The Sundance Film Music Festival

Bad Rabbits Photo: Getty Images

On the first night of Google Music's residency at T-Mobile's Tao pop-up at the Sundance Film Festival, the lead singer of Bad Rabbits, Fredua Boakye said, "Welcome to the Sundance Music Festival!" It took him a few beats to realize his mistake, "I mean film, film festival!"

Boakye needn't have corrected himself. It took me 24 hours in Park City to hear anyone talk about a movie—and only on day three did I meet someone who'd actually seen a film. The crowds—celebrities included—seemed far more interested in gathering the free swag lining Main Street than discussing the finer points of Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. But when they aren't snapping up coveted Sorel boots and getting their nails done, they're lining up to listen to indie bands like Chicago's The Cool Kids and Nashville's The Civil Wars or fighting their way in to teeny tiny venues to catch Drake and Wiz Khalifa.

Sundance has turned into a sort of rehearsal for the spring music festival—and everyone seems perfectly OK with the change in emphasis.