@ZackTeibloom After getting my surprise of the fest by Yuto Miyazawa, I made it over to Hey Champ in time to get front row, center. The three piece from Chicago was entertaining, had witty banter and kept the set moving well for an early afternoon in the rain.

An unlikely opener on Lupe’s last tour, Chicago’s finest rapper signed them to his 1st and 15th label, Hey Champ seems well suited to play to any crowd, even before their first album drops. Lead singer Saam thanked us for being in the rain and said it’s lucky he wasn’t getting wet, because we’d get a better show than we paid for since he was all in white. Like we wanted to see that anyway.

Saam rocked on vox and lead guitar and was bolstered by his drummer who locked in by wearing headphones and his synth player who kept it dance-y and fun. As he wound down their set, Saam said that Obama had accepted the presidency from the same spot they were playing and since Obama promised his kids a puppy, Saam said he was so proud of his band for playing at Lolla that he was getting them a puppy as well.

I ran into the band later that day in the media area and told Saam he had the banter of the day, and I was curious what kind of puppy they were getting. He said “Frenchie” with a laugh. I’m excited to hear their album. No joke. 8.3/10

Photo by Zack Teibloom

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