Jacklyn Citero

It all started when a much younger Jackie dove into her parents’ record collection, grabbed that trippy Magical Mystery Tour album, and played “Strawberry Fields” over and over again until it was engrained into her soul. She grew up on the dreams and stories of Simon and Garfunkel, “Bleeker Street” being one of her favorites, the seduction of The Doors, Van Morrison, because “Brown Eyed Girl” is definitely her song, and the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Jimi Hendrix…you get the picture. It may not show on the outside, but Jackie has a hippie heart, and that reflects in her musical tastes today. While some of her favorites may or may not be jam bands, her taste in music feeds into many genres. From alternative, Brit, and indie rock - OK, maybe all rock - to pop, to rap, to electronic, she loves it all. As a northerner, she thought she would never understand country until she found herself on a Georgia farm in cowboy boots watching Luke Bryan shake it for her- yeah, she got that. She is a chronic wanderluster, she doesn't believe in guilty pleasures, enjoys a great Moscow Mule, and is an absolute music festival fanatic- you’ll find her wherever the music takes her.

Vinyl Mag’s Favorite Moments of Electric Forest 2015

Posted on July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

There is really no other way to put it…every return to Electric Forest feels like coming home. The Forest is a place where attendees come to be themselves, leave the outside world for a couple of days, become part of a family and be free.

In its fifth year known as Electric Forest, the festival set out to make 2015 its biggest year yet. With a venue expansion and a noticeable increase in capacity, the demand for admittance into these hallowed festival grounds was immense with an estimated attendance of over 45,000, compared to that of 35,000 in 2014. While the overcrowding, overlooked camping logistics, and other issues of the weekend created somewhat of a challenge to many, Electric Forest was still “home” and we were able to share four magical days with our Forest Family.

No two experiences at Electric Forest are a like. Each person comes to the Forest with varying expectations, seeking different experiences, and ultimately walking away with memories of a weekend that was unique to them. Days after we have departed the Double J Ranch, leaving our friends and just our footprints, we are still taking in every aspect of our Forest adventure.

While we could talk about Electric Forest for days, it still wouldn’t be enough to fully describe our festival experience. We may only be scratching the surface here, but we’ve comprised a list of Vinyl Mag’s favorite Electric Forest moments of 2015.

Unexpected Collaborations: Friday night near the close of The String Cheese Incident’s second set, we received a Snapchat of Skrillex (Sonny Moore) backstage at the Ranch Arena with guitar in hand. Could it be true? Was Skrillex going to come out with Cheese and not womp-out on a collaboration? Sure enough, encore time comes and Moore walks out on stage with that guitar and Cheese begins to jam out to The Doors’ “Break On Through.” The song feeds into “L.A Woman” where Moore shares vocals with Bill Nershi (SCI) and then rounding back out again into “Break On Through.” Are we really surprised about the song selection? Not really, considering Moore worked with the remaining members of The Doors on a collaboration project and documentary called Re:Generation. We were surprisingly impressed at witnessing Moore’s musical talents and grateful for his thank-you shoutout at the end of the performance, thanking everyone from the fans, to The String Cheese Incident, to security, and even the people who clean the bathrooms.

While there were other collaborations like Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic playing sax with Cheese on Sunday, Macy Gray fronting Galactic, Michael Kang sitting in with Bassnectar for “Dubuasca,” and Big Gigantic raging with Cherub during a surprise sunrise set ontop of an RV in GA Camping, Skrillex busting out a guitar and jamming out with Cheese was definitely our favorite collaboration of the weekend.

The Forest: One of the best pastimes of Electric Forest is wandering and getting lost within Sherwood Forest. In it’s own right, the Forest is a festival headliner. Whether day or night, the Forest provides hidden treasures and experiences at every turn. As the festival grew in attendance and size this year, along with it grew Sherwood Forest. The Forest’s expansion created more secret spaces and surprises to discover. While wandering around the general store, we stumbled upon a small mailbox that was simply placed outside of the rustic structure. Next to letterbox was a bunch of blank postcards inviting attendees to write a message to their future selves. Electric Forest would provide the postage and after placing the postcard in the Forest Mailbox your future self would receive your message someday. This was just one of the many things we happened upon in the Forest that made us smile.

Hammock Zones: If you have attended Electric Forest in past years, especially in 2014, you know just how crowded Sherwood Forest became with hammocks; so much so it became almost impossible to navigate through the Forest at times. This year EF Headquarters implemented a roll out of Hammock Etiquette and Hammock Zones. While this was met with some grumblings, during the festival majority of people seemed to respect the new guidelines. EF Headquarters continued to stress that Hammocks are part of the soul of Electric Forest, and they are not going away. This new plan for 2015 was to create Hammock Zones in restful areas to help solve traffic problems, and to give some of the beloved pines in Sherwood a chance to rest. From what we saw, these zones did in fact help with traffic issues, but still allowed for hammocks to be a major part of festival.

The Hanger: The Hanger is one of our absolute favorite additions to the Forest. The Hanger, resembling a 1940s aircraft hanger, became a place to take a break from the rest of the festival, enjoy a quality cocktail (I mean, Moscow Mules with Titos, who knew that was our favorite?), and interact with a variety of characters who were keeping up with the 1940s theme.

In addition to a main craft beer and cocktail bar and a main stage area, The Hanger was home to a massage lounge with a 40s mechanic theme where you could get “buffed out” by pin-up girls, an actual barber shop, tattoo parlor (fake tattoos of course), a cuban style bar/lounge and many more surprises. Professional dancers, Cigarette Girls and Candy Dolls walking around with neck strap trays, and stilt walkers were all seen under the massive vaulted ceiling of The Hanger throughout the weekend.

From The String Cheese Incident’s infamous Saturday set, to exhilarating covers by various artists, to the mystical Tripolee stage, to Bluegrass Sunday, to the new circus tent that is Jubilee…the list of unforgettable moments and sights at Electric Forest 2015 is endless. Once again, Vinyl Mag is so grateful to have been a part of such a magical weekend.

Green & Sustainable Vibes

Posted on June 5, 2015June 4, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

Nestled along the Connecticut shoreline, surrounded by historic Bridgeport, lies 325 acres of lush stretches of lawn, towering trees, beautiful beaches and spectacular views of Long Island Sound. Not only is Seaside Park a summer destination for beachgoers, it is also home to Gathering of the Vibes.

In its twentieth year, Gathering of the Vibes will return to Seaside Park this summer (July 30-August 2) and celebrate this momentous year with a lineup that includes the likes of Wilco, The String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Weezer, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, and many many others.

