Last Saturday, LoHi Music Festival returned to the streets of Denver for a stellar day of funk that saw performances by The New Mastersounds, TAUK, and The Main Squeeze. After the festival proper wrapped up, friends and fans moseyed over to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom for the official LoHi after party featuring TAUK & Friends and Tiger Party joined by The New Mastersounds’ Eddie Roberts and Thievery Corporation’s Jeff Franca.

After doors opened at 1 p.m., LoHi Music Festival got off to a jubilant start with a performance by Colorado’s own Liver Down The River. The bluegrass-fusion group’s infectious energy was an energized way to kick off the day as attendees began trickling into the festival grounds that had taken over a block of West 32nd Street in Denver’s LoHi district. As The Main Squeeze prepared for their daytime set, DJ Ichisan kept the tunes bumping and the crowd grooving following Liver Down The River’s performance.

Once The Main Squeeze took the stage, the festival was in the full swing of things as attendees packed to the front to check out the Indiana-born quintet in action. The Main Squeeze has been steadily gaining a name for themselves, becoming one of the biggest up-and-comers on the funk scene, and after Saturday’s performance, it became clear as to why. Vocalist Corey Frye has an outstanding voice and commanding presence on stage, while the band—composed of Max Newman on guitar, Ben “Smiley” Silverstein on keys, Rob Walker on bass, and Reuben Gingrich on drums—is beyond tight. Maintaining the line between loose and free-spirited songs and technical prowess isn’t always the easiest, though The Main Squeeze navigated such boundaries with grace and skill during their enrapturing performance.

After another intermediary set break with music provided by Ichisan, TAUK, the funk-fusion quartet from New York City rocked the stage. TAUK’s instrumental numbers brought attention to the immense musicianship of the group’s members across the board, as guitarist Matt Jalbert and keyboardist A.C. Carter weaved their jazz-infused melodies amongst the propulsive rhythm backing provided by drummer Isaac Teel and bassist Charlie Dolan. TAUK maintained a high-energy set for their appearance at LoHi Music Festival, though their sound frequently oscillated between gritty and more light-hearted, adding a degree of sonic diversity to the primarily feel-good performers the festival had sported through the day.

The New Mastersounds, the British funky four-piece hailing from Leeds, England, were tapped to close out the LoHi Music Festival on a high. Though Eddie Roberts makes his home in Denver now and regularly treats Colorado to his expert guitar stylings, it’s always a pleasure when the New Mastersounds’ full lineup makes an appearance in full force. Such was the case on Saturday night as the band worked through their extended set featuring crowd-pleasing favorites culled from the Mastersounds’ expansive catalog of originals and covers (including a hilarious and well-received cover of Bruno Mars’ “Treasure”). With the festival grounds fully packed, the group wasted no time in getting to business, diving right in and showing off their chops, both individually and as a unit. With Simon Allen behind the kit and Pete Shand on bass, the rhythm section was fully dialed in for the performance, leaving Roberts and keyboardist Joe Tatton to drive home the melodies of each number. Despite the technical complexity of their tunes and jazz-inspired improvisation, the group never lost their carefree demeanor on stage, frequently stunning onlookers at how natural their cohesiveness as a unit and skill as individuals appears.

The New Mastersounds tore up the LoHi Music Festival for their festival closing performance, playing right up until the last minute of curfew. Once the final notes were played, the crowd and musicians alike flocked over to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom for the official afterparty, which saw the reemergence of TAUK for a repeat performance with an extended lineup as well as Eddie Roberts, along with Jeff Franca of Thievery Corporation and Casey Russell of the Magic Beans, who joined Tiger Party for the evening. You can check out photos from the festival below, courtesy of Alan Westman, as well as photos from the after-party, courtesy of Gary Sheer.