I’m Kayla – one of the new Summer Camp Counselors for 2016! This was my third year at Summer Camp and my first as a Summer Camp Counselor – and it was EPIC. I’ve always felt perfectly at home at Summer Camp from the minute I pulled in the gates in 2014. I know, I know – I’m nowhere near a veteran like many, but it was still instantly home. Attending the festival for two years, I never knew how much more SCamp offers than just music, nor did I realize how much goes into creating this amazing experience we keep coming back to.
My boyfriend and I arrived Wednesday evening. After picking up my credentials, we headed over to staff camping to meet the other counselors for our annual counselor potluck (Kevin makes BOMB steak fajitas by the way). It was so nice to get a good night’s rest and be completely ready for the Thursday Pre-Party, which if you’ve been before, you know Thursday is just as packed with amazing artists as the rest of the weekend.As soon as the GA gates opened in the morning we ran toward the woods to get a good spot. We got a spot along the main trail and waited for our friends and everyone else fill in. By the time everyone set up camp, it was evening and time for some festivities! First stop – Conscious Alliance to drop off our 20 canned goods to get this year’s amazing limited edition poster (instead of paying $30, it helps out the local food pantry AND you save a few bucks on the poster)!
The highlight of Thursday was definitely the Way Down Wanderers (from Peoria!). Finishing the night off in the Vibe Tent of course, we caught Manic Focus and then headed out to roam around in the woods – filled with every kind of creature you could think up as well as art installations, beautiful glowing lights, and of course secret sets by some of our favorite artists.
Friday was a HUGE day for me because that meant getting up in front of allllllll of SCamp on the Moonshine Stage, and introducing moe. – the official start to Summer Camp. It was crazy and also an immense miracle I didn’t fall flat on my face in front of thousands. We danced to moe. and was off to Lil’ Dicky. I totally wasn’t going to go, but him being basically the only rapper, I had to check it out. I went in not thinking much, but he was hilarious and totally had the crowd going. I’m definitely glad I didn’t miss it.
After two sets of Umphrey’s, it was back to camp so I could grab my gear for what was next – a wedding. Yes, a wedding. One day I just happened to be scrolling the Facebook Summer Camp group and noticed a post that said: “So this is just an up in the air thing at this point. But, would anyone want to marry me and my beautiful fiancée during Excision? :)” I definitely commented on it and said I would photograph it! Emily messaged me and it was set! She texted me that day and I met her and Kyle at the top of Moonshine.
They were there surrounded by a handful of their best friends waiting by the food trucks. Excision started and it was fantastic. Everyone was so hyped up that two of their closest friends were about to tie the knot – there was one problem – the officiant was no where to be found. We decided to hang out for a while and obviously catch the show down the hill. We waited an hour. They felt so bad and told me I didn’t have to stay, but I was already at the show and it wasn’t like I was wasting my time, so of course I stayed.
Out of nowhere, we see a girl with a guy in a brightly-colored ’90s paint splatter shirt and blue star pants walking around the rim towards us – it was him. As you may know, so many people in one area make cell service nearly almost impossible and that’s exactly what happened. He had been at the show the whole time looking for us. It was time. With lasers and the bass of Excision in the background, they said “I do” and exchanged rings. The ceremony lasted all of about five minutes, but it was perfect. I was so glad I stayed and incredibly happy to be a part of it! Congratulations again Kyle & Emily! (Counselor JoJo also had a wedding this year at SCamp in the church and it was gorgeous! Check it out!)
Friday was the day I also stopped being a baby, faced my anxiety, and decided to go into the photo pits! I have my own company (Emerald Tide Photography) as a professional photographer in Milwaukee, WI and do some social media and marketing work for a few local companies there. That’s one of the amazing privileges of being a Counselor, you get a press pass and access to the pits at almost every show (except for example Tom Petty because, well, he’s Tom Petty). This was literally a dream to be to be right at the feet of artists I love, capturing all of their ridiculous talent. I only had about 5,000 images to go through from the weekend, no big deal. It was also an incredibly scary working with harsh sunlight and lasers and maneuvering around like 20 other (amazing) photographers in a teeny tiny space, but I absolutely loved it.
Saturday I had my first assignment! Campfire Stage is one of my favorite stages since you can literally put your elbows on the stage if you really wanted since it’s a smaller stage (AND there’s shade, yes, SHADE so you can sit and relax and still be close to the music) and that’s where I photographed Church Booty. They are probably not who you’d expect from a name like Church Booty. Described as an R&B soul-funk group, it was super easy of course to get down to them. Even though I had more than enough images, we stayed the whole entire set.
We caught Snails, and then an EPIC performance by SOAP with special guests including Marty Gierczyk, performing David Bowie. This was in the Soulshine Tent, so with a smaller crowd we could feel the sax in our chests and it was fantastic. I really, thoroughly enjoyed it. We then finished off the night with moe.
Sunday the sadness set in that it was the last day, but that of course didn’t stop us from having a great time. I HAD to get in the photo pit for Yonder and it was amazing as expected. Shortly after, we were headed to see a legend – Tom Petty with Mudcrutch, someone who I’d have never seen live if it weren’t for Summer Camp and I’m seriously so thankful for that. We stayed at Sunshine for Big GrizMatik and they did NOT disappoint. Even George Clinton made an appearance on stage. The last set of moe. was a must. No matter how tired we were in the morning, we stayed up as late as possible to catch the last late night vibes in the woods and make as many friends as crossed our paths.
Ohhhh Monday – the worst day ever. Everyone saying their goodbyes, packing up, and getting urged to hurry up and get out since the park is only available to us for a set amount of time. We don’t want to leave, but we have to get out into the real world again and it’s the worst feeling. Whether you pack up like normal, or drag your entire campsite out of the gates by a tarp or air mattress, it’s time to leave. It’s actually a really difficult transition – going from constant happiness, music, and kindness, to who knows what. It’s depressing, but hopefully you leave spreading a little hope and love wherever you go.
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