What started as a belated Valentine’s Day gift to Passion Pit lead singer Michael Angelakos’ girlfriend at the time, soon evolved into a band that has played festivals like Ultra and Coachella, and whose songs have been featured in films like “Carrie.”
On Sunday, the band will headline Coastline Festival on Sunday in West Palm Beach.
The synthpop band has had the opportunity to perform at several festivals as well as headline their own shows. Keyboardist and guitarist Ian Hultquist said he enjoys both, but finds festivals a little nerve-wracking.
“I love going to festivals,” said. “But there are so many things that can go wrong, so I kind of find comfort in our own shows. But I still think festivals are super cool and they’re always fun.”
The group was in Ultra Music Festival’s 2010 lineup. Since then, they have played festivals like Coachella.
“I thought, as far as dance festivals go, it was really cool,” Hultquist said. “It’s just not really the scene that we usually play to.”
Passion Pit’s success came rather quickly. After forming in 2007, the band released its first studio album in 2009, which included hits like “Sleepyhead.” Its second studio album, “Gossamer,” was released in 2012 and includes popular tracks like “Take A Walk” and “I’ll Be Alright.” Some of these songs have been featured in commercials, TV shows and movies.
“It’s a great thing, the fact that your music can reach so many different people, like that is really cool,” Hultquist said.
Angelakos has written and composed every track on both of the group’s albums. He also penned a recent blog post on Passion Pit’s website – passionpitmusic.com – that caused a bit of a stir. After several musicians cancelled shows for various reasons, Angelakos published a post about why bands cancel shows, and he aimed to clarify certain misconceptions about how the music industry works. However, some readers weren’t accepting of what the musician was trying to communicate, which led to a follow-up blog post.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how many different factors go into putting on a show,” Hultquist said. “There are so many different people involved … Michael just kind of wanted to share a different side of how things are and I’m actually kind of glad it came out.”
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COASTLINE FESTIVAL
Where: Cruzan Amphitheatre,
601 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach
When: Noon on Sunday, Nov. 10
FOR MORE INFORMATION visit coastlinefestival.com.
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