While the festival boasts a stellar lineup year after year, the true headliner of the weekend is Seaside Park. There are not many festivals where your campsite is situated in a beautiful park along a waterfront. While the park makes for an incredible backdrop, festival attendees also must take extra care of the environment around them.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), trash and litter along our coasts and in our waterways can be harmful to our health, the environment, and the economy. Most marine debris that ends up in the water is man-made and begins its journey on land; this is trash that is not recycled or properly thrown away on land. For example, litter left behind by festival goers at Gathering of the Vibes could be picked up by the wind or washed out by rain and end up in the ocean. Any debris that finds its way into coastal waters not only affects the appearance of the surrounding waters, but also has potential to harm many kinds of animals and wreak havoc on the ecosystem.

As the festival has grown over the years, so has the consciousness of festival sustainability and the local marine ecosystem. We chatted with Harry Moran, Sustainability Director for Gathering of the Vibes, to talk about Vibes’ green initiative, Green Vibes, the festival’s annual beach cleanup, and tips for helping keep the festival eco-friendly.

“With my passion for sustainability, I’ve always been thinking about ways to minimize our onsite footprint and harness the power of our community for positive change,” said Moran as he talked about the creation of Green Vibes. “The event has always had a very real commitment to this but with the ongoing support of Ken Hays [Founder of Gathering of the Vibes], I was able to put together a dedicated Sustainability and Outreach program to coordinate and expand all of the different components.”

The goals of Green Vibes are simple: reduce negative human impact on the ecosystems and encourage responsible stewardship toward the land, air, sea, and renewable energy resources. Green Vibes looks to harness the power of our musical community and the Vibes family and transform the world by going beyond “leaving nothing but footprints.”

Each year, with the help of the Green Vibes program Vibes makes further strides towards reducing their eco-footprint at Seaside Park.

“After every year, I do a recap to see what’s working, what can be improved and identify new ideas for the following year,” Moran stated. “We’ve been at this a long time now but there’s always room to improve. One of our successful additions to our awareness and outreach work is the brief talks related to sustainability between bands on the Green Vibes Stage. We’ve had major experts come in and share ideas in a really loose and fun setting which really engages and energizes the crowd.”

Other notable successes of the green program include:

22,000 pounds of recycling was gathered and kept out of landfills.
12,516 lbs of non-perishable food,hygiene goods, and clothing was donated to local food banks, including vendor donations of unused food to local food banks and soup kitchens.
The Green Vibes Carbon Cutters, Green Vibes’ carbon reduction team, is now almost 900 members strong and has prevented close to 2 tons of CO2 from going into the atmosphere.
Food and beverage vendors used compostable products.
Environmental & social action awareness opportunities for attendees through Green Vibes Stage workshops.
Activation of a solar-powered cell phone charging station.

While 2014 was an extremely successful year, Green Vibes is already looking towards 2015 and hopes to have the cleanest and greenest Vibest yet. The program will continue to focus on reducing the festival’s carbon footprint and will be expanding the recycling program. For the sixth year in a row, Green Vibes will partner with the Terrapin Foundation to host an annual beach clean up day a couple of weeks prior to the festival. Last year, volunteers cleaned up a local beach area, loading dozens of garbage bags with glass, plastic bags, aluminum cans, barbed wire, large pieces of wood and metal and many other objects.

The Green Vibes program and strides like the beach clean up help make sure Seaside Park remains in pristine condition; keeping neighboring beaches and the environment of Seaside Park safe and clean is one of the most important parts of the festival and the Terrapin Foundation’s mission.

If festival goers cannot make the beach cleanup, they can still play a positive role by being consciously aware of items that are brought into the festival and personal trash that is created during the the four day weekend.

“Whenever possible, bring food from local farmer’s markets or your own gardens. Repackage any food into reusable containers,” Moran suggested. “Bring reusable cups, plates, etc. to minimize what goes into the waste stream. Our food vendors use eco-friendly materials too so that’s another great option.

Green Vibes offers some great pre-festival packing tips to help lighten the environmental impact:

Carpool: the less stuff you stack, the more people you can pack!
Bring reusable water bottles
Avoid bringing food that spoils easily and/or is individually wrapped
Think reusable before you buy disposable
Bring bags for garbage and recycling
Avoid styrofoam coolers
If you have to buy new, recycle the box before you arrive on-site
Avoid bringing unnecessary items that become pesky waste: silly string, confetti, glow sticks, packing peanuts, etc.

While at the festival, campers should make sure their campsite belongings are secured to reduce wind blown trash and litter. Most importantly, at the close of the festival, pack up everything you brought with you and leave the area as nice or better than you found it.

Every attendee of Gathering of the Vibes has an opportunity, and even a responsibility, to demonstrate leadership in this area. Not only is taking care of the environment an important topic, it is also vital to be consciously sustainable at Vibes to maintain the thriving ecosystem that is Seaside Park.

Rise To The Challenge: Electric Forest’s Electricology Program

Posted on June 4, 2015June 4, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

Festival sustainability does not start with being handed a garbage bag upon your arrival at the campgrounds. While that supplied garbage bag plays a vital role in encouraging all attendees to pick up after themselves at their campsites, efforts to make Electric Forest the cleanest and greenest it has ever been starts long before attendees walk through the festival gates.

Making the choice to reduce one’s waste footprint starts days and weeks prior to the festival with environmentally conscious purchasing and packing, but it also begins with education. The driving force behind necessary “eco-cation” (ecology education) prior to the start of this year’s EF has been the unique and very successful sustainability program Electricology.

Returning for its fourth year, Electricology is back with greater opportunities than ever before to get more attendees involved and make an even larger positive impact.

Last year Vinyl Mag not only highlighted the program in an interview with Rachel Wells, representative of Electricology and The High Five Program, but we actively participated in the program by bringing our recycling and trash to designated EcoZones throughout the grounds of Electric Forest, earned EcoPoints from our participation, and eventually redeemed our points by visiting one of the Electricology Stores.

As an active participant, the program seemed to make an impact on the festival as a whole. With our return to the Forest this year, we caught up with our good friend Rachel Wells to talk about the successes of Electricology 2014, new and exciting additions to the program, packing tips, green education, and glitter. Yes, glitter.

“Last year was extremely successful and we are growing along with the festival,” Wells said. “The festival has expanded its footprint over the years and we are going to keep growing to accommodate the congestion and waste produced by 40,000+ festival attendees.”

At EF 2014, the Electricology team helped collect 22 tons of compost, 8 tons of cardboard, 125 tons of recycling and 19 tons of steel and aluminum.

“People started organically creating piles of broken EZ ups, tents, and chairs on their own and that is a huge part of our labor, gathering that up. We collected and recycled over 20 tons of that stuff, so to have campers build these massive 30 foot mounds on their own on Sunday was really awesome.”

Everyday of EF there will be people on site working the fields and grounds picking up litter; but just because there are volunteers in place to pick up the trash, that doesn’t mean attendees can’t do their part in the clean-up process.

“If every person who attends Electric Forest leaves their waste tied up, in the appropriate bags, just sitting there in a nice little pile at their campsite, we could be out of there in 24-48 hours. We really could. That is our goal,” said Wells. “Everything we’re trying to do here is to cut down that cleanup. Not because we want to get done early, but because it’s going to save money for the festival and in return invest in other amazing opportunities for people to participate and it’s really going to make a statement to the community that we care and we want to come back every year.”

