This year we were lucky enough to attend North Coast Music Festival and we got to see some excellent acts perform between Aug. 30 – Sep. 1. While we’re best known for taking footage at the shows we attend, given that we were given media passes to attend the fest, we decided to not violate those conditions and simply took pictures of the acts we saw throughout this Labor Day weekend.

Read a recap and see some pictures of all that we saw at North Coast Music Festival ’13. *All pictures were taken by Pursuit Of Dopeness.

Day 1

The first day of NCMF almost ended about as soon as it was just getting started for us. Arriving just a few minutes before 5pm, Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound” was playing in the park but the gates were officially closed off due to a crazy storm that was about to hit the city. Delayed for about 2 hours or so, we got in in time to catch sets from AlunaGeorge, Mac Miller, Passion Pit and Just Blaze. The UK’s AlunaGeorge was a surprisingly good act, with a Pop-y R&B sound that got much of the crowd dancing; their cover of Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” was excellent. Mac Miller was up next and he sure did not disappoint. His entrance to the stage started in a funny way, as the Pittsburgh rapper slipped seconds after appearing onstage. After a quick recovery, Mac performed tracks from K.I.D.S., Blue Slide Park, Macadelic and his latest album, Watching Movies With The Sound Off. The entire set featured a good mix of songs and his closing performance of “Donald Trump” was really something worth seeing. Passion Pit’s set was definitely the most underwhelming of the night. Apparently, the band’s equipment was severely damaged because of the storm and they were unable to perform their hit songs. Instead, we were treated to a DJ set heavy on the EDM sound that much of the festival was playing. That was OK but nothing like what we were expecting so we opted for checking out Just Blaze at one of the smaller stages at the festival. His set was a perfect blend of Hip Hop and EDM. To say the least, we headed over to his after party set (featuring Young Chop) at Bottom Lounge to see him spin again. It’s definitely something everyone should check out.

Day 2

The 2nd day of North Coast for our crew consisted of seeing sets from Aloe Blacc, Flatbush Zombies, Hip Hop legend Nas, and Afrojack. Flatbush Zombies never disappoint when performing live and Saturday was no different. As soon as the Zombies stepped on to the stage the crowd went crazy and fed off of the energy. Aloe Blacc was performing at the same time as the Zombies, we decided to split our time between the two and we checked out the second half of Aloe’s set. This turned out to be a wise decision as Aloe’s show really gave out a great and positive vibe to all in attendance, especially felt when he performed his hits, “You Make Me Smile” and “I Need a Dollar.” Nas was up next and he brought out all of the classics accompanied by a drummer and DJ. Seeing so many of the people around us reciting every line and every verse made for an amazing experience. Afrojack was our final artist to catch to end the night. With a show that included crazy lights, smoke, and confetti, Afrojack was a great way to end the night. See some of the pictures of these performances in the gallery below.

Day 3

Our final stop at 2013’s NCMF saw us checking out sets by Danny Brown, Fool’s Gold’s A-Trak, Gary Clark Jr., and the group everyone was there to see, Wu-Tang Clan. Danny Brown and his raunchy brand of Hip Hop took over the crowd in great fashion, many of them singing along to his every word. A-Trak got everyone at his stage partying by mixing tracks from artists like Kanye, Daft Punk and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No lie, his set made me appreciate EDM just a tad bit more than before. On our way to the main stage, we caught some performances of Pugz Atomz and Rebelution. The latter was definitely fun to see, with their groovy sound and weed-soaked vibe onstage lit up the crowd. Gary Clark Jr. was easily one of the best acts at “North Coast” this year. His heavy Blues sound took over the main stage excellently and his guitar work was undeniably super badass. Although their set was cut a tad bit short due to another storm, it’s more than safe to say the Wu-Tang Clan more than lived up to the expectations. The crew was out there playing the hits, with 36 Chambers sounding as fresh as ever. Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, the RZA and others also paid tribute to fallen Wu member ODB by playing his “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” The third and final night of the fest came to a close in great fashion thanks to the Wu-Tang Clan. See more pics below.