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Festival
Hello SCampers!
This will be my first post as one of your Camp Counselors! I am so excited to be here at the festival and blogging for SCamp. Every year, the week before the fest we find ourselves constantly checking that 10 day report of what kind of weather we will be seeing over the weekend. For some reason it always seems to change every 5 minutes. Before coming to the festival, my +1 sent me this hilarious weather report that I feel is quite accurately how my weekend will go!
I hope you all enjoy it. Here’s JR Johnivan with your weather!
The forecast is looking partially UMmy, with a heady chance of moe. lazers. Possible wailer storms coming in Friday, right around 4:20
which is going to give way to a Level 9 STS watch later on in the evening, eventually ending with some massive dubstep, where on-site reporter Jason Hann will be live in the VIP lounge.
Saturday you’d have to be a conspirator not to love this weather, so make sure to eat your bowl of cornmeal in the afternoon cuz it’s a (karl denson’s) tiny universe out there, or maybe you wanna go with a pizza with THE WERKS on it, before getting an UM, Moe, UM, Moe, and make sure to put them sunglasses on cuz late night Ragbirds will be BRIGHT!!
Then we’ll start off first thing Sunday afternoon with an extended UM watch, before checking out some TAJ MAHAL-like weather – believe me, you’re gonna wanna eat plenty of LETTUCE for this one, oh – did I forget to mention this is Ragbirds season? Hope you have your sunglasses on Sunday too, cuz there will be plenty of Ragbirds crossings out. Thats right about the time we’ll ROCK into the FUTURE , then, we’ll have a 4 hour commercial from our main sponsor, TAB (Cola) before ending the weekend with some moe.
and that is your weather report son!
Enjoy your festy SCampers!
Eric Richards
There is something truly special about those small festivals that have local bands and small crowds. From the very moment we arrived at Beesonstock in Cisne, Southern Illinois, we already became friends with our neighbors to the right; and within a few more minutes became friends with our neighbors to the left. Both nights we arrived towards the late afternoon; enjoying the waning daylight and just slightly cooler weather.
Probably the most distinctive characteristic was the size of this festival, having only one small, wooden stage where all the bands played. I also have to say it was nice to be able to bring your own food and drinks; especially when the whole weekend, including camping cost $20! With a total attendance of 650, the venue was comfortable whether you stayed near the stage or took a break by your car as you played Cornhole, Hillbilly Golf or tried out twin hoops for the first time. Again, this environment just promotes a friendly, almost family-like camaraderie among the attendees.
Mostly local bands play this event, some with great promise. To be honest of the line up this year, I only knew of one band, The Smoke Rings, and they ended the first night with a great performance. It is refreshing to see a woman, Stephanie Smith, rock out the lead vocals. Though the entire band’s talent is evident, especially when they play their originals. The other band that really stuck out on Friday was the South Street Jam Band, especially when they covered one of my favorite bands Tool, with a great rendition of “Sober.”
I was expecting the number of people to increase tremendously on Saturday, but though the number of people did increase, it really wasn’t evident until later on in the night. Even then, it remained the perfect number that allowed everyone plenty of space to get their groove on. The different bands each brought their own sound, and it was a great mix, guaranteed to satisfy any musical palate. Downstate brought a fresh reggae sound to the event, while Cluster Pluck was more traditional blue grass and then SMASH! gave us an electronica, Soundtribe-like jam.
Overall it was a great time and a ton of fun. I feel like I am a culprit of seeking out those bigger festivals with all the big names; but that I shall be no longer! That special something that these small local festivals have is something I urge all of you to check out for yourselves. You will meet some cool people, enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and definitely find some new bands to follow. Rock on Beesonstock, Rock on.
Save for a few puppy pulling wookies dogs are rarely allowed at concerts. At Summer Camp you see the occasional service dog, but for the most part festivals have a strict no dogs allowed policy. This is most definitely not the case at the Bark and Bluegrass Festival in Fort Collins. In fact the dogs are the honored guests with pools and volunteers passing out treats, it is obvious that dogs are most definitely welcome. This is my second year in attendance and of course my dog’s second show. Set in the Civic Center Park in Fort Collins, this is their third year putting on the show to benefit the Larimer Humane Society. This year was a step back from last year’s two-day event with one night of music and a more centralized lineup. Headlined by Emmitt-Nershi Band there was plenty of music and fun to fill up an entire day. All of the members of Emmitt-Nershi have performed at Summer Camp save for bassists Johnny Grubb. Billy with Honky Tonk Homeslice in 2006, Drew Emmitt and Andy Thorn this year with Leftover Salmon have taken the stage in Chillicothe.
I was flying in from Vermont for work, so I raced up to town to catch Bluegrass Delta Force at 4 PM. The Bluegrass Delta Force are a traditional string group that really impressed. Former WhiteWater Ramble fiddle player Adam Galblum was prominent in their mix, which was nice. As a group they are incorporating great talent and awesome song selection. They were given a hour and a half slot to play meaning they really got to stretch their musical legs in the show and really show the crowd whey they were all about. The highlight of their set was a version of Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” sung by bassist Andrew Bonnis.
For anyone who has been to Hodi’s Half Note in Fort Collins it’s likely that you saw a stout beardo behind the soundboard, what many including myself did not know is that Jeremy Grant fronts the band Turn 4. This Greely based act was a blend of rockabilly, alt country, and bluegrass. They have an intense style to their playing while maintaining solid musicianship. Taking influence from Dylan, Tom Waits, Rolling Stones, and Waylon Jennings, it’s obvious to anyone watching that they are a personified tapestry of all of their heroes. Along with a slew of originals they also busted out their version of the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” and Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar.”
