Lawrence is a music town. It’s no secret. So naturally, we have an abundance of musicians here. A band could have a hard time standing out amongst all the live acts here. That’s why events like Field Day Fest are essential. They put strictly local (and a few area) bands in the spotlight. At this year’s festival, more than ever, it was the underdogs that shined the brightest.

We still had some bigger and well-known acts on the lineup, but bands with barely a demo and a few shows under their belts got to share the stages at downtown venues where they were finally heard. Here are some of the new (and not-so-new) acts that caught our attention.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jun/29/293577/

Vedettes

A new band (with experienced members) called Vedettes caught our attention big time. If these rockers aren’t on your radar, they should be.

Vedettes is the band you can only dream about in rock and roll, except this dream became a reality in the Taproom basement on Thursday night. They were good, they were dirty, but most importantly they were fiery. They wore this spark in an effortless manner, with songs that quickly got to the point without wasting your time trying to make a statement. Nobody was there to watch them, so let us indulge you with a clip:

http://youtu.be/_pJx0zI2zyw

Sugar Britches

Sugar Britches continued to shake things up by intimidating all the men with their feisty female presence.

If you’re looking for a nice little lady-fronted folk band, this isn’t it. Sugar Britches is more like the awesome pirate gang I want to join, and every time they raid a ship, they bottle all the male tears they collect along the way.

These raunchy maidens sang about all the fun a woman can get into on any given evening. Think of them as the hot sauce versions of The Ovaries-eez. You won’t be hearing them sympathize with a woman for all the hardships she has to go through, but you will hear them belt out that “the best cure for a hangover is pizza and sex!”

http://youtu.be/mPnxBW-HQdo

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jun/29/293575/

Red Kate

The salty hooligans in Red Kate blew the roof off the Bottleneck. The band is loud but not so deafening that you can’t make out those killer hooks of theirs.

Red Kate plays punk the way it was supposed to be. In its purest form, their songs are fast, furious and define everything attractive about the genre. Plus, they’re intimidating as hell. The frontman is well over 6 feet tall, and would violently fling his statuesque frame all over the wide stage. His maneuvers almost passed for stumbly, but he had complete control the entire time… almost like a destructive ballet of sorts. Plus, he gets mad props for pulling off the splits and making it look terrifying.

http://youtu.be/HwcY_7Qq8NM

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jun/29/293576/

Sedlec Ossuary

The cherry on top of the second night of the festival was was Sedlec Ossuary’s set. Those guys destroyed. This is a metal band that everyone can love, even if you don’t like metal.

The guitarists lurched ahead on their pedestals while the singer roared bloody murder into the mic. With every riff and ferocious beat of the drums, audience members unanimously thrusted their heads back and forth in unison with the band. It was headbanger heaven, and Sedlec Ossuary were the ringmasters of this circus.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jun/29/293578/

The People’s Punk Band

By night three, the Replay had the wildest reaction from audiences, partly because The People’s Punk Band set the bar really, REALLY high.

There had been a growing excitement over this band, and they did not disappoint. They thrashed, they lunged into the crowd, and the recent change in the lineup showed just how impactful this band is. Nobody matched the tone or thrill of this perfect punk outfit, and it was hard to take your eyes off them.

http://youtu.be/qcweKKeP5P8

Federation of Horsepower

The People’s Punk Band may have set the bar high, but it was met by the severely stimulating Federation of Horsepower. At one point, the frontman left the venue and rocked his epic guitar solo out on the street corner. This maneuver had the audience in a tizzy.

This is a band full of musicians with decades of experience in this region, and rather than slowing down they only grew stronger.

http://youtu.be/7FUTxYJJBfY

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/jun/29/293579/

Other highlights from the festival

• Watching The Ovaries-eez announce a song “for all our Patrick Swayze lovers out there,” then throwing the rock horns.

• Hearing Mr. and the Mrs. in the Taproom basement… from half a block away.

• Watching Jorge Arana Trio’s magnificent jazz/rock mashup bewilder the Bottleneck audience.

• Wondering if Toughies could possibly get any more adorable.

• Learning the true hilarity of a 7 p.m. start time for a metal band when we watched patrons at Ingredient trying to eat delicate little salads while EYES OF IOLITE roared next door.

• Gnarly Davidson’s ear-drum-splitting and inspiring set on the floor of the Jackpot.

• Psychic Heat recruited the help of veteran drummer Kliph Scurlock, who ended the set by beating the drums solo (everyone else had left the stage) for several minutes until the venue absolutely had to shut it down. We’re told this is something he used to do with bands early in his musical career.

Note: This post originally appeared on I Heart Local Music.

— Fally Afani is a freelance writer and editor of I Heart Local Music. She enjoys long walks, photography and rock and roll. She does not like cats, but makes exceptions for the ones at Love Garden. For more local music coverage, visit iheartlocalmusic.com.