This past weekend music fans from all over gathered at the annual Southern Comfort Music Experience in Madison to enjoy the rhythmic sounds from a diverse lineup. Fans gathered at the one-day festival to enjoy the hip-hop beats of The Roots to the blues-rock feel of The Black Keys.

Other headliners of the festival included Ha Ha Tonka, GZA from the WuTang Clan and Benevento Russo Duo. It was perfect weather for the daylong festival: partly cloudy with a nice cool breeze to keep the dancers on their feet all day. While in the beginning, the crowd consisted of elderly couples holding hands and others sitting on picnic tables towards the back, the progressing day meant more people spilling onto the concert grounds as to make the $6 beers completely worth the price.

Hitting the stage after Ha Ha Tonka was the jam band Benevento Russo Duo. Their psychedelic videos playing on the Jumbotron combined with the distortion of the keyboard, enticed summer festival-goers to spend a day with some of their favorite bands before summer was completely gone. The pair was able to get fans off the grass seats to crowd the stage, which marked the beginning of one excellent day of music.

By the time the sun started to set, the audience was completely full, and beer lines went from surprisingly short to obnoxiously long. However, fans could care less as soon as one of the founding members of the WuTang clan, GZA (The Genius), hit the stage.

GZA entered to the sound of fans  chanting “WuTang” with the WuTang symbol up in the air. His  performance brought a new and exciting energy to the festival, and not a single person could help but join in with the cult-like chants and get caught up in the moment of the festival. The hard rhymes dropped by GZA  got the entire crowd dancing, singing and begging for more from the legendary artist.

As the night sky took over the outside venue, lights began to shine on the trees with awesome colors and motions while fans anxiously waited for The Black Keys.

When they finally emerged, the duo brought an unmistakable presence  all their own.  The heavy beat of the drums with strong guitar riffs moved the crowd from loving hip-hop to loving the blues-rock melody the pair produced.

The final band that performed was the Roots, the most anticipated group of the festival. After being led on the stage by the sousaphone player, Tuba Gooding Jr., each member took their positions as the crowd had their hands in the air, restlessly waiting for the start of an excellent set.

The set began with a high-energy beat and a jazzy feel. Guitar solos by Captain Kirk Douglas sparked the crowd’s momentum, while fans jumped to the vocals of lead singer Black Thought. The Roots finished their set by  performing a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.” With their synchronized dancing �— and the unity created by it —  the crowd screamed at the top of their lungs.

Overall, the day was a success, and each band performed better than the one that played before them. Despite the smaller crowd in the beginning, the continually gathering fans and great performances helped make the Southern Comfort Music Experience time well spent.