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This weekend, Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA, is playing host to the 5th Anniversary Celebration of The Peach Music Festival. With the likes of Trey Anastasio Band, The String Cheese Incident, Gov’t Mule, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Umphrey’s McGee, and moe. hitting the stage all weekend long, it’s sure to be a rockin’ and memorable weekend. Take a look at some of our photos from Friday including highlights from the highly anticipated The Allman Brothers Family Incident with The String Cheese Incident and ABB members Butch, Jaimoe, Oteil & Marc, along with Bruce Katz & Scott Sharrard.
There are a select few venues in the United States that will make your jaw drop to the floor upon your initial walk through the venue’s doors. Kings Theatre is one of those venues.
The historic Kings Theatre re-opened its grand doors last year after the wondrous theater shuttered 38 years prior. After an over $90 million restoration, the neglected venue was reborn into the opulent “Wonder Theatre” it was always destined to be.
Tonight, The String Cheese Incident will hit the stage at The Peach Music Festival for their own set as well as the highly anticipated Allman Brothers Family Incident featuring all members of SCI along with Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, Oteil Burbridge, Marc Quinones, Bruce Katz, and Scott Sharrard. Following these Peach performances, Kings Theatre will then host The String Cheese Incident as they close out their summer tour with a two night run this Saturday and Sunday. The next time we will see The String Cheese Incident will be at their annual Hulaween fest at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
For those planning to attend the shows in Brooklyn, make sure you come early and kickstart your evening by hanging in the new courtyard at Kings Theatre. Beer garden, food trucks and the chance you may even see a band member or two. Can this weekend possibly get any better?
Viva Las Vegas and Viva La Cheese! The String Cheese Incident closed out their March Madness tour with a three night run at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Festival Foodie was front and center all three nights, but by day we were chowin’ down on some serious Vegas eats.
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The Flamingo Hotel & Casino Festival Foodie Rating: N/A
You really can’t put a rating on poolside cocktails in Vegas, but you can label the experience: expensive and fabulous. But hey, what do you expect? This is Vegas after all and this was certainly not a bad way to kick off a weekend in Sin City.
Gathering of the Vibes has a rich history, a strong family, and a visionary as a leader. Over the past 20 years the festival has developed into a musical experience that is built on community and a deep love for music.
The festival that many have come to love today started out as a weekend of remembrance and celebration. It was August 1995 and the recent passing of Jerry Garcia was weighing heavy on the Grateful Dead community. Mourning fans on the East Coast planned to pay their respects to the late Garcia with a formal Central Park service scheduled by the Parks Department, much like what had taken place in San Francisco. After being postponed per request of the Grateful Dead, the gathering was ultimately cancelled by the Mayor’s office.
“Mayor Giuliani cancelled the official memorial in Central Park so we got together and did it ourselves,” shared Ken Hays, Founder of Gathering of the Vibes. “It all happened very organically. We went up to SUNY Purchase and spoke with the director of Performing Arts. They have a beautifully facility up there and they allowed camping, as they had held some family camping events on their campus in the past. Sure enough, we were going through and planning all of the logistics, we put up a small stage, invited some bands, and Deadhead Heaven – A Gathering of the Tribe was born. It turned out to be a beautiful weekend celebrating the life of Jerry and The Dead that following May in 1996.”
What began as a memorial to facilitate some sense of closure for East Coast Deadheads, this initial gathering of The Tribe was just the beginning of something beautiful for Hays and fellow music lovers. “I was with Bob Kennedy and were looking over a sea of tents during the sunset the first night of Deadhead Heaven and we knew that we had to keep this going,” said Hays. “This was something incredibly meaningful for people in attendance and it was one of the few ways to get everybody together. Every year when The Dead came to town we would hang out and party, and with Jerry gone we knew that opportunity to get together with our friends would be limited. Everyone got along so beautifully that weekend so we decided to do it again the next year- we changed the name and doubled in size.”
From the very beginning, this event was started out of love; a love for The Dead, a love of the community, and a love of music. It’s this type of affection that keeps attendees coming back to Gathering of the Vibes year after year. “Today, the festival is very similar to the seed from which it began: love of music and community. Those things never change and that is what is so unique about Vibes and the family it brings together,” shared Hays.
The “tribe” Vibes brings together over the course of the weekend goes far beyond your average festival family. Gathering of the Vibes is welcoming to children and prides itself on being a family-friendly festival.
“When there are children around, it heightens that sense of community and it seemed like the right thing to do,” shares Hays. “We’ve made sure we have activities to entertain the kids, we have designated family camping, and we have special security measures in place for children. Last year we had around 2,300 children and that continues to grow. I personally love going to the family area and the kids area and see all the smiling faces.”
For Hays, those smiling families and attendees are one of the most rewarding aspects of producing Vibes year after year. “Looking out from the stage and seeing so many smiling faces, and then going over to the kids corner and seeing parents playing with their kids, that is what is rewarding about this festival,” Hays explains. “It’s an incredibly meaningful role I play here. It’s those smiles and exposing people to new bands and art they have never experienced before that makes it worth it. My job is to help set the stage for thousands of people with their positive vibes to come and celebrate. Those positive vibes are contagious and hopefully they will go home and spread the positivity to their communities and people who couldn’t join in the weekend.”
Hays has been at the helm of the Vibes ship since the very beginning and has faced and overcome many obstacles along the way. Looking back on the past 20 years, Hays shared with Vinyl Mag one of his biggest learning experiences throughout this journey: “I’m incredibly lucky that I have an amazing group of people that surround me and support me. And I think I’ve learned that I’ve always been hands on and continue to be hands on. I’ve been able to let go and trust those who have my back more now more than ever. And I think that’s one of the things I’ve learn over the years; it’s to be able to let go and trust that the people in key positions have things covered. Micromanaging has been my thing for a long time and to be able to let go and know everything is going to be handled properly is huge, and I am lucky to have an amazing group around me.”
As we approach the milestone celebration for Vibes, this team Hays speaks so highly of is hard at work preparing for the momentous weekend. With community always at the forefront of Vibes’ mission and goals, teams are in place supporting green initiatives, non-profits, food drives, and other programs that give back to the local community. Additionally, the festival boasts a stellar lineup that includes the likes of Wilco, The String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Weezer, Gregg Allman, and Warren Haynes. “I’m excited about our Friday night with String Cheese doing a couple sets, and welcoming Wilco, Ben Harper, and Weezer to Vibes for the first time,” said Hays. “We also have a bunch of up and coming artists that are really great artists and I think people are going to be excited when they see them. I think we have a really have something for everybody”
Back in 1996, Hays may not have known what his gathering would ultimately turn into and look like 20 years later, but Vibes has truly turned into something remarkable. When thinking about the future and the next 20 years for Gathering of the Vibes Hays has a list of musicians he would love to invite to come out and play but most of all, he would just like to see the festival and Vibes community stay relatively the same as it’s been. “Honestly, I’d like to see more of the same,” Hays said. “At Vibes people are just stronger and more united as a community and family. I want to see more of that; more love that can be expressed and a desire from all to leave the space at Vibes better than how we found it.”
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.
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.
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 13th 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.
