Photo by Kristine Condon[/caption]
By Thursday everyone was high on the vibe when the gates finally opened and we staked out our camping spots. My SCamp crew has been camping together for ten years now and we always try to set up shop in the woods by the Camping Stage. Though we have tried our best to keep certain traditions, we’ve definitely evolved over the years. Now that we are older, most of us can afford VIP tickets and with that upgrade comes showers, as well as daily trips to the VIP Lounge for adult beverages. I can still remember the days of not having a 21+ wristband and using baby wipes to get by all weekend. Needless to say, the struggle was real back then.
One of my assignments as a Counselor this year was to live stream videos of the festival throughout the weekend. This was mainly to help ease the FOMO (fear of missing out) of those who couldn’t make it this year. Part of the reason I took on this challenge was because many peeps from my crew weren’t able to make it to SCamp and I knew how badly they wished they could be there. I missed having them around to join in the festivities. My crew is hands down my favorite part about coming to Summer Camp and spending time at our campsite regressing to our younger selves always makes my soul shine.
This year I really wanted to dig deeper into the Make A Difference area at Summer Camp, so on Thursday I spent an hour volunteering at the Yodeladies booth in the non-profit area by the Soulshine Tent. I plan on writing more about this experience in the future, but I just want to comment on how AMAZING the moe. community is. Yodeladies is a group of women that supports other women. They provide a safe place for females to gather at festivals like Summer Camp and they pass out free condoms, as well as personal hygiene items in exchange for a small donation. Next to their booth was the Happy Hour Heroes, which is a group of moe. fans that provide support and daily meetings for those who choose to rage sober. Both of these non-profit booths are an excellent example of why the moe. community is a shining star within the jam scene. The fact that these people volunteer their time to keep us safe and healthy while at Summer Camp is so inspiring and just a small example of why moe.rons rule.
[caption id="attachment_23465" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo by Kristine Condon Photography
Non-Profit Row at Summer Camp Music Festival[/caption]
Summer Campers are very diverse. What I’ve come to learn over the years is that the common denominator that unites our community is the music and this year’s lineup was one of the best the fest has had to date. The Thursday Pre-Party roster could have been a festival all within itself with a mixture of Greensky Bluegrass and a funky Lettuce Late Night kicking things off. The rest of the weekend brought tons of flavor with everything from EDM to classic rock. The tradition of moe. and Umphrey’s McGee headlining Summer Camp provided a jamcentric reference point, but the wild cards were what really made this festival special. Between Excision and Jason Isbell, there was truly something for everyone.
The community element of Summer Camp trickled down to virtually every stage with sit-ins going down multiple times a day. You don’t see these types of collaborations at any other festival and these special moments are something veteran SCampers like myself live for. This year I witnessed Jake Cinninger sit-in with Earphorik, Vinnie Amico crush it with Aqueous, Joel Cummins take on bluegrass with Greensky, Allie Kral throw down with moe., Keller Williams improvise with EOTO, and I even got to see Tauking McGee smash their guitars in Red Barn.
Check out the full video of that epic moment here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k289cTSPcY4
Just like real life, Summer Camp isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. I was dosed with some pretty heavy life experiences recently and there was something about coming to Summer Camp this year that felt like an escape from the real world. After loosing one of my mentors to suicide just a few weeks ago, my emotions were overflowing when Umphrey’s busted out “No Diablo” during their Sunday set. I ended up shedding a tear underneath my dark black sunglasses but I didn’t want to draw attention to my pain, so I left the show early and wandered into The Main Squeeze’s set at the Starshine Stage. Being able to turn off the part of my soul that was hurting by dancing in the sunlight was just the medicine I needed at that moment. There is undoubtedly a healing element to live music that is better than any drug I’ve ever taken.
Later on Sunday I ventured over to the Red Barn for the Make A Difference Celebration featuring the Everyone Orchestra. This is basically a band made up of many different musicians whose bands play throughout the weekend at Summer Camp, directed by the ever-talented Matt Butler. Every aspect of this show is off the cuff and the magic of group improvisation gleamed through each song they composed on the fly. This year, Camp Counselor Derek was given the unique opportunity to conduct a song in front of hundreds of people and it was exhilarating to see him up on stage taking the lead.
Check out the video I took of the performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XldMXkktVYA
By the time the weekend came to a close, I was forever grateful for the community that surrounds this festival and for the support they show each other. From the Soulshine Tent to Field Day, there were countless opportunities to meet new friends and celebrate all that makes us great. Year after year I come back to Summer Camp with high expectations and each time I’m blown away by the all the unique elements that make this fest come together. I have no doubt next year will be just as good, if not better.
Check out my full photo album from Summer Camp Music Festival 2016:
Posted by Captured by Carmel on Saturday, 11 June 2016
