Painting sonic pictures of sun-soaked desert days, brisk city nights and mellow evenings, blending Spanish flamenco, indie rock, folk and blues, City of the Sun bewitched a quaint crowd Sunday night at the Lodge Room in Highland Park. The instrumental New-York-City-based band played tracks from their upcoming album “Under the Moon” and more.

City of the Sun was joined by Australian indie folk artist Portair, whose stripped-down set featured only his electric guitar and some synth effects to create a mystical, relaxed-yet-contemplative energy. The dreamy bedroom folk music Portair performed warmly welcomed in the crowd as they trickled in during his set. 

He played some of his most popular tracks like “Lying to Myself,” “Afterglow” and “Alaska,” which the crowd reservedly swayed along to. His recently released single, “Flowers For A Home,” was especially engaging with its faster tempo, steady bass drum and psychedelic synth chord progressions. 

Portair closed out his set with “Places,” a cheesy yet uplifting song about moving forward without the past holding you back. Even Portair’s amazing raw vocals couldn’t rescue the song’s cliché nature with the line “Oh, the places you’ll go” repeated in the chorus. Still, he was a great fit to open for City of the Sun. 

He was even brought back to the stage about halfway through their set to perform a mesmerizing cover of “You” by RY X. While the lyrics of the song were mostly limited to “All I see is you” repeatedly, Portair’s vocals were a breath of fresh air for the song that sounded a little flat otherwise.

When City of the Sun took the stage, the crowd quickly flocked toward them as they opened their set with “Un Disparo al Corazón,” featuring a mystifying, steady bass beat and a fingerpicking lead guitar part that felt like it was ripped off of “The Last of Us” soundtrack. The composition was suave and easy to listen to, but sounded unresolved, lacking a real climax.

Similar in tone, “La Luz,” a track off the band’s self-titled 2020 album, packed more of a punch with lead guitarist John Pita warming his fingers up with somewhat exciting riffs. Pita then switched out his acoustic guitar to perform the band’s recently released single, “London,” off of their upcoming album. Steady rhythms from Zach Para on percussion and Matt Fasano on bass shone through in the song, helping to shape an atmospheric and breezy tone.

The band brought the heat and flavor with their newest track, “Hotel Alma.” Written about Athens, Greece, during a relentless heatwave in June 2024, the global influence was present with flashy flamenco-style guitar riffs and choruses, coupled with a groovy bass line.

While the flamenco-inspired fingerstyle from Pita was present in the band’s next song, “Nascosto Nel Mondo,” percussion took a more prominent role as Para took center stage, playing a cajon and adding a dash of liveliness to an otherwise calming tune.

The other guitarist on stage, Marco Bolfelli, hadn’t made much of an impression during the night until the band performed “Everything” from their debut album, “To the Sun and All the Cities in Between.” He and Pita played riffs in harmony and shaped a lush and immersive, folksy sound. Their mastery over their instruments was apparent as the tone and volume from each guitarist never clashed, meshing seamlessly together.

Fitting for a show in Los Angeles, the unreleased track “Angeles” was a groovy crowd pleaser as Pita switched from an acoustic to an electric guitar for the final stretch of the set. Following “Angeles” was another unreleased song, “2021.” With a city-slicker, fiery energy and fun vocals, City of the Sun got down and dirty with riffs and tremolos.

Before rounding out the night, their encore included another unreleased track, “Ella,” which featured a mellifluous motif that was catchy and didn’t get old, no matter how many times the melody was repeated. The last track of the night, “Mumford,” had a coming-of-age, teen-movie-soundtrack vibe, with a heavy yet enjoyable echo-pedal effect and the band members shouting “Hey” in tempo. 

Pita stole the show, shredding on his guitar all night. That momentum carried seamlessly into City of the Sun’s set, leaving the audience recharged with their infectious grooves and impressive technical skill.