COLUMBUS, Ohio – Duran Duran proved its endurance at its expansive WonderBus music festival performance on Friday night, providing a fitting kickoff for the festival experience.
The first night of the festival also featured opening acts Daisy the Great, Cannons and Tayls, but Duran Duran absolutely stole the show. The new-wave icons drew the biggest crowd the Columbus music festival has yet seen.
And this happened on a new day for the fest. At its previous editions in 2019 and 2021, WonderBus was limited to Saturdays and Sundays. This time around, the Elevation Group -- the organization which puts on both WonderBus and WonderStruck music festival in Northeast Ohio -- upped Columbus’ event to include a third day. (Well, really, two-and-a-half days; after all, the Friday show didn’t kick off until 7 p.m.)
Ahead of the event, a winding line of ticket holders stretched blocks away from the entrance at the venue, the Lawn at CAS, with plenty of Duran Duran t-shirts spotted in the crowd. Once they got into the festival grounds, those fans gathered in front of the Music Elevates stage, largely missing Cannons’ vibey set which immediately preceded the headlining spot.
(Photo by Annie Nickoloff, cleveland.com)
Lots of those fans arrived from out of town; spotted in the crowd was Cleveland’s own Annie Zaleski, who last year penned a book about Duran Duran’s album “Rio” for the acclaimed 33 ⅓ series.
Zaleski noted the band’s boundless energy on the WonderBus stage:
“First off, the setlist was such a great mix of fan-favorites like ‘Hold Back the Rain’ and ‘Careless Memories,’ and of course hits like ‘Reflex’ and ‘A View To Kill,’” Zaleski said. “It was such a joy to see so many people super into the show, and how much fun the band was having onstage too. You could just tell they were in a really lighthearted mood and really feeding off the audience.”
That energy was reciprocal based on the band’s many screaming fans, several of whom held up homemade signs in the front rows of the audience.
(Photo by Annie Nickoloff, cleveland.com)
Duran Duran fans have always found ways to show up and celebrate their favorite band. Earlier this year, they all but ensured that the group came in first place in the Rock Hall’s fan vote, beating Eminem (who came in second place) by more than 250,000 votes. (Don’t worry – Eminem also ended up getting into the Rock Hall this year.)
Those fans have stuck around with the band for good reason – even if singer Simon Le Bon made some jokes about the band’s history:
“Anyone here since 1981?” he asked the crowd on Friday night, checking in on who had followed the band the longest. Then, he laughed out, “Liars!”
At this outdoor festival show, timed a few decades after the band’s heyday, Duran Duran sounded and looked as tight as it ever has, with Le Bon’s swift sweeps of the stage, ripping solos from bassist John Taylor and guitarist Dominic Brown, boppy performances by keyboardist Nick Rhodes and on-point beats from drummer Roger Taylor. Occasional saxophone parts and background vocals got things even more funky.
(Photo by Annie Nickoloff, cleveland.com)
Mega-hits like “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” had thousands of audience members moving, while an impassioned performance of “Ordinary World” was dedicated to Ukrainian citizens.
The band’s newest songs were well-received too, including two tracks – “Invisible” and “Give It All Up” – from its 2021 album “Future Past.”
Sure, the group got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame based on past successes, but this is a band that’s continued to put out solid releases and put on solid shows in the 40-plus years since first forming.
Clearly, based on its massive WonderBus performance, Duran Duran still holds up.
WonderBus continues on Saturday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 28. Single-day tickets remain available, starting at $70, at wonderbusfest.com/tickets.
Read more: What to know before you go to WonderBus music festival in Columbus
See more photos from the first day of WonderBus in the gallery at the top of the article.
Get a jumpstart on the weekend and sign up for cleveland.com’s weekly “In the CLE” email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to do in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Just click here to subscribe. All cleveland.com newsletters are free.