While one of Electricology’s goals for 2015 is to significantly cut the cleanup, the program also hopes to increase participation and educate all while having fun.

“This year our message is a little stronger,” Wells said. “The message is Rise to the Challenge. We feel like we’ve had a few years, so we know we’ll be having a lot of attendees who will be returning to the festival and I feel like this message will help EF veterans to teach the younger generation coming in and new attendees, and I think we can really make an impact. I think it’s absolutely possible to engage everyone and get everybody to set a standard for how we leave a music festival.”

Electricology started setting the eco-standard for this year’s EF by taking over the festival’s Facebook and Twitter pages one month out from the event. In addition to providing EcoTips, Electricology also talked about some of this year’s program engagements. Electricology is always experimenting with new ways to encourage participation and distribute prizes to increasing amounts of supporters. Each contest has hidden goals to increase waste diversion or reduce the post festival cleanup time, while still being a fun activity for guests.

Returning to the program is the Electricology Leaderboard Contest where EF’s top EcoPoint earners will compete for secret prizes and two tickets to next year’s festival. Additionally, Electricology has instated the Electricology Prize Cart, a mobile solution to crowd litter and instant gratification for the masses. The Prize Cart will circulate the entire festival footprint, inspiring random mass litter pickups wherever it goes, in exchange for a variety of instant prizes.

“Basically if you see our prize cart, they’ll be in areas where there is the most litter and we’re going to be inspiring these flash mobs for litter picking up and anyone who participates will get instant prizes,” Wells said. “So, for example, we might say that the first five people who can help us pick up an area by the food court will win an awesome cool prize and we might even end up taking them on our cart with us and head off to some place awesome!”

Also, for the first time this year, Bell’s Brewery will present the EcoPoints Party for top participants with pizza from Spicy Pie. The EcoPoints Party will include a special performance by the winner of Plug In’s Instrumental Forester Competition, KC Roberts & The Live Revolution. This invite-only party will take place on Sunday, to celebrate the greatest contributors to Forest Greening.

During our chat, we also asked Wells if she had any tips for this year’s festival and if she had any suggestions for things we should just leave at home.

“As renewable energy becomes more and more available and affordable, I would love to see people using LED flashlights, and coming up with some different kinds of reusable chargers and batteries. It would be great to see some alternative energies being used.”

Wells once again stressed the importance of leaving packaging home. Bought new camping gear? Unwrap it and take it out of its cardboard box, and recycle the packaging at home. Ultimately, leaving the packaging at home isn’t just going to cut down the clean-up time, it’s also going to cut down on the labor. As Wells explained last year, “Sometimes, there’s a few extra days of post production clean-up there that could have been cut if people had just left some of that stuff at home.”

In addition to items attendees should think twice about bringing, one surprise is glitter. While Wells would never tell anyone they can’t bring glitter to the festival she did explain how the Electricology team takes care in cleaning up all the leftover glitter found on site.

“Glitter is extremely hard to pick up and it goes everywhere, and there is only so much we can do to pick it up. We go around to where the campsites used to be and we’ll use a Shop-Vac to vacuum up the leftover glitter piles. Sometimes we’ll actually have to shovel out a part of that dirt and throw it away. All year round horses roam in the field where the GA camping is, so it’s important to us, that even those tiny little pieces of glitter get picked up. Within a month after the festival a horse is going to be grazing over that area and it’s very import that all those tiny little details are taken care of. Every little speck of glitter means just as much as the giant tents left behind.”

Wells also suggested leaving home plastic water bottles and bringing reusable water bottles. Hydration is a hot topic at this year’s EF and the festival will be installing 20 water stations throughout the Forest.

Festival sustainability starts and ends with each attendee. In order to keep our Forest clean and thriving, we must all be responsible with the things that we bring with us. Through Electricology, it is possible to inspire and motivate people to do the right thing and Rise To The Challenge. Of course the prizes and incentives are great, but as Wells stated, “It’s not just about getting a prize, it’s about doing what you’re supposed to be doing at Electric Forest and that’s something we’re abiding by. If you’re member of the Forest Family then this is something that you do.”

Life is Loud, Protect Your Ears

Posted on May 31, 2015June 1, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

In recent years it seems like every day is some sort of national day of celebration. Everything from National Doughnut Day, to Put a Pillow On Your Fridge Day (say what?), to Bloody Mary Day (we’ll drink to that), the monthly and daily observances are endless.

Among these fun, quirky, and bizarre days of recognition, there is one day that is worth our attention: May 31st, National Save Your Hearing Day.

Save Your Hearing Day is a yearly reminder to turn down the the music and the loud noises in our lives. It is best celebrated in peaceful environments while abiding by the 60:60 rule: listening to music at 60% of volume capacity for less than 60 minutes (this applying to concerts as well). ¹

With festival season upon us, there is no better time than now to honor this day and our ears. We sat down with our good friend Katie Carmody, founder of We’re hEAR For You, to talk about hearing loss and prevention, and to gain an understanding of “how loud is too loud.”

Carmody speaking at SXSW 2015 on the panel Be Hear Now: Hearing Protection Is the Future of the Music Industry

Noise exposure accounts for much of hearing loss in adults and has been noted as a primary factor in hearing loss in young adults and adolescents. Recreational and community noise exposure can lead to high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. Damage from noise exposure can often be traced to listening to amplified music through headphones or sound systems, while playing music, attending concerts or dance venues, or other noisy activities.

We’re hEAR for You (WHFY) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the awareness of noise-induced hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, and the use of earplugs among the music community. The organization promotes the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus by educating individuals about the risks of noise exposure and the importance of of using hearing protection. WHFY provides free earplugs at a variety of music venues in Georgia and at a growing number of music festivals nationwide, and also offers free hearing screenings through the University of Georgia Speech Hearing Clinic.

“Hearing conservation has been a passion of mine because I have always been a huge music fan, mostly due to my father,” said Carmody. “I grew up listening to music nightly at home, and going t concerts with my family. I always knew that my father had tinnitus, or constant ringing in your ears, which developed after seeing a concert in his earlier years. Knowing this, and as an avid live music fan, I knew the importance of protecting your hearing. Now, working in the music industry, and being around live music on a daily basis, it is my crusade to educate music lovers of all kind about using hearing protection and the science that supports it.”

The constant ringing of the ears that Carmody mentioned is one of the many effects of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL can be caused by a one-time exposure to an intense sound or by continuous exposure to loud sounds over an extended period of time (The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur). The severity of the hearing loss depends on the level, duration, and frequency content of the exposure. Exposure to dangerous levels of noise can often be traced to listening to amplified music through headphones or sound systems, while playing music, attending rock concerts or dance venues, and other everyday noisy activities. Short term effects of NIHL can include auditory fatigue and possible ringing the following day, and can even lead to long term effects such as hearing loss to the point of needing hearing aids.

