Nothing says “summer music festival” quite like flipturn’s Lollapalooza set at the Discord stage on July 29. 

For members of the indie-rock band, playing at Lollapalooza was like a dream come true.

“It’s something that we’ve been dreaming of doing for years, and to finally be able to play at Lollapalooza, it was just nuts,” said bassist Madeline Jarman. “It felt great, and it was cool seeing the crowd get into it as well.”

Flipturn’s 40-minute-long performance featured tunes like “Hippies,” “Six Below” and “Chicago,” which was especially popular among festivalgoers. Some newer songs, like “Playground” and “Space Cowboy,” were also included in the setlist. 

Dillon Basse, the vocalist and guitarist of the group, said flipturn has never played “Chicago” for a group as large as Friday’s. He said the band wrote the song years ago, and it was exciting to perform it at Lollapalooza.

“It wasn’t actually about going to Chicago,” Basse said. “Chicago is kind of a metaphor for getting out, seeing the world, you know, just trying to expand what you’re doing. But now that we’re here, it’s taken on a cool meaning. It’s a dream.”

Drummer Devon VonBalson agreed, saying he liked seeing people sway and wave their hands in unison during the tune. 

During their performance, the bandmates danced together, often head-banging and jumping around. The Florida natives described their set as being “new, fun and surreal.”

“Since the crowd is a little further away, we’re just interacting with each other a lot, and we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Jarman said, “and we’re not speaking it, but we’re like, ‘This is awesome, and this is so fun.’” 

According to flipturn, music can be what it needs to be for listeners, but the goal is for audiences to connect with the band’s music and find personal meaning within the tunes. 

“The biggest thing is we just want people to relate to it, literally whatever it is,” VonBalson said. “If they can connect with it and find their own meaning in whatever the songs are, like, I think that’s the biggest part.”

But that’s not to say that the band isn’t aiming to achieve a certain sound with its music, especially as it looks forward to the release of its debut 14-track album “Shadowglow” on Aug. 19. 

“We’re always looking for new ways to make our sound unique to us,” said synth player Mitch Fountain. “But I think this new album is a great representation of what we like and what we like to sound like.”

Lead guitarist Tristan Duncan agreed, saying flipturn’s growth is a never-ending journey. 

“You’re always looking for the next thing, like how to express that thought you have or feeling,” Duncan said. “I think that’s cool about music and writing music and everything. It’s always changing just like life is.”

“Shadowglow” itself will be a journey, Basse said. He added that it will touch upon the light and the dark of the human condition, along with themes of self-actualization. 

“The first song is called ‘The Fall,’” he said, “and it kind of sends you into the album of just like all these different feelings and stories.”

The last tune on “Shadowglow” is called “Orbit,” Basse said, which is a reference to the cyclic nature of the human experience. 

“It’s kind of like, you’re finally peaceful, like, ‘Alright, everything that I feel, like, coming to terms with it,’” he explained. “But then if you start over again, you’re in orbit, and then you fall, so it’s just back into the cycle.”

Duncan said the tune relates to the experience of thinking “you’re better, and you’re not.”

As flipturn prepares to release “Shadowglow,” the bandmates had a few different ideas of how to celebrate, including visiting Disneyland — which is around two hours away from their town — and getting blackout. 

“I think we’re gonna get dinner, get some drinks, maybe order some pizza or something and then maybe do a Disney trip in the future,” Jarman said. 

“We’ll do a sigh of relief in unison,” Fountain agreed, saying, “We’ll sit down on the couch altogether, like a sitcom.”

“Shadowglow”’s release is also an emotional moment for the band members, who have been working on the album for more than two years. 

“I’m gonna cry when this comes out,” Basse said. “Some of these songs are so old for us, you know, so to finally release them, it’s just like, ‘OK, the world has heard it finally.’”

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