Summer Camp 2015 Thoughts & Photos From Camp Counselor Carmel

Sometimes it feels like my whole year revolves around Summer Camp Music Festival. In the months leading up to the fest I prepare, gather my crew, blog, and scheme on how I can counsel my fellow SCampers. It helps that this event kicks off festival season for most Midwesterners and, after a long winter, it seems like everybody could use some sunshine and good times. The 15th Annual Summer Camp kicked off at noon on Thursday, May 21 when gates opened and the Pre-Party peeps moved in with their tents and canopies. The expansion of the woods was one of the biggest improvements from years past. The thick overgrown brush and dead trees that used to cover the ground was cleared out, allowing for almost double the amount of shaded camping space within Three Sisters Park. Left over sticks and twigs were then used to create a nest that served as an entrance to the Camping Stage. This was one of many new art installations at Summer Camp this year. They even had a wood carver sculpt musical instruments and notes into tree stumps scattered throughout the woods. The Thursday Pre-Party is usually a day for local Midwest talent to shine, especially since the Moonshine and Sunshine stages don’t host any sets until Friday. The first act I got to see was Chicago Funk Mafia, an explosively talented young group of musicians who won Summer Camp’s On the Road Show competition in Chicago just a few months back. I spent the rest of Thursday bouncing from show to show and getting down with all my Summer Camp friends. Family Groove Company killed their sunset set with the help of a full horn section, then Floodwood threw down some stellar Grateful Dead music, but the highlight of my night was walking into The Werks just as they began to cover The Who’s “Eminence Front.” I then caught Future Rock and just danced the night away until I ended up passing out in a hammock in the woods.

  Friday was the first official day of the festival, and Camp Counselor responsibilities ate away at my early afternoon, not that that’s a bad thing. For example, the day kicked off with most of the counselors gathering at the Moonshine Stage to introduce moe. before their opening set. I got there early to check out some of the new food vendors and noticed the whole top of the hill was roped off and they weren’t letting ANYONE near the stage. I pleaded with a man in an orange vest that read SAFETY TEAM as I downed an order of poutine fries, but he wasn’t having it. Minutes later he got the OK to let us through and hundreds of people came running down the hill, colliding at the rail in front of the stage. It was quite a sight to see, and the level of excitement was palpable as all of us counselors took to the stage to introduce moe. as a group. This was my first time actually on a stage of that size with a crowd of people staring back at me. The energy radiating from them was unlike anything in this world.   After catching most of moe.’s set, I headed over to the Ferris wheel for an interview with Janis Wallin of Family Groove Company. Now, Janis is one of my favorite artists and has played Summer Camp since as far back as I can remember, so I was thrilled she wanted to do this interview with me – especially after she shared that she was really scared of heights. But like a good counselor, I helped her get over her fear and brought a Go-Pro camera, as well as a microphone to document our experience. Stay tuned for that footage… With my Camp Counselor duties done for  the day, I dedicated my night to my favorite band – Umphrey’s McGee! Thankfully, Friday of Summer Camp 2015 offered a rare treat – 3 sets of Umphrey’s in one night. Something like this only happens on really special occasions like NYE, but the deletion of Umphrey’s Sunday afternoon set combined with the addition of Godboner featuring Gene Ween threw a curve ball into the traditional Summer Camp formula. Umphrey’s, of course, killed it. This band runs like a well oiled machine. Fresh off their Vegas Umbowl shows, their inspiration was unstoppable as they kicked back at their home fest. Getting to take photos of Umph is a whole different ball game for me, and I love watching the band’s personalities shine through along with their notes. After 15 minutes the photographers were cleared from the pit, so I snaked my way through a sea of people and found my crew posted half-way between the sound board and the rail. The weather was perfect and the energy was spot on. Godboner with Gene Ween was quite possibly the highlight of the year for Umphrey’s, who have be experimenting with the art of the sit in and flexing their diverse musical muscles on a fairly regular basis. By the time Saturday rolled around, my main focus was seeing as much music as possible. I kicked things off with Turbo Suit at the Sunshine Stage. Then, after checking out my homies in Spread bust out some crunchy jams, I headed over to the VIP Lounge to see Victor Wooten host one of the best super-jam collaborations of the weekend. The fact that STS9’s bassist Alana Rocklin joined in the fun was the cherry on that delicious late afternoon cupcake. Later I discovered a young group called The Way Down Wanders at the Camping Stage. Their versatility and agility proved them to be one of the best up-and-coming virgin acts on Summer Camp’s 2015 lineup, and I will definitely try to check them out later this summer. I met up with Umphrey’s once again at the Sunshine Stage on Saturday, and realized this was going to be my first Summer Camp as a counselor where I was able to catch every set of Umph. I didn’t bother taking photos this time around, and without my camera hanging from my neck, I finally got to rage hard with my home crew. We’ve been coming to Summer Camp for over 10 years now ,and they are probably my favorite part about this festival… well, besides Umphrey’s. The party continued into the wee hours of the morning as STS9 threw down a climactic late night party in the Red Barn. Unfortunately, Sunday I contracted the illness commonly referred to as “wook flu”. It was thusly fitting that I was needed for a filming a music video with Chicago Funk Mafia for their newest release “Wook Love,” after which I headed over to the Soulshine Tent’s Make a Difference area for a special fundraiser in honor of Camp Counselor Jason. I started feeling more and more exhausted as I solicited Campers to participate in the Amazeballs Amusements hole-in-one tournament, and while we had quite an impressive turnout, I was in dire need of nap by the time the event was over. I headed back to my campsite and shut my eyes just for a few minutes, which turned into a few hours and by the time I woke up it was already 11pm. Tragically, wook flu had infiltrated my sinuses and I felt like my head was going to explode. I am almost embarrassed to share this but I didn’t see ANY music on Sunday. So it goes… Overall, this year’s Summer Camp was one for the books. Even with all the changes and growth that this festival has experienced over the years, it still manages to keep its close community vibe. The only thing I can complain about having too much music for one person to tackle. Luckily, there were quite a few of us Counselors covering the whole festival so stay tuned for more coverage! Check out my full photo album on the Captured by Carmel Facebook Page! ]]>