Song Spotlight: Adriana McCassim's Rust (an evening at Echo Park Rising, Sticky Rice stage)

Adriana McCassim was one of the artists playing Echo Park Rising that I circled. Even though I was attempting to photograph as many bands / singers as possible on Saturday as I was one of the official festival photographers, there were a handful of bands / singers that I intended to see their full sets. So I got to Sticky Rice (Spirit Indoor stage) when she was setting up and stayed until the final notes. The reason I wanted to catch a full set was that way too much time had passed since I last saw a set and that was simply not acceptable. 

Adriana McCassim at Echo Park Rising

Back in 2023, I listed McCassim as one of my favorite new finds of the year. I wrote down that she "has those raspy vocals and hey, she’s from Carolina. I lived in Durham for a short period of time. Hopefully, she’s on the right side of the Duke-Carolina rivalry. If not, I don’t know, I might need to redo this list." Okay, even if she is a Carolina fan, that is forgivable. 

What did I notice: I already knew this, but she sings with the best snarl in Los Angeles. 

Comment of the set: the club is happening behind me right now. 

Adriana McCassim at Echo Park Rising

There were some tight quarters around that section of Echo Park Rising. Next door to Sticky Rice was  the El Prado bar and an outdoor DJ. Across the street, the Fluffy McCloud's stage had to compete directly with Triple Beam Pizza. 

She took the opportunity to feature a number of new songs that will be released on an upcoming record. I do think the music of the DJ distracted her. I believe it was the song "Father's Lawn" where she just forgot the lyrics and started to just laugh. She looked over at her band mate and asked him to finish up singing the song for her. Knowing her struggles as we could all hear the DJ music coming through the windows, everyone in the packed bar cheered her on after each song. 

Adriana McCassim at Echo Park Rising

The song spotlight goes to "Rust," which was released last year. A song about romantic frustration and maybe just wanting to pack up and head back to Carolina. 

Don't rust your love 

Setlist: Honey, All These Other Families, Father's Lawn, This Dance, Rust, Champion, Anna. 

You can catch her next at Healing Force of the Universe on Sunday, Sep 20th.