Highlights from this year’s showcase were Asaf Avidan who seems to channel Janice Joplin’s voice through his small male frame. He was followed by the English outfit Madness who entered the stage with the showmanship of WWF wrestlers preparing for a bout. Towels draped around their necks, bowler caps, and one band member even melodramatically sipped a dainty cup of tea as they launched into ska. I’ve never seen a mosh pit as smiley as the one that consumed the front half of the floor space. As the night drew to a close even the jaded industry types couldn’t resist turning their 80’s hit “Our House” into a sing along.

Monday’s closing night performance by the Belgian group Balthazar was my favorite of the festival. Their brand of indie rock a danceable dose of melancholy. I’ve been streaming their newest album Rats on loop and it just keeps getting better. French model Lou Doillon’s venture into music making was much anticipated and drew quite a crowd. On stage dressed androgynously, she wore a fragile smile and performed stiffly but the genetic given grace of having Jane Birkin as a mother makes you a mythical creature despite how you move. Her brand of pop-folk was delivered with a country twang as pronounced as Jolie Holland’s, not bad for a Franco-English gal.