High Water Festival 2025: Indie Rock, Banjos, and Living the High Life

Written by Claire Hookstra

Any folk-lover’s dream, the 2025 High Water Festival in Charleston, North Carolina, had an ultimate banjo-stacked lineup. After attending both days of the waterside festival, I’ve made a list of the best sets I saw over the indie-rock weekend. 

Mt. Joy at the Stono stage

Evan Honer

Starting off the set with a backflip (step aside, Benson Boone), Evan Honer took the Edisto Stage at a sweltering hot 3 p.m. time slot with a grinning smile. Kicking off the 45-minute performance with “Everything I wanted,” the crowd bopped along to the indie track with a hint of country twang. Switching guitars throughout the set and taking breaks to jam out with his band, Honer kept his crowd’s attention under the burning sun. Near the end of the set, after gracing the crowd with another backflip, the campfire hit “Jersey Giant” began to boom through the speakers as cheers from the crowd erupted and phone screens shot into the air to capture the ultimate sing-along. The catchy song, which many do not know that Tyler Childers originally wrote, got festival-goers from across the park to flock to his stage. One of the first sets of High Water, Honer set the bar high for any musician that followed his act. 

Mt. Joy

Gracing the Stono stage for a golden hour set, fans crowded the stage as Mt. Joy broke into their new single, “Coyote.” There’s a unique indie-folk-powered magic that exudes from any Mt. Joy show. Everyone in the crowd excitedly swayed along to the set, singing with their hands in the air– it's as if we are all attending an indie-folk church sermon with songs about letting go, getting high, and being kind to one another. Halfway through the performance, the sun began to set during “Strangers,” creating an angelic golden hue as Matt Quinn chanted the ultimate ballad of starting over. “I am over you / I am / over you,” the crowd chanted back at him. Amos Lee joined the band for an unexpected cover of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” and Joy Oladokun added harmonious melodies to the band’s hit, “Astrovan.” For a festival priding itself on its indie-folk lineup, Mt. Joy was the mecca of the weekend, bringing in the largest crowd and the highest vibes.

The Backseat Lovers

The heaviest band of the festival’s lineup, The Backseat Lovers, closed out the Edisto stage on Saturday night. Sun-burnt fans sprinted across seas of blankets and casual festival goers from Mt. Joy’s dreamy set to the gritty sound of the indie-rock unit. Out-of-breath and giddy (as was I), the crowd was greeted by lead singer Joshua Harmon under a perfect triangle of blue light as the instruments swelled through the speakers. Beginning the set with an unreleased track, the audience attentively stared in awe at the rockers. Quite the contrast from his intense vocal range, Harmon sweetly thanked the crowd for supporting the band after taking a break from music and touring. The hits were played, with the crowd screaming along to the iconic “Kilby Girl” bridge so loud I couldn’t even hear the band. Ending the set with “Sinking Ship,” hands flew up in the air as the crowd danced to the powerful ballad before the band quickly left the stage. The Backseat Lovers are the perfect combination of that indie sound we all need from time to time, with unabashedly raw and intense rock elements. Shredding on electric guitars, pulse-shaking drums, and gravelly vocals characterized the hour-long set. The group slyly hinted at its return to the scene throughout the set, so it’s safe to say fans are eagerly awaiting a new album. 

Flipturn drummer, Devon VonBalson, throws his drumstick to an eager crowd

Flipturn

My friend and I joke that there are “bands” and then there are “BANDS.” Sometimes a show can seem more like a showcase of separate artists rather than a true musical unit. Let me just say that the Florida-raised group, Flipturn, is, in fact, a BAND. Each member of the group plays off of one another’s sound, unlike any other. Right in the middle of its ‘Burnout Days’ nationwide tour, Flipturn headlined the Edisto stage on Sunday night. Rainbow lights cast over the giddy crowd as the band worked through several tracks from their latest album. Ultimately, its most popular song, the humble opening guitar riff of “August”, sent the crowd into a frenzy as everyone prepared to scream the chorus as loud as they possibly could– and oh, did they deliver. “August, honey, you were mine,” the crowd cheered as lead singer Dillon Basse moved away from his microphone and let the crowd take the reins. After this moment, the energy in the crowd was one of the most euphoric I have ever witnessed. Strangers wrapped their arms around others’ shoulders, swaying back and forth and dancing as one big family throughout the rest of the set. Lingering at the stage after Flipturn ended their set, the crowd stared in awe at the empty stage, basking in the electric energy given off by the indie-rock band, and ignoring the fact that the headliner of the night had already started at the Stono stage. Flipturn made history on that Edisto stage, and I can guarantee anyone in that crowd would agree with that statement.