Photo of Janelle Monáe © Phillip Angert

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The weather was gorgeous as well as the audience. Young families, older couples, hipsters, casual picnickers and the Giant Step regulars all came out in droves yesterday for Giant Step’s annual SummerStage concert.

José James kicked it off with his unique blend of jazz - a perfect warmup in that sunshine. Next on stage,was rising star Janelle Monáe who rocked the house with her genre defying music, style of dress, throwback shoulder moves, and an exuberance to captivate the entire crowd. Little did they know that she would proceed to crowd surf, and generously toss her jacket and each one of her saddle shoes into the crowd before getting hefted back on stage.

Janelle Monáe Crowd Surfing


Brooklyn’s Little Jackie then took stage, and yes - we agree with you, Imani, the world definitely revolves around you. From her hip hop snark to her powerful voice, Little Jackie brought a swagger to most hips in the audience. And don't worry, when she asked the ladies in joining her to bring their middle fingers up in the air, most children barely noticed.

Little Jackie Performing "Guys Like When Girls Kiss"


The headliner of the day was everybody's favorite: Jamie Lidell, who does things with his mouth that most people don't even understand. In between songs straight from his most recent album, "Jim," Jamie killed it with improvising into filtered mic thingamajigs, working his various laptops, looping his voice live, and bringing the crowd into a dancing trance. And SNAP. He breaks into another track from the album. A perfect roller-coaster of a musical experience.

Did you think we would forget about Gilles? How could we? The international DJ that optimizes cool. The trend-setting and jet-setting Mr. Peterson wasn't merely providing filler between acts, but was a driving force of his own.