So how loud is too loud? According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), both the level of noise and the length of time you listen to the noise can put you at risk for noise-induced hearing loss. “Sound is measured in decibels (dB). The higher the decibel level, the louder the noise, and the louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur,” Carmody said. “Normal conversation occurs around 60dB. Exposure to sound over 85dB for more than 7 minutes without hearing protection results in noise induced hearing loss. Concerts can run 120+, the same for Sporting events.”

For those who attend concerts/festivals and have never thought about hearing protection, Carmody offered a few points to consider:

Noise induced hearing loss is 100% permanent and 100% preventable. It is essential you use hearing protection.

When your ears ring after a show, it is your ears telling you your hearing is damaged, and you will not hear at that frequency again.

If you have to raise your voice/scream to communicate with someone next to you, its too loud! Wear earplugs, take a break & move farther away from the speakers.

Carmody also had a message for individuals who may believe they can deal with the consequences at a later date:

“Hearing loss is gradual. Many times you may not know you have hearing loss, unless you get your hearing checked by an audiologist. Here’s a great example of our logic: When you go in the sun, say at a music festival, you take many precautions to protect yourself; sunscreen to protect your skin, shoes to protect your feet, sunglasses to protect your eyes, what about your ears? It is as simple as that, especially at a live music event! Noise exposure is damaging, and we should be more considerate of our ears, and the role hearing has in our lives. To be smart about your hearing now will save you a lot of trouble in your later years. Hearing loss is gradual, therefore you may not notice that you have hearing loss, until it is too late! Take action now, to prevent irreversible damage down the road.”

Interested in protecting your ears? There are several different forms of hearing protection to choose from:

Foam earplugs – ideal for casual concert-goers: It’s the starter earplug and WHFY provides these in mass at festival & concerts nationwide.

High Fidelity reusable earplugs – We recommend all live music fans to invest in a pair of high fidelity reusable plugs, like Earlove, that are high quality and provide a flat response decibel reduction. Also, reusable = less waste! The preserving our environment, like preserving our hearing, is important to We’re hEAR For You. Using reusable (and higher quality) earplugs helps reduce the amount of waste generated at live music events.

Musicians Earplugs – For musicians! Yours ears and ability to hear are your life, your love and your career! See your local audiologist for more details.

Children’s Hearing Protection Earmuffs – Not only are they adorable, but the earmuffs provide superior hearing protection for those little ears.

We’re hEAR for you has partnered with Headcount this festival season and will distribute earplugs at these upcoming festivals:

Wakarusa

Mountain Jam

Bonnaroo

Electric Forest

Solid Sound

High Sierra

All Good

Camp Bisco

Moonrise

Floydfest

Newport Folk

Gathering of the Vibes

Lollapalooza

Outside Lands

Arise

The Peach

Lockn’

ACL

No Room For Hate When You Give Back: Electric Forces at Electric Forest 2015

Posted on May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

“Do not be afraid to live and smile more. Life is too short.”

“I remember how I felt, and I remember how beautiful everybody was and how I literally had gone from seeing existence as a curse to realizing it’s the most incredible gift that we have.”

It was in this moment at Electric Forest 2012 when Pat Hawco began his mental healing process.

On his final patrol as a minesweeper in Afghanistan, Hawco stepped on a land mine and lost his leg. Like a lot of veterans, he returned home with an anger that surrounded the fact that he would be handicapped for the rest of his life; a hurdle unto itself. While recovering from his injury in Southern California, Hawco had the opportunity to attend a music festival that boasted a lineup with some of the biggest names in electronic music today. From this experience, Hawco ended up falling in love with the electronic scene and the people he met, and he began using this music to replace his anger.

“Even before the military I was an angry person,” Hawco said. “I remember the years leading up to going into the military, I was this rotten angry person and I had never really given myself a chance to smile and be a happy person. There was some kind of block I had towards the ‘it’s better to be positive’ attitude.”

Hawco was still caught up in the mindset of Afghanistan, the ethos of the Marine Corps, and his own resentment when he accepted an invitation to join his friends at Electric Forest in 2012.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I showed up and literally those four days changed my life. It turned the entire idea I had towards humanity on its head. I entered with the anger and hate and left with love and compassion. It also showed me the appreciation for life that I was looking for.”

This self-realization, along with a chance encounter and interview with a reporter the following year at Electric Forest in 2013, opened the doors to the creation of Electric Forest’s Electric Forces Program. A collaborative effort, the Electric Forces Program is inspired and led by veterans with the support of members of the Electric Forest production team and the Electric Forest family. Launched in 2014, the program is a unique onsite festival activation where U.S. Military Veterans and Electric Forest festival-goers shared their stories of transformation and community in music.

When Hawco’s interview started gaining attention and made its way back to the Forest HQ, the team knew they wanted to do more for veterans.

“From the beginning, we got in contact with Pat and asked ‘what can we do?’” explained Electric Forest’s Plug In Program Director Lia Holland. “His reply was that he and his fellow veterans wanted to serve the community, and we were taken aback that they flipped our question on its head and wanted to know what they could do for us! Since then, we’ve been challenging our internal teams to find places for as many veterans as possible to join us to build and run the festival. This is a collaboration – as much as possible, we encourage veterans to speak for and represent themselves in their work on the event with the Electric Forces Story Project.”

The Electric Forces Story Sharing Initiative is returning for its second year and invites the Forest Family to share their tales of change and renewal through the festival experience on camera. This year, StoryCorps, a nonprofit that has created the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, will make all stories available to be digitally shared with friends, family, and the future. These stories will also be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The dream of Hawco and StoryCorps is to capture the collective wisdom of humanity through this creation of oral history.

“Last year, it was more about me telling my story. This year, my goal is to let everyone else tell their story,” explained Hawco. “There is this big lesson you can learn from everybody and I want to take those lessons and transfer them to real life.”

While the festival activation itself is based on individuals and their stories, this year, in collaboration with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the program includes two new additional opportunities to involve even more veterans: The Electric Forces Workshop Program and The Electric Forces Veterans Building Crew. The workshop program invites veterans to share the inspirations and interests that have helped them in their healing process. From yoga to sustainable agriculture, a wide variety of interests are combining to offer opportunities for service and learning to all. A team of veterans will be of service behind the scenes of the festival as The Electric Forces Build Crew and they will join the Electric Forest community as builders and creators.

“The program has grown much larger in its first year than we ever imagined,” said Holland. “We received over 100 applications, and our crews scrambled to find more work with the festival so that we could invite every single veteran who applied to join a team. After a huge effort on the part of our operations crew, we sent out job offers to all of the veterans to join everything from the medical staff to campground hosts. During this process, it was jaw dropping how skilled our veteran applicants are – I think we’re going to have the best crew ever this year with them on it!”

