weezer – Vinyl Mag

Celebrating 20 Years of Gathering of The Vibes: Founder Ken Hays x Vinyl Mag

Posted on July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

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.”

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.

15 Beachy Songs to Add to Your Summer Playlist

Posted on May 11, 2015May 7, 2015 by Kelsey Butterworth

One of the most important components to any beach trip is the playlist. Laying out in the sand and surf demands a special collection of vibey tunes, and we’re here to make sure you have those tunes at your disposal. Here are 15 songs you definitely need to add to your summer playlist – 2015 is already heating up, so grab your gear and hit the shore.