As the sun set over the park it was time for the Leftover Salmon, String Cheese Incident intermingle Emmitt-Nershi Band. The raw talent of this group is enough get any fan excited, not to mention the fact that the group also includes banjo master Andy Thorn as well as John Grubb on bass. This was my first time seeing them with Grubb and he held down the beat incredibly well. Save for one or two ENB songs, the setlist was mainly comprised of Salmon and Cheese tunes which really seemed to delight the crowd. They opened with “Gold Hill Line” Additional highlights of their almost two hour set included a massive “Restless Wind”, a beautifully Emmitt sung “Down In The Hollow”, and a popping version of “Johnny Cash”. This was by far the best show I’ve seen from EMB and I was incredibly happy they were chosen to headline this fest. Bark and Bluegrass is such a unusual premise for a festival. Sitting beside my pup and listening to some incredible bluegrass is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins. They encored with a fun and relaxed “Barstools.” I would highly recommend to any pet or music lover to make the trek to Bark and Bluegrass. It is truly a unique event in Northern Colorado.
Featuring an eclectic mix of jam-band gurus, hip hop heroes and electronic wizardry marching on the front lines of the inaugural Summer Set Music Festival party line, this weekend’s fest. should be a helluva throw down for Wisco (as my new Scamp friends from Wisconsin told me to enunciate their beloved home state). Aside from headliner’s Pretty Lights, Umphrey’s McGee, Big Gigantic, NAS, Blackstar and YelaWolf– the sure-fire hot commodities certain to raise a ruckus, the up-and-comers on the bill round this fest out nicely. With the added touch of a little reggae roots rock from John Brown’s Body and the electronic prowess of beat masters Bonobo and RJD2, this assorted grab bag of musical savvy is genius on the part of the festival organizers.
More and more, we’re seeing the blending of musical genres at what were once dubbed with inherently jam-band musical talents and it’sa true testament to our generation and the performers spreading their wings to see such a variety of performers share their craft at such a unique event. While electronic music has certainly been a part of the mix for sometime, the last year has truly brought the on-slaught of hip hop into the music festival scene. (and I like it!!) Mos Def & Talib Kweli after a nasty 2 hour UM set– yes please!
And yes, for their kick-off fest. Summer Set was able to snatch up long-time Summer Camp electronic-funk-jam gurus Umphrey’s McGee. The boys have been on fire this year (see my earlier post HERE), throwing down late night performances and into the morning sets at Bonnaroo, Hangout Music Festival and of course the sick nasty three-part performances at Summer Camp Music Festival this year. I can’t wait to hear what they have up their sleeves for Summer Set which will be followed by an East Coast run my way to play at one of our many hometown breweries Pisgah Brewing Company.
For all you Summer Set goers– enjoy the boogie and I’ll catch up with you after the boys throw down at Pisgah after! Onward and upward ~Tiffany
The date was Saturday, August 10th. The place was Fort Collins, CO. And the show was the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Dear lord. If anyone can show me a better husband and wife guitar duo, I’ll buy you a late night ticket to SCAMP 2012…While Tedeschi Trucks was not the only act to play that night, they were certainly the headliners of the Bohemian Nights Music Festival held for FREE by the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. What a beautiful thing. Probably the best slide guitar player in the world and its free. Just sayin, all other cities out there…
Anyway, I was there not only for Tedeschi Trucks, but also for my buddies, the Fox Street Allstars who had the opportunity to open for the big guns. I’m sure I’ve mentioned Fox Street before, but if I haven’t go check them out here: www.foxstreetallstars.com Rumor has it they’ll be touring this winter with another SCAMP artist that I can’t really talk about so if you see their name on a bill make sure you get a ticket. If you need any convincing I’m pretty sure Derek Trucks was on the side of the stage for the performance and I’m pretty sure I saw his mouth move in the shape of “Holy shit, these guys are good, we better bring the thunder…” I could easily be mistaken.
Whether or not I was, bringing the thunder is exactly what the Tedeschi Trucks Band did. I’m not sure, but I think there were 11 people on stage playing and it was awesome. Derek, as I mentioned, is probably the best slide guitar player in the world…so much control and such an interesting right hand technique…I hear he just kind of picked up the guitar at 5 and just knew how to play it…probably why he was touring with and opening for the Allman Brothers at age 14. If you don’t listen to Derek Trucks, check him out. His wife, Susan Tedeschi is no guitar slouch herself, mostly strumming and singing with the voice of an angel who loves to drink, she has the ability and often does rip great blues guitar solos. Together these two make some amazing music and I for one am super jealous of the musical opportunities that will no doubt be available to any and all of their children they may have or will have…but I digress. In addition to an amazing show, the technical side of it was super cool as well. With a great light rig, and the sun setting just before they took the stage, we were all treated to a wonderful visual display, I’ve included a pic…I especially liked the hanging LED strips…
The show was amazing; the horn players each had their time to shine, each back up vocalist got an opportunity to sing lead, a very democratic band if I’ve ever seen one. Most of the songs they played came off their new album, Revelator, which I’ve had stuck in my CD player for a few months straight now…If you ever get the chance to see Derek Trucks, even if you aren’t into his music, go see him play. In my opinion, it’s just phenomenal to watch anyone who is great at whatever it is they are doing, and as one of the greatest guitar players of our generation, I’d have to say Derek Trucks falls into that category.