Kevin Bronson on June 26th, 2018

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Crowd-pleasers pleased crowds on Day 2 of the second Arroyo Seco Weekend. Hitmakers played hits. Sing-alongs were sung. Good feelings were felt.

The second-year festival on Sunday took on the feel of big backyard party soundtracked by an FM radio station, keenly programmed to appeal across generations, with a steady stream of the familiar. Nothing was bad: not the weather, not the new festival layout, not the food and drink (OK, maybe the prices), not all the ancillary stuff (JPL had a tent, for space’s sake). And certainly not Kings of Leon, who capped the day with a roaring, perfectly sequenced set that spaced their biggest hits almost evenly over 18 songs. Transcendent? No. But totally pro.

||| Also: See our Day 1 coverage

The biggest thrills and deepest chills came during the set by Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, who in front of a massive main-stage crowd at sunset gave a master class in music, and, implicitly, how to love music, which is to know it. The selections from the Led Zeppelin catalog were choice — you could virtually hear the crowd’s rapturous sighs when the band began “Going to California.” “The Lemon Song” and the closing medley with “Bring It on Home” and “Whole Lotta Love” were highlights, too.

Plant spoke of how he and his Zep bandmates in their youth looked to places like Mississippi and Chicago for inspiration. He spoke fondly of Leadbelly. And as his old band did so many years ago, his new one performed “Gallows Pole” reverently. It was an elevating 75 minutes.

There were other memorable moments:

■ A pair of 77-year-olds, Aaron Neville and Irma Thomas, closed the Willow stage with back-to-back sets of New Orleans finery, Neville peaking with “Tell It Like It Is” and Thomas getting oohs and ahhs for “Time Is on My Side.”

■ Fantastic Negrito electrified the crowd at the Willow with songs from his new album “Please Don’t Be Dead,” and preached the gospel of communication. “I go to other countries and people ask me, ‘What’s wrong with America? What’s wrong with America?’” he said. “I tell them we stopped listening to one another.”

■ Los Lobos sounded every bit the local regional national treasures they are.

■ Reunited and energized, The Bangles seemed positively touched that their return has been met with such an outpouring of adulation.

■ And Alanis Morissette. What can you say? It was by far the steamiest set of the day, fans packing the main-stage area in the late-afternoon sun to hear the 44-year-old Canadian’s full-throttle vocal display. Ten songs, no filler. Six jagged little pills, and everybody — everybody — knew every word.

Photos by Samantha Saturday (except where noted)