Through these activations, Electric Forces aims to coordinate community building and bridge the gap between veterans and civilians through healing. “I want to melt the gap between everybody,” Hawco said. “I don’t want there to be anymore groups, especially veterans and nonveterans. I don’t want anyone to think about it like that anymore. I know there is that separation, but I feel like there doesn’t need to be as much as one as there is.”

“With each interaction that takes place between military and non-military Forest Family, so-called ‘veterans issues’ become problems that we share, and that we face together. We want to create as many opportunities for that connection as possible,” Holland explained.

Over the course of the festival weekend, Electric Forces will bring people together from all walks of life. Although these connections, along with all of the other opportunities for veterans and civilians, are the main focuses of the program, something greater is at work here. Beyond these new connections, beyond the collecting of stories, beyond the employment opportunities, this program will not only provide life lessons, but Electric Forces will ultimately change lives.

“The greatest lesson from this program is a lesson that life teaches every time you learn deeply about someone different from you – don’t make assumptions about people, their motivations, or their circumstances. Each person is unique, and what is healing for one may seem strange to another. We all have to find our own paths toward healing and happiness, and embrace our differences on that journey,” shares Holland.

Every single person has their own struggles. We all have our individual paths to walk down and we must find our own ways to discover healing and happiness. Hawco’s mental healing process began and continues at this music festival. It was here that his perspective on life changed and where he began to view his situation as a gift rather than a detriment. His work with Electric Forces has been an outlet for his own personal healing and he shared the insight that, “There is no room for hate when you give back.”

From a person full of anger and rage to an individual that loves life and has compassion, Hawco’s transformative story is one of hope. For anyone still searching for their new beginning in life, Hawco offer’s these simple words, “Do not be afraid to live and smile more. Life is too short.” While this may be easier said than done for some, participation in this year’s Electric Forces has the ability to open the doors to personal healing.

Over the years, many Electric Forest attendees have experienced the pure magic of this festival; they have found comfort, healing, and protection within the Sherwood Forest, they have received unconditional acceptance from the Forest Family, and they have never been freer to be themselves. With Hawco has an incredible example, many who have walked through those festival gates have rediscovered their true selves and have been able to begin their own personal journeys towards healing from their festival experience.

Through her work with the festival, Holland has been fortunate to see how Electric Forest has evolved into not only one of the best music festivals in the country, but a place of healing: “Electric Forest has become a place of healing through the intentions of everyone who is involved with the event. Once a space is created to encourage strangers who share a love of music and art and life to slow down and find each other, relationships blossom. When that seed of connection was planted, and the space was created, the Forest Family itself became the greatest curator of the festival’s capacity to be a place of healing and inspiration. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve had the fortune to see.”

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Vinyl Mag would like to take this moment to thank and recognize all who have served our country. We honor the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve our freedom and our way of life.

Turbo Suit: ‘Out Here’

Posted on April 8, 2015April 8, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

At first listen, Turbo Suit‘s Out Here transports you to another place. It immediately brings you to some huge field with new and old friends while you bask in all of summer’s glory and dance the day and night away. Maybe because warmer weather is closing in, and festival fever is rampant, but with it’s grandiose infectious sound, Out Here is sure to ramp up your excitement for the coming spring and summer months.

If Turbo Suit’s creativity evokes such strong feelings from a recorded electronic album, it’s pretty much a guarantee these seven songs with translate incredibly well live.

Over the past years the funkronica trio – comprised of David Embry on production and vocals, Nicholas Gerlach on tenor saxophone and EWI, and Jeff Peterson on drums – established themselves as Cosby Sweater, with the release of four albums and an abundant amount of touring. With growing negativity towards the word “Cosby,” the band morphed out of Cosby Sweater and into Turbo Suit earlier this year.

Out Here represents this evolution and shows the trio transforming into something that is fresh, fast, and stylish. Musically, the band has brought it to the next level with their new material. So, it only makes sense to “suit up” in a new vessel that showcases the band’s evolution from Cosby Sweater to Turbo Suit.

Joining Turbo Suit on this transformative journey are Jake Cinninger, Joel Cummins and Andy Farag (Umphrey’s McGee), Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasio Band), Joe Hettinga and Marcus Rezak (Digital Tape Machine), Zion I, ProbCause, and Rusty Redenbacher. Each special guest leaves their unique mark on Out Here. From Cressman’s soulful vocals fused with Redenbacher’s rhymes to Joel Cummin’s funky keys, to hard hitting drum and bass to dreamy saxophone, this album is a nonstop musical ride that surprises you at every turn.

Starting the album off is the sexy “Rewind pt. 1” which balances the gritty hip hop rhymes of Redenbacher with Cressman’s delicately soothing vocals over groovy beats. While this may be one of the more slower songs on the album, this track is the perfect introduction to the new Turbo Suit. “Hourglass” takes it up a notch as it starts with an upbeat hip hop vibe that slows towards the middle and gives way to a smooth jazzy saxophone. With a slow build, the inevitable drop comes with a sound reminiscent to that of Big Gigantic.

The third song and first single “Coogi Wolf” is purely Turbo Suit. Agressive, loud, groovy, filthy…however you want describe it, there’s no doubt this is one of the hardest hitting songs on the album with an absolute rager of a peak accompanied by a blazing sax. “Rewind 2” brings us back to earth with a sleek velvety pulse concluding with quirky beats. The album picks up again with “Wake Up” and feeds right into the drum and base heavy “Divine.” With a hefty hitting dubstep beat and Middle Eastern synths so tight that they could charm a snake, Turbo Suits absolutely brings it with this one.

The personal favorite and album closer is “Karate” featuring Cummins and Rezak. This track is a funky free-for-all with dreamy synths and spacey rapturous keys and makes for the perfect ending.

Embry, Gerlach, and Peterson could not have done a better job at reintroducing themselves to the music world as Turbo Suit than with Out Here. This album is passively melodic and soothing when it needs to be while also managing to be a nasty in-your-face banger. This perfect balance and the ability to create music that seamlessly translates from recorded to live is exactly what will keep drawing old and new fans to Turbo Suit.

3.5/5

Hulaween 2014 Review

Posted on November 11, 2014January 26, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

Co-written with John Anderson

As the changing leaves began to fall and the costume ideas began to flow, Halloween weekend was once again on the horizon. The crisp winds of seasons’ change beckoned us to make the annual pilgrimage back to The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park for The String Cheese Incident’s second annual Suwannee Hulaween. While the festival this year started a day early with a pre-party on Thursday evening, the main focus of Hulaween still centered around The String Cheese Incident’s three headlining performances.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the beauty that is The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park. Nestled along the historic Suwannee River, this unique festival ground provided a premium camping experience unlike any other festival on the east coast, let alone the country. The majority of the park is covered by towering live oak and cyprus trees that provide shade to many primitive and powered camping locations. Given that the park is a permanent fixture, bath houses are scattered throughout the property with showers and flushable toilets. The 800-acre park also provides activities for any attendees who are feeling adventurous, such as canoeing down the river or taking on the full-length disc golf course. However, one of the most unique features of Suwannee Music Park is the ability to have campfires. It is a rarity to be allowed to have campfires at most music festivals, and on this chilly Hulaween weekend we were forever grateful for having a campfire to huddle around.

