Chromeo Bring the Funk to SweetWater 420 Fest 2026 in Atlanta

Westside Park (aka Shirley Clarke Franklin Park) in Atlanta, Georgia played host to the venerable SweetWater 420 Fest over the weekend of April 17 and 18 with multiple notable artists hitting the stage such as Umphrey’s McGee, Thievery Corporation, and Watchhouse.

However, despite not closing out either night of the show—those honors went to Umphrey’s McGee on the 17^th and Thievery Corp. on the 18^th—Chromeo undoubtedly delivered one of the best performances of either night on Saturday, as the Funklordz played their singular brand of suave electronic funk buoyed by the songwriting talents of lead singer and lyricist Dave 1 and the arranging and keyboard wizardry of P-Thugg.

Chromeo has long purveyors of the kind of music that true gentlemen understand: sophisticated, elegant, and insouciant with plenty of humor and equal amounts of romanticism, with melodies and instrumentation that will stay with you for days.

Those talents were on full display during a short, hour-long set at 420 Fest. Dave intimated during the set that they were not necessarily planning on performing any time soon (as evidenced by the lack of Chromeo merch available at the Fest), as they are hard at work on the follow-up to their 2024 album, Adult Contemporary.

While they only played a total of 12 songs, 14 if you include two medleys, each one was a delight for both neophyte fans and dedicated Funklordz, as the group played an impressive cross-section of material from their six studio albums over 20 years of existence. Peep the full set list:

“Intro”
“Fancy Footwork”
“Juice”
“Bonafied Lovin'”
“Hot Mess”
“Replacements”
“Night by Night” / “Come Alive”
“Must’ve Been” / “Momma’s Boy
“Over Your Shoulder”
“Old 45’s”
“Lost and Found”
“Jealous (I Ain’t With It)”

It was a beautiful night for a festival, and Chromeo delivered some buttery smooth tunes as well as a tremendous energy and camaraderie, thanks to fun stage banter and obvious chemistry between them via decades of friendship (as well as Dave’s claim of them being the “only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture.”)

Some set highlights included the always popular “Fancy Footwork,” though I actually prefer the track that follows that song up on the group’s 2007 breakout album of the same name: “Bonafied Lovin’”.

A number of tracks from the duo’s 2014 album, White Women, also served as highlights, including the rarely heard “Over Your Shoulder,” which is a bedroom jam of the highest order, all silken basslines, smooth guitar figures, and sultry lyrics that celebrate the female form in all its glory.

The group played a number of newer tracks too, with “Replacements” allowing P-Thugg to sing the part that was performed by La Roux (aka Elly Jackson) on the album version via his trademark vocoder. Stellar stuff.

As is often the case with the band, they closed out their set with perhaps their most high-energy number: “Jealous (I Ain’t With It).” Catchy, danceable, and still supremely funky, there was no better way to cap off a terrific performance than with this show-stopping number that had everyone in attendance bouncing in unison for the final chorus.

The Funklordz Jam On

Chromeo certainly know how to put on a great show, and it certainly felt like they should have been the headliners, despite one other group going on after them (sorry, Thievery Corporation).

While Chromeo fans eagerly anticipate a new album (probably in like two years, natch), for one brief set at SweetWater 420 Fest, those expectations were set aside and an hour’s worth of top-flight funk simply washed over them. All troubles, obligations, and stresses were left behind at the gates, and the mantra for the night—and hopefully every night thereafter—became: “funk forever, motherfucker.”

^{All Photos Courtesy Chris Guest}