Summer Camp Music Festival has become my annual “home base” – this has happened quickly since my first full weekend camping and experiencing the muddy, fantastical wonder that was Summer Camp 2013.
The miles of walking I do over the 4-day event pair with familiar faces and a growing family that welcome me back every year and provide me with a feeling of connectedness that I unknowingly longed for before attending this, or any, festival.
This year, I earned the chance to play an even bigger part in Summer Camp when I was chosen to be a Camp Counselor, a position I’d been interested in since I learned of it back in 2013. My experience with photography and journalism paired with my undying love for Summer Camp and interest in EDM (yes, I was at Krewella), are what I think made me a good candidate for one of the positions – and I’m very glad it did!
Wednesday, May 20 kicked off my Summer Camp experience in the General Admissions Lot “Pre-Pre Party,” giving me a chance to interact with some of the most dedicated and passionate SCampers I’ve ever met. Lines were formed at the gate even before I arrived at 11 p.m., and despite the nearly 13 hour wait (and perhaps even longer) some had dedicated themselves to, spirits remained high and the excitement remained fervent until the gates opened and the real festivities began.
Thursday morning greeted me with a loud, “I’M F@#&ING HOME” by a veteran SCamper carting his stuff to a prime spot in the fields in front of the Moonshine Stage (the best area to camp, and I’ll defend that to the end. Not too loud, not too quiet, PLENTY of room). His call was responded to by several people scattered throughout the nearby camps, “We’re all home!” “Welcome back!” and “WE MADE IT!” and I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be.
My first Camp Counselor meeting allowed me to meet returning Counselors and get an idea of what I would be doing throughout the festival. Armed with words of encouragement and my beloved Nikon D7000, I headed out to see what I could find.
Much of my day was spent wandering between stages and in-between campsites, enjoying the transformation as tents were quickly erected and spaces became heavily filled with festival goers. The positivity in the air was palpable, it felt good to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.
Abnormous was the first set I had a chance to catch, the funky feel-good band founded in the city I live in, Champaign, Ill. After a good amount of dancing, I headed over to the Soulshine Tent for some lessons on gardening, useful guides I’ve been able to bring back and apply to my own garden I’ve started at home.
I’m pleased to admit that my arrival at the Campfire Stage at 9 p.m. introduced me to a new favorite band I’d heard of but never had a chance to really listen to: The Werks. I shared a scrunched-faced, squinty-eyed look saying, “this is
really good,” with the girl dancing next to me and grooved along for the whole set.
I was hoping to make it into the Red Barn for Dopapod’s set or Manic Science (OH how I wish I tried harder to see Manic Science!) later in the night, but the lines were long to make it in and my body was starting to feel the lack of sleep and amount of walking I was definitely not accustomed to. So, I called it a night and headed back to my campsite, now 5 canopies deep and surrounded by tents of some of the greatest people I’ve met – time for sleep.
On Friday, us Camp Counselors lined up on-stage at Moonshine to help introduce moe. and ourselves, which was one of the very few times I have found myself on stage facing the crowd rather than a part of it. Despite my mild nervousness, the hugs and openness I was greeted with by passing Scampers as I made my way down front to watch moe. perform ended up making me feel pretty awesome. Still, I think I’ll stick mainly to being up front in the photo pit – it’s more my style.
The rest of the day had me pretty much orbiting the Starshine Stage and the Vibe tent, exposing my love for electronic hip-hop music as I filled my ears with the jams of Dopapod, seamless live drum, keyboard and Ableton collaborations at Break Science, eclectic mixture of Papadosio, and ending it with a high-energy dance party as Manic Focus killed it on stage.
Saturday morning saw me dragging as I nursed myself back to health from the constant dancing during the two days past, and despite my desire to make it to the 6 a.m. Destructo set, or even the late morning yoga or hula-hooping lessons, I decided to just resign myself to sprawling out on the ground and chatting with my friends about their experiences at camp so far.
Honestly, some of my favorite parts of going to Summer Camp Music Festival are the moments when my whole crew is back at the campsite. Our collective experiences apart provides for some of the funniest and most outrageous stories I’ve heard in my life, meaning there’s never really a dull moment even if I’m not trekking to another stage or running off to find another workshop to attend.
While the music plays a big role at Summer Camp Music Festival (and all music festivals for that matter), I decided that I really wanted to dedicate much of my time to exploring the people, “regular” festival attendees, that play a huge part in shaping what Summer Camp is and why it is so magical.
I spent Saturday exploring the forest and introducing myself at different campsites to find out why they enjoy Summer Camp. The responses I got were surprisingly similar, despite the wide variety of reasons and stories behind why someone started going in the first place. The most common answer I got was that SCamp was “home,” and that it gave people a chance to meet with their family they really only saw once a year.
Other SCampers remarked that this festival specifically changed their lives in a positive way, by giving them the positivity, overwhelming emotional support and change of perspective they’d been needing (a sentiment I can relate to).
Admittedly, a mixture of being a noob to the program and also a condition of being highly scatter-brained means I wasn’t able to lock down band interviews or event reviews beyond the music festival as a whole like the Camp Counselor veterans (and some of the newbies like me, which I can’t wait to read!) But, after this experience I’m confident in the chances that will come in the time between Summer Camps to link up with artists that have played there before, so keep an eye out for blogs to come!
My overall experience at Summer Camp 2015 was one I know I will never forget, and also one of the best times of my life. Reflecting on it still gives me chills of happiness, and the memories and the people I met will be able to get me through my “real world” struggles as I count down the days until I’m able to return home.
I took photos during the event, which you can view on my Facebook page
here. I’m also working on a Camp Counselor re-cap video, although this is my first time actually doing videography so it might take a while to get completed!
Huge thanks to everyone I have met and will meet in connection with this festival, because without you my story would not be so vibrant, diverse and amazing. I can’t wait for the adventure to come, and I’m glad you’re able to join me!
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