The festival pre-party kicked off on Thursday as attendees poured in from all corners of the country. Although temperatures were already dipping, a little cold weather wasn’t about to spoil anyone’s good time. We arrived at the park shortly after dusk and breezed right in to meet our friends at our camping spot. We quickly set up camp and headed on over to the amphitheater stage to catch the last bit of Particle before Electron took the stage.

Both bands delivered high energy sets blending electronic with free form improvisation. Electron’s set featured various Disco Biscuits tunes like “Home Again” and “Confrontation” which came to no surprise considering the band includes both Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits. The highlight of the night came when Electron dropped into a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” to close out their set. Shortly after, we headed back to camp to build the first fire of the weekend and rest up for the upcoming festivities of the next few days.

It was a beautiful day on Halloween with not a cloud in the sky. It was a great afternoon for some bluegrass as our friends Judah and the Lion took the Amphitheater Stage and played some music off of their new album Kids These Days. Greensky Bluegrass was up next on the main stage followed by a early evening Emancipator set. Scheduling for Hulaween provided almost no overlapping sets which made it incredibly easy to see everyone you came to listen to.

Before we knew it, the afternoon had escaped us, and it was time for The String Cheese Incident’s main event. They opened their first set with a jam teasing the Friday the 13^th theme before dropping into the classic staple “Restless Wind.” With the first exploratory jam of the weekend coming up next in “ Joyful Sound.” Cheese continued to build momentum throughout the first set with their spin on the traditional instrumental called “Valley of the Jig.” The set closed out with one of their newest songs“Can’t wait another day,” written by keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth about the birth of his youngest daughter. From here, Shpongle kept the party going on the Amphitheater Stage while the Main Stage was prepared for String Cheese’s Halloween themed “After-Life” set.

The spectacle of last year’s Halloween set was one of the musical highlights that weekend. This year’s set proved to be no exception and in true Cheese fashion it was certainly a party not many will soon forget. Jason Hann started the set off on the bongo’s with a simple riff that could only be “Sympathy for the Devil.” Bassist Keith Moseley was on lyric duty for the Rolling Stone’s classic before dropping into the Ghostbusters theme that had everyone laughing and singing along. Frontman Michael Kang then worked his way through Bob Marley’s “Time Will Tell” before bringing out the first pyrotechnics of the evening with “Live and Let Die.” Guest singers Rhonda Thomas and Tony White as well as the Antibalas horns kicked it up a notch with a stellar version of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Other highlights of the set included “Don’t Fear the Reaper” “Break on Through” and closed out with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

“Miss Brown’s Teahouse” kicked off the third set and got the crowd in a groove for a fun version of Kool and the Gang’s “Hollywood Swingin.” This set featured some newer dance friendly tunes like “Rosie” and “You’ve Got The World” and closed out with hard hitting staples like “Way Back Home” and “Just One Story.” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” held down the encore slot sealing the deal on another excellent Halloween performance from The String Cheese Incident. Following a brief stage change, Thievery Corporation took the stage with their worldly sounds blending traditional middle eastern string instruments with laptops and synthesizers.

Saturday started off with a drastic change in the weather. Brisk winds picked up throughout the afternoon causing the park to make the decision to limit camp fires until the wind died down for everyone’s safety. Although the weather was cooling down, the music was just beginning to heat up as Nahko and Medicine for the People brought a fun filled and inspiring west coast vibe to the Amphitheater Stage and Keller Williams hit the Main Stage. Keller served up some grassy renditions of Grateful Dead classics like “Samson and Delilah” and “Scarlet Begonias” as well as originals like “Kidney in the Cooler” and “Doobie in My Pocket.”

The sun was setting behind the trees as String Cheese took the stage for their second show of the weekend. First set featured sit-ins from Nicky Sanders of the Steep Canyon Rangers and Keller Williams culminating in a short but sweet version of “Franklin’s Tower.” Second set hosted a sit-in from Big Gigantic’s Dominic Lalli on the jazz instrumental “Birdland,” while the highlight of the set for us personally was a cover of the Talking Head’s “Swamp” dropped right in the middle of “Rivertrance.” Bollymunster came in the encore slot as it geared us up for The New Deal on the Amphitheater Stage. The New Deal was a special surprise to be added to the line-up as they called it quits after Jam Cruise last year. Pioneers of the jamtronic sound, The New Deal relies heavily on improvisation and building energy in the moment. It was great to see these guys up on stage playing together and having fun again, and we can’t wait to see them again in the future.

Following The New Deal, Big Gigantic took the stage for their late-night appearance on the main stage. This was a highly anticipated set as their set last year was rained out by a torrential downpour that sent campers running for cover and actually flooded certain parts of the park. Big Gigantic delivered a high-energy set with remixes of popular artists like Wiz Khalifa and Zhu. Frontman Dominic Lalli was personable with the crowd speaking multiple times throughout the set and laid down some soothing sounds on the saxophone while drummer Jeremy Salken held down the beat in what looked like a cow suit.

The party kept rolling with The Applebutter Express as they kick up their set on the Spirit Lake stage at 2:30 AM. The late night bluegrass tunes and their cover of Suwannee veterans The Allman Brother’s “Whipping Post” was top notch. As the evening came to a close, we took in the visual spectacle that was Spirit Lake with all its varying art installations ranging from a jellyfish inspired swing set to humongous burning man art car that spit flames and played music. Perhaps one of the most fun installations at Spirit Lake was the Sonic Forest that had poles scattered about that would create various audible sounds as you passed by.

Sunday morning at a festival always brings about a plethora of bittersweet feelings from the joyous satisfaction of all the fun that has taken place to the sobering realization that it is all coming to an end soon; and we will be left with nothing but a memory as we try to enter back into the real world. The wind had died down and the sky was clear, however Sunday wound up feeling like the coldest day of the weekend. Rising Appalachia who has taken the festival scene by storm over the past year brought their organic and uplifting sounds to the main stage while Dean Ween kept the rock n roll alive on the Amphitheater stage.

String Cheese opened their final show of the weekend with “Sometimes a River;” A feel-good tune sung by bassist Keith Moseley that always builds into an excellent jam. “Close Your Eyes” was up next that provided a jam that ran the gamut of various genre’s before ending up as a fast passed version of The Stanley Brothers “How Mountain Girls Can Love.” “MLT” (My Latin Tune) is a instrumental from Hollingsworth was a welcome addition to the set and it was great to see this song show up during this show, as well as on more setlists as of late. The first set closed out with one of Cheese’s oldest and most popular tunes called “Round the Wheel.” This was the first time this song was dusted off in over a year and it certainly disappoint.

