Kevin Bronson on August 20th, 2019

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The streets were alive with the sound of Echo Park Rising on Saturday. Sidewalks were worse than the 405 at rush hour. Long lines at some venues tested patience, although attendees for the most part admirably handled them with the chill attitude one should bring to a free neighborhood festival. And the music was all over the map.

||| Also: See Thursday’s Day 1; Friday’s Day 2; Saturday on the Buzz Bands LA Stage

A sampling of Saturday moments:

Best place to find repeat customers

It was SadGirl’s third appearance at Echo Park Rising in the past four years, and, with their new full-length “Water” in tow, Misha Lindes and gang were the Liberty Stage headliners. From all appearances, people need retro balladry like they need to hydrate. The songs from “Water” lent a surprising intimacy to the outdoor stage in what was likely the chillest Saturday night headlining set in EPR history.

Best place to be officially sad

SadGirl, of course, is neither particularly sad (maybe heartrending at best) nor a girl. But they were preceded on the Liberty Stage by Saro, aka Evan Windom, the experimental electronic artist who elevates “sorrow” to theatrical heights. It was either a daring or savvy (if you think in terms on crowd control) to schedule a minimalist pop artist in prime time on the outdoor stage, but Saro did not disappoint. By the time his body-painted, glitter-specked dancers joined him, he held the crowd in the palm of his hand.

Best place to hear the Beatles

Performing at Echo Park Lake in the waning light of the day, Claire McKeown and her vocal ensemble Honey Child unveiled their rapturous choral arrangements of Fab Four songs as a precursor to a screening of the film “A Hard Day’s Night.” Sounds of laughter, shades of life, indeed.

Crunchiest 1-2 punch

The Echoplex on Saturday was the best place to get your rock on, and the early-evening sets by Liily (playing their new “I Can Fool Anybody in this Town” EP) and Guards (highlighting their new album “Modern Hymns”) lit a spark in the room that would become a full-on conflagration by the time Cosmonauts took over.

Best out-of-venue experience

The scene might have been the astringently lit corner of Little Joy, but the vocals of Jess Joy suggested she was singing to birds and butterflies fluttering around her. Of the direction she is taking after the demise of the band Moon Honey, she says: “I’ve been dreaming of expansive, soft water lately — in waking life, I am searching for and to be a source of healing. Being a part of a free local festival like Echo Park Rising was an opportunity to be seen as I am, vulnerable in my desire to connect to my community. Here we are in one of the most progressive and creative-filled cities in America in a crucial moment — I hope we can uplift each other and create a movement.”

Super-est supergroup

Patrick Nolan and the guys in Perfection soundtracked a lot of booty-shaking on the Libery Stage as the sun went down. Most memorable: The song about “growing a moustache for the first time.”

Best time for an encore

For the music released under her own name and in the indie-rock trio Alyeska, Alaska Reid has been a songwriter to watch ever since she arrived in L.A. as a teenager from her native Montana. Reid started her set at Little Joy right at her prescribed time, 5 p.m. (None other than Lauren Ruth Ward was trying to shush the crowd that had just witnessed rowdier fare from Badtalkers.) Without fuss, Reid completed her six-song set and then asked the time. It was 5:17. With a little cajoling, Reid returned to do two more songs.

Best party swag

Pink $ock brought the fun at the Echo, baiting people to dance so they should be rewarded with T-shirts. “There’s more shiiiirts,” they taunted. At least you got something to remember them by.

Best adventures in drumming

The sets by both the Gooms (at Little Joy) and The End (at Sick City Records) were delayed at the start. The Gooms said, “We’re waiting for our drummer, as usual.” The End murmured, “Should we get our drummer?” Both arrived momentarily. There was a moment of levity when Badtalkers’ Christian Edusada busted one of his sticks. “I got those at the Dollar Store,” he explained. “In the kids’ section.”

Best backdrop

At Sick City Records, the likes of Space Fountain, The End and Duderella all played against a backdrop of T-shirts hung on the wall: The Cramps, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne and . . . wait for it . . . A-ha?

Best Kevin

One thing we can state with some degree of certainty: There are too many Kevins. But now there’s one more. Kevin is the new side project from Kimi Recor (Draemings), Quincy Larsen (Cat Scan) and Julian Smith, who just released their first single, “Bike.” Asked Recor before their set at Little Joy: “How many Kevins do we have in the audience? Raise your hand if your name is Kevin. One. Two. Five. Seven. We have seven? Well, we won’t hold it against you if your name is Kevin.” Thanks for that.

Best nod to our forebears

What was it like to play Echo Park Rising? Kianah Jay, aka TwoLips, the artist who grew up on Native American lands in New Mexico, said after her set at Little Joy: “It means a lot to be here on Yaanga tribal lands at the best festival in Los Angeles.”