If you wanted to do, like, all the Lawrence things this weekend, you could’ve. We had Buskerfest, we had the end of school, we had thunderstorms, and we had a surprise Split Lip Rayfield show in the middle of the afternoon.

The band billed themselves as “Constellation Prize,” a moniker created by their bandmate Kirk Rundstrom prior to his death, to keep the show at Lucia under wraps. The folk punk rockers’ “secret” show was not such a secret, as the venue was packed to the gills. You could barely move around, yet there was plenty of space to boogie. Being a holiday weekend, many locals were in the full vacation mode, chowing down on burgers and tots and downing beers. Everyone was there, even your neighbor! It was absolute heaven for local music fans.

Rather than headlining the show in a traditional manner, Wayne Gottstine, Eric Mardis, and Jeff Eaton started off the event with an impressive 90 minutes of nonstop fan favorites (the stamina!), inducing a few singalongs and plenty of stomping about. There are many lovely things about having Split Lip Rayfield in your backyard, but what constantly makes them a favorite is that they find new ways to bring good vibes to the show. Every show is full of the warm fuzzies, but they conjure them up in a new manner each time.

They were joined by another local favorite trio with the word “Split” in their title, Tonganoxie Split. They also know a thing or two about a hootenanny, securing a dedicated fanbase who doted just as hard on them following the Split Lip set.

Photos from the night below, and be sure to catch Split Lip headlining Kaw River Roots Fest on Mass Street this summer.