After a short break, the final headlining set was upon as The String Cheese Incident took the stage to lay all the cards out on the table. “Colliding” kicked off the set, a newer electronic influenced song that has really blossomed into a fun song since debuting three years ago at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Up next was the Paul Simon tune “Late in the Evening” which was a first time we have seen this song performed. Our favorite part of this song was the a cappella break down ending that saw each member of the band contributing to different vocal themes. Songs like “Look At Where We Are” and “Naïve Melody” reminded us to savor the moment and reflect back on everything that had taken place throughout the weekend while the heavy hitter “Texas” closed out String Cheese’s performance; a song which culminates in arguably the best ending ever.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closed out the festival on the Amphitheater Stage with a wonderful set of Grateful Dead tunes. JRAD, as it is often abbreviated, is comprised of keys player and long time collaborator Marco Benevento, Tommy Hamilton of Brothers Past on Guitar, Bassist Dave Dreiwitz known most notably from the band Ween and Scott Metzger from Particle on Guitar. These guys cruised through classics such as “Truckin” and “Uncle Johns Band” before dropping into a quick tease of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter.” The alarming accuracy and precision of these guys became apparent in the more rare tune “Crazy Fingers” before lighting up the night with a remarkable rendition of “Help on the Way”>”Slipknot”>”Franklin’s Tower” to close out a great weekend of music. This set really shed some light on how timeless the music of The Grateful Dead is and how their spirit lives on in this community nearly 20 years after the death of Jerry Garcia.

It’s pretty apparent that Hulaween may have found its new home at The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. It provides enough space to fit everyone comfortably while still curating an intimate feel, which is a rarity for many of today’s music festivals. While the park plays host to numerous festivals throughout the year with a wide range of musical genres, Hulaween may just be one of our favorite Suwannee fests. Although Hulaween weekend has just ended, we have already marked our calendars and we are counting down the days until next year when we will once again spend Halloween with The String Cheese Incident and about 8,000 of our closest friends.

Hulaween 2014: Judah & the Lion x Vinyl Mag

Posted on October 28, 2014October 28, 2014 by Jacklyn Citero

When Judah & the Lion emerged into the Athens music scene, they took it by storm. Virtually unknown to most, the boys swept in selling out numerous shows and gaining more and more fans every time they paid a visit. One listen, and you can hear the influence of each of their youths. Judah Akers in his Tennessee hometown, listening to the soulful crackle of Ray Charles records. Nate Zuercher, a Colorado kid into rugged rock’n’roll, and Brian Macdonald driving through the suburbs of Chicago, blasting everything from Frank Sinatra to Billy Joel. The fusing of these sounds works and is near perfection when their shared obsession of bluegrass, country, and folk music is thrown in the mix.

Last time we spoke to the boys of J&L, they were in town performing at AthFest 2014 and getting ready to spend the summer touring their new album, Kids These Days. When we saw the band on Hulaween’s lineup, we jumped at the opportunity to catch up with them on all things Judah & the Lion. Brian Macdonald took a couple of minutes to chat about the creative process and inspirations for the new album, being on tour, and, of course, their upcoming Halloween performance at Hulaween.

Vinyl Mag: First off, I just have to tell you guys that I love the name of your band. Could you share with us where the name originated from?

Brian Macdonald: Thanks! We really love the symbol of a lion. Makes us think of strength, courage, confidence, etc. Also paired that with the ‘lion of the tribe of Judah’ from the Bible, and the fact that our frontman’s name is Judah. It just kinda felt right, and we went with it!

VM: Last time we spoke, it was the beginning of summer, and there was anticipation for your new album, Kids These Days. What has Judah & the Lion been up to these past four months or so, and what have been some of your favorite moments – whether on the road, meeting/talking with fans, overall acceptance, and excitement over the new album, etc – been since the release of the album?

BM: Over the summer, we did a lot of touring here and there. We got to go out and open for The Oh Hellos for a couple weeks, which was awesome….love them. Other than that, just played festivals here and there, all the while anticipating the release of Kids These Days. We are thrilled with everything since the release. People have responded very well to the album. We are currently in the middle of our first headlining tour, and the shows are going great. It’s really encouraging for us to have fans showing up to these shows, singing the songs. It never gets old. We have had some great openers coming along with us too, Penny and Sparrow, Morningsiders, Cereus Bright…and more to come, Joseph and Little Chief. It’s been a dream come true!

VM: This album is extremely relatable and even described as ‘a collection of stories about being young, about finding your way, while discovering yourself.’ Could you describe for us your creative process and where you drew inspiration from?

BM: We really wanted the songs on this album to be relatable. Stories and ideas that our fans could really grab a hold of and say, ‘that describes my life right now perfectly.’ With that, we really just wrote and picked songs that were about our lives and things that we are experiencing right now. That consists of being young, in our twenties, full of life, poor, passionate, in love, etcetera.

VM: In addition to your amazing songwriting abilities, you are also all brilliant performers. Being on tour and playing a good amount of intimate venues, how does preparation for the band’s performance differ from say at venue like the Visulite Theatre in Charlotte, NC, to a festival set a Hulaween?

BM: Each city is so special and different to us. We love the intimate shows, really being able to connect with our fans. Festivals are very different, but in a good way. There is always a ton of energy and excitement for any kind of live music. This allows us to really let loose and have fun in a place where everybody may not be as familiar with our music. We are really excited for Hulaween. We hear it is a super fun festival and can’t wait to be a part of it!

VM: What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming performance at Hulaween?

BM: We’re just pumped that the show is on Halloween day! That opens up so many possibilities. I think it’s gonna be a really fun time…being on the road, I honestly don’t know that we will have a chance to spend a lot of time getting costumes together….but you better believe that we will pull something together the day of…it would be lame if we didn’t attempt!

VM: Are there any bands/artists in particular you are looking forward to seeing the most at this year’s Hulaween?

BM: Well, we are flying in right before the show and leaving right after, which stinks…. we have a couple shows in Texas right around that festival, so it’s gonna be a lot of traveling for us. I don’t think we will get much of a chance to see any other sets unfortunately!

VM: The venue itself is absolutely incredible and special. Are there any parts of the venue and/or grounds you are excited to see and explore after you arrive?

BM: Haven’t heard too much about it yet…just rumors that it is a special festival. I’m hoping there’s a haunted house somewhere close. I’d love to get a good scare before we go on stage to get me pumped up!

Top Five Things Not to Miss at Hulaween 2014

Posted on October 28, 2014October 28, 2014 by Jacklyn Citero

The String Cheese Incident returns to The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park this Halloween weekend to host the second annual Suwannee Hulaween, and it’s pretty hard for us to contain our excitement! In addition to three nights and seven sets of Cheese, this spirited lineup boasts the likes of Thievery Corporation, Big Gigantic, Beats Antique, The New Deal, Shpongle (Simon Posford DJ set), Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Emancipator, Greensky Bluegrass, Dean Ween Group, Conspirator, and more.

