LouFest has a diversity problem. That much was clear just by glancing at this year’s lineup, which was heavy on inoffensive indie rock and…not much else. Hip-hop? You had to wait until the festival’s final set (though it was more than worth the wait) to see a single MC. R&B? Largely tucked away into the festival’s side stages. Punk? Metal? Nowhere to be found.

But the full extent of the festival’s homogeneity didn’t reveal itself until Moon Taxi’s mid-afternoon set on Sunday, during which I couldn’t escape a nagging sense of déjà vu. The resemblance to Delta Spirit’s performance the day before (on the same stage, no less) was uncanny. But where Delta Spirit brought a reckless abandon to their unfocused Southern rock, Moon Taxi settled for the occasional headbang. It was competent but unremarkable, like so much the festival had to offer.

There were highlights, to be sure—Future Islands’ theatrical synth-poperas, the rip-roaring first half of Arctic Monkeys’ headlining set, Trombone Shorty’s arena rock filtered through New Orleans jazz and funk, and, of course, Outkast—but much of the weekend left me somewhere between mild amusement and boredom.

Often, it was timidity that ruled the day, as bands suffered through identity crises (the Jane Shermans, Young & Sick), monotony (Washed Out) and apathy (Cake), among other maladies. Even Lollapalooza (which is also run by LouFest co-producer C3) manages to slip some fringe acts into its similarly uninspired lineups. But LouFest was maddeningly conservative this year, leaving me desperate for a little debauchery.

Perhaps no artist illustrated LouFest’s vanilla flavor better than Yo La Tengo, who served as a last-minute sub for Kelis. Where the latter’s fiery R&B—which ranges from the futuristic spunk of her Neptunes collaborations to the analog warmth of her most recent work—would have brought some much-needed dynamism to an otherwise staid day, Yo La Tengo only hyperbolized the fest’s shortcomings with an aggressively quiet set that nearly lulled me to sleep before I sought a change of pace. Granted, I’ve never understood the praise heaped upon their meandering, texture-driven tunes, but it was hard to argue that their nuances didn’t get lost in an outdoor setting. As if to punctuate their mediocrity, Cake—or maybe it was Counting Crows, or Barenaked Ladies—followed Yo La Tengo on the Forest Park Stage with all the verve of middle-aged dads at a block party.

But not all is lost, for the cures to LouFest’s ills lie in a few simple steps:

1. Contract the lineup

I appreciate LouFest’s efforts to move into the big leagues, but unless the festival’s hoarding large sums of cash, it simply doesn’t have the budget to construct a quality undercard while still booking big-name headliners. Fortunately, the festival need look no further than its second year, which included one of indie rock’s most eclectic acts (TV on the Radio), dance-punk (!!!), irreverent hip-hop (Das Racist), anthemic bar rock (The Hold Steady) and alt-country (Cat Power). Though the weekend featured only eighteen acts, it boasted the kind of depth and variety this year was sorely lacking.

2. Spend less on headliners

A large part of LouFest’s expansion efforts have centered on its headliners, which now overlap with those of the world’s premier festivals. Problem is, it appears there isn’t much money left for the rest of the lineup, resulting in two top-heavy days stocked with filler. While the festival doesn’t have to abandon its headliner-first strategy entirely, the optimal model might be 2013, during which day one closed with a mid-sized indie stalwart (Wilco), and the second with one of the world’s biggest rock bands (The Killers). Something along the lines of Queens of the Stone Age and Kanye West would do just fine for next year.

3. Take some risks!

Listen, I understand LouFest’s target audience differs vastly from Chicago’s hipster-friendly Pitchfork Music Festival, but the former could learn from the latter in regard to off-the-wall booking. This year’s Pitchfork Fest alone featured everything from disco legend Giorgio Moroder and shoegazing metalheads Deafheaven, to budding art-pop star Grimes. While LouFest doesn’t have to abandon its populist bent, a few eccentrics wouldn’t hurt.

Glaring as its problems may be, LouFest does have a firm grasp on logistics. Aside from some mild sound bleeding, the festival’s location and layout make for a remarkably low-key atmosphere. That’s not to mention wand efficient water-filling station, which remove some of the stresses of larger festivals. Now if LouFest can just fix its lineup, it could be onto something.