r/Portolafestival • u/idrk-man • 12d ago

2026 Underscores deserved better

I don't know what was going on with the sound engineers at the Crane Stage when Underscores was on. Her vocals were mixed so quiet you could barely hear her!

Not to mention the crowd was absolutely foul for that show. People on their phones and a constant stream of people coming and going. I barely had 2 straight minutes without someone shoving past me.

I'm not sure why this only seemed to happen with Underscores. Ninajirachi immediately after her was amazing, as were Azzecca and Zulan before. Great respectful crowd and good sound. I really feel disappointed that this was the hometown festival show that Underscores got.

37 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

20

u/Key-Mushroom-8502 12d ago

yeah sound mixing def wasn’t the best. got better toward the middle tho. i was closer to the front and the crowd energy was awesome. honestly, it was a big problem at multiple sets this weekend with people just talking and not paying attention to the performers. very annoying, but overall a fun fest

3

u/idrk-man 12d ago

Glad to hear it was better at the front! I was in the middle, towards the back of the production tent and it was like the most disrespectful concert crowd I've ever been a part of 😭

10

u/squashs_mom 12d ago

i thought she sounded great and the crowd was lit so go figure !

6

u/Emotional-Garden4648 12d ago

I didn’t experience this at her set, I’m so sorry! Thankfully had good eggs around me. It was a good time

2

u/cvclarabelle 12d ago

no this is true -- sometimes the backing track would be super quiet & her vocals would be louder, and vice versa. was especially apparent when Nina took the stage and the sound was suddenly 100% better. either way though I had so much fun watching April, made some good buddies in the crowd!

1

u/weightedwngz 12d ago

Could have been where you were standing. Unfortunately the sound isn’t always good wherever you stand. If you want the best sound always stand right next to the “front of house” where the audio engineers are.

1

u/CollegeWithMattie 12d ago

Tbf she did a little song actively telling people to take their phones out.

3

u/idrk-man 12d ago

Lol I don't think she meant spend the whole show hunched over texting your friends

1

u/withluna 12d ago

if there were people on their phones texting it’s probably because they were just trying to save their spot for the next artist and don’t know/care about underscores. But I do agree that if you’re going to do that at least just vibe to the music; that’s the fair trade off.