With the festival taking place at one of the most beautiful live music venues in the country, the 800 acre playground offers sights and experiences that should not be missed during your stay. From the breathtaking Suwannee River to Spirit Lake, to yoga and flow workshops, to special Halloween sets, the entertainment and activity choices at this festival are endless and incredible. Here are Vinyl’s top picks for what not to miss and partake in while at Hulaween this year.

1. The String Cheese Incident’s Halloween Show:

Cheese’s Halloween show is always a special one. The three-set spectacle is always filled with surprises and, in true Cheese fashion, it is always a party you do not want to miss. Last year’s Halloween extravaganza included a second set full of themed covers backed by the Antibalas horns and vocalists Rhonda Thomas and Tony White. They opened the set with AC/DC’s “Hells Bells,” and other songs that were included were “Voodoo” (Neville Brothers), “Spirits in the Material World” (The Police), and “Voodoo Child” (Jimi Hendrix), among others. Cheese’s costumes were “Voodoo” themed, there were on-stage performers including fire dancers and voodoo dancers, large orange pumpkins were tossed into and bounced about the audience, and the world’s largest cobweb worked its way from the stage all the way to the back of the audience. This year’s performance will play to the theme “The Afterlife,” and we can only imagine the covers that will be heard, the costumes that will be on display, and the visual production that will captivate and enthrall everyone in attendance.

2. Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake has quickly become one of the most anticipated experiences of Hulaween. This year the visual experience returns with an artistic glowing menagerie of multimedia metalwork, paintings, sculptures, light projections, and live performances that morph the prehistoric-looking forest into a vivid dream-like space. This forest area, adorned with Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees, sits adjacent to a small lake and naturally fits and plays into the Halloween theme.

Andy Carroll also returns to Hulaween this year as the Art Director of Spirit Lake, and from our chat with him about this year’s visual experience, Spirit Lake will be bigger and better than last year’s. We suggest taking it in and exploring Spirit Lake both during the day and night. Whether catching some shows at the Spirit Lake Stage or just taking some minutes to relax, we guarantee Spirit Lake will become one of your favorite things at Suwannee Hulaween this year.

3. The Suwannee River

The first time we set our eyes on the historic Suwannee River, we had never seen anything like it before. The flowing river water was as dark as coffee and was a sight to be seen. The white sandy banks contrasted with the black water and were lined with trees draped in Spanish moss. Last Hulaween, we took some time one afternoon to ourselves and set up our hammocks on the river bank to take it all in. If this is going to be your first time at The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park, we highly suggest taking some time to at least catch a glimpse of the river, and if you’re feeling adventurous, canoe trips down the river are available. While people have gone for a dip in these waters, the Suwannee River is unpredictable, and swimming is at your own risk.

4. Thursday Pre-Party

For the first time, Hulaween will host a Thursday night pre-party featuring Electron (Aron Magner and Marc Brownstein of The Disco Biscuits/Conspirator, Tom Hamilton of Brothers Past/American Babies/JRAD, and Mike Greenfield of Lotus, Particle, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Modern Measure, and MZG. So why not start the weekend a day early? We can’t find a reason not to.

5. Yoga and Flow Workshops

We’re all about raging and restoring while at festivals, and there’s no better way to stay centered and healthy than to partake in some of the yoga offerings these festivals have to offer. This year, Hulaween is providing an extensive schedule of Spirit Lake Yoga and Flow Workshops. From “Inputting and Understanding DANCE for your HoopDANCE” with Lee Jeffries, to AcroYoga, to Vinyasa Yoga, these workshops cover a wide range of interest and seem to almost have something for everyone. Whether a beginner or advanced, take some time for yourself at this year’s Hulaween.

Hulaween 2014: Art Director Andy Carroll x Vinyl Mag

Posted on October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 by Jacklyn Citero

Adorned with Spanish moss-draped oak trees and nestled on the shady banks of the black Suwannee River, The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park is naturally the ideal setting for a Halloween weekend extravaganza. This year, the 800-acre venue will once again transform into a festive playground for the Second Annual Suwanee Hulaween.

Last year, the lake within the venue and adjacent forest were morphed into Spirit Lake, a visual experience that fused dazzling light production, art installations, performance art, and host to the Silent Disco. With Spirit Lake quickly becoming one of the most anticipated experiences of Hulaween, we took a couple minutes to chat with the returning visionary and Art Director, Andrew Carroll, to talk about his design process, setting the record straight on comparing Spirit Lake to Sherwood Forest, and why this venue is so incredibly special.

Vinyl Mag: How did you first get involved with the creation of Spirit Lake?

Andrew Carroll: The producers had seen my work at some other events (such as Sherwood Forest at Electric Forest Festival), and reached out. We talked about the project, and it sounded amazing.

VM: What is your creative and design process for Spirit Lake?

AC: The process is an initial conversation with the producers that includes budget talks, recaps from the previous year on what worked and what didn’t, a chat about the general theme (this year being The Afterlife), etc. We lock in the larger art projects, while sifting through the proposal emails or people willing to offer an installation for a ticket trade. The trick is to bring enough art, lighting, and performance so that it feels full and impactful, but not too much stuff so that it just feels like your cramming in as much as we can. It’s a balance of trying to have it be an amazing experience for the patrons, while doing so within the allotted budget.

VM: What can attendees expect this year?

AC: We’ve gone bigger and expanded in all areas of Spirit Lake, and I think people will feel that if they are returning, and will be amazed if it is their first time.

VM: There have been comments floating around that it seems that Spirit Lake is becoming – if it isn’t already -more like Sherwood Forest at Electric Forest; in the sense that it keeps getting bigger and better each year. In your second year with the festival, is this something you and your design team are striving for as Spirit Lake comes into its own as one of the most integral parts of the festival?

AC: First off, these are two very different events in two very different settings, so I don’t feel it’s fair to compare the two. Also, this is only our second opportunity to bring Spirit Lake to life as Spirit Lake, so no one (myself included) totally knows where Spirit Lake will end up. It’s a unique place, and a unique experience, and there is no need to compare. It’s similar to when people compare the Grateful Dead to Phish… sure there are some similarities, but they are two very different animals.

VM: Without giving too much away, would you say Spirit Lake is growing in size, compared to last year, and are there any new installations we can look forward to?

AC: As far as the general size, it will be very similar. However, we have grown the scope of art, lighting, and performance in an effort to ‘go bigger, badder, better!’

VM: How is the local art community being integrated into this year’s design?

AC: We have many folks in the local art community bringing a variety of art installations, painting, performance, etc again. It’s exciting!

VM: What do you think makes Spirit of Suwannee so special?

AC: It’s been around a long time, and hosted many amazing bands, festivals and events. There is something special about Florida in general, and the Suwannee Music Park is absolutely gorgeous. The people of Florida are incredibly passionate and creative. As far as coming to the table, they ‘really bring it…every time. Plus, there’s nothing cooler than that dripping Spanish moss in the trees!