Really looking forward to my first post covid festival. The pickings are extremely slim on the east coast . I skipped the Peach, because I don’t like the venue.
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Never been to an actual festival but the first one I want to go to, now that I actually have extra money to spend on things I enjoy, is my native states Electric Forest! Possibility of it happening august this year, for sure on again next year though.
Wanna go trip balls with good people and forget that the big mean outside world even exists for a weekend… or week 
reset the old cynicism and anger at reality and see some beauty and wonder instead of the dismal gray that’s the monotony of every day life
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That looks awesome.
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This reminds me I have 1x GSC bean left in my bank! Ta! 
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Have you ever been to the NY Harvest Fest? I’d go, but I don’t camp. Wondering what the options are.
Yes I have been. It usually is cold a.f. Echo Lake has some cabins you can rent. At least they did 10 years ago last time I was at that venue. Things got shady there, but I have heard its under new ownership and coming round. @FreeAtLast
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theres a bunch of good festivals on the east side.
Audio engineer here, I don’t necessarily enjoy festivals. You know, the walking the weather. But fuck do I love loud music outdoors. Before COVID I worked a some local festivals and such. Loved it. Didn’t realize how much I missed it.
I went to the Long Play Music Festival here in Rockford, mostly just to hear Cheap Trick play on the 4th. Holy fuck I was enamored. The sound, the lights… damn I missed it all. I gotta get back in the game, guys!
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I’ll bet! I went to Mountain Jam for years, that was in early June, and when the sun went down on the mountain it was cold as fuk time to pack it in. I can only imagine Binghamton.
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Me too! I went and saw some local musicians on the 3rd, danced in a crowd, it was transcendent. Apparently there is a word for that particular type of joy that we have all been missing…collective effervescence. 
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I’ve attended tons of music festivals including multiple years of SummerCamp, Wakarusa, and 10,000 Lakes, and many smaller, regional events. I record live music audio as a hobby and festivals give me the chance to capture the sounds of many bands in a short amount of time. In fact, I attended my first post-quarantine fest this past weekend: the Pickin’ On Picknic. It was loosely bluegrass oriented. Headliners included Dale Watson, The Dillards, Leftover Salmon, and Jerry Douglas Band. I now have a bunch of audio files to play with, and pics to sort through, which I enjoy very much. My recordings of bands that grant permission end up on the Live Music Archive at Archive.org for free (and legal) streaming or download.
The fest worked out great since it was relatively close, a reasonable size, a sweet venue, and the weather worked for the most part. Actually they had a crazy storm, but it began after Friday’s headliner finished. By that time we were already on our way back to the hotel. I’ve got a great setup for camping but now require AC power to run a CPAP machine and all the sites with electric were already taken before I bought my tickets… I’m actually glad we had the hotel this time due to the weather, though it did mean we needed a sober driver and of course we missed the late night shenanigans with our crazy friends.
I don’t have any other fests on the horizon, but am looking forward to the next one!
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My first fest was Wakarusa 2004 (their first year). The headliner was O.A.R and a 4 day pass was like 90 bucks. What a great fest that was. When it was in Kansas at least.
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I missed the first Wakarusa in '04, but was there in 2005, 2006 (the one with all the cops that prompted the move from public state park land in Kansas to a private site in Arkansas), and just one day in 2007. I skipped two of the years they had it in Arkansas. Mulberry Mountain is a great venue for a certain size crowd, but they had too many people towards the end.
I think my favorite festival has been Harvest Fest at Mulberry Mountain (which Yonder Mountain String Band took over as Yonder Harvest for a couple of years). The weather is cooler late in the season, and a lot of the “kids” are in school so the crowd is more experienced and mellow. “We used to experiment with drugs, but now we know what we’re doing”.
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OMG what a blast from the past! I went back in '96 or '97… Dang I feel old!
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Been to a bunch over the years, nothing really on the agenda for this year… 
Bonnaroo 5 times, Many Phish festivals (Clifford Ball, Great Went, It, Lemonwheel, Camp Oswego, Big Cypress, Coventry and Bader Airfield + 85 “regular” concerts). Gathering of the Vibes back in the early 2000’s. And there was my very first… Woodstock '94… Boy do I miss live music…
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Aug '97 at the decommissioned Loring AFB here in Northern Maine!!! Sold you guys ('n Ladies) “refreshments” along the side of Rt 1A, the longest bumper-to-bumper procession this State has EVER seen. I remember it well, nicest group of Concert goers I’ve ever encountered. SS/BW…mister 
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That would have been “The Great Went”. I remember that traffic VERY well (happens at most Phish festivals). Took us something like 18 hours to go what should have taken 1 hour. We were smart and brought an atlas with us for the ride out. Found a few logging roads, and skipped most of the exit traffic. Phish did “IT” at Loring AFB in 1998, and the “Lemonwheel” there in 1999. Really miss those days, touring 14 shows in a row, ending at a festival. Plus that whole traffic scene is a memory in itself. Made so many friends “in traffic”. Grilled a TON of burgers and dogs “driving” because we could walk faster than the cars moved. But the best part of touring? I got to see so many awesome venues, and we always took backroads so I got to see the whole east coast, from something other than a highway.
Maine was very welcoming to us Phish heads for sure! I recall one general store, the guy brought in two tractor trailers of beer, and still sold out of EVERYTHING on his shelves in the general store. We became the largest city in the state for a weekend! lol
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Phish Fact Number 2,562ish: The gigantic “I” and “T” Pillars that were erected on the Grounds, now sit next to the IT Department Building, University of Maine, Presque Isle (UMPI). See it every time I go to the Fitness Center on Campus. If they EVER get rid on them, I’ve got Dibs!! Gonna erect them in my Backyard. Good memories, indeed. SS/BW…mister
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I was at camp Oswego. I could not find my camp for at least 12 hours. Kept momentarily regaining my senses and finding myself back at the giant marshmallows.