. It was quite embarrassing to say the least, but the build up of vocals and their instrumentals create an overwhelming vibe that I could not shake off. Recently going through a breakup myself, this song hit me relly hard. It’s about creating a sound, reliving a moment in your life that is so intoxicating and so incredible, that the only thing that can be used to create that instant flash of joy is music. Or maybe it’s not joy, maybe it’s heart break, maybe it’s anger or peace or whatever it may be; music can truly heal a person’s soul and I believe Their Wedding has done a great job at provoking a multitude of emotions into this EP. And thanks to True Grit Records, the 12” vinyl is now available to download and buy. Take advantage of it. – Kayla Hay

Welcome another fuzzy, bluesy stomper by Street Joy, the spirited LA duo who’s been sporadically releasing a handful of equally invigorating lo-fi scuzz since last year’s "Wandering In Your Mind". We’re not disappointed in the slighest.

Despite the rising number of shoegaze-inspired bands that have come into sight in the last few years, Modern Time Machines have gradually developed into one of the most exhilitaring acts in the local scene. Their latest single, "Loveletters", actually comes eerily close to replicating the sound that Shields brought to the fore in the late eighties. The knockout production elements in "Loveletters" are really what elevates the track to a higher plane, its searing, yet seducing guitars and reverb-drenched vocals coalesced with the video’s variegated visuals. "Loveletters" is the first taste off their upcoming EP, which the band will be releasing in late 2014.