Summer Camp Music Festival celebrated its 15 consecutive year this past weekend at Three Sister’s Park in Chillicothe, IL, the undisputed home of the festival. Organizers and producers pulled out all the stops for this year’s celebration, incorporating some of the most amazing talents Summer Camp has ever seen. From the massive collection of artists from all across the music world, to the insane art installations, workshops and activities, Summer Camp dished out some quality entertainment over Memorial Day Weekend, May 22nd – 24th.
Walking into Summer Camp Music Festival invokes a number of feelings, but most can agree that the most prominent one is pure excitement. As any Scamp veteran knows, entering the festival grounds is an adventure unto itself. Summer Camp is one of the only large-scale festivals I am aware of that does not permit car camping, which has its pros and cons, but ultimately perpetuates a much more rustic and “true” camping experience in my opinion. So after waiting in line with a wagon full of camping gear for about an hour, I was in and the party commenced. Immediately upon entering patrons are smacked in the face with The Campfire Stage, directly adjacent to the Red Barn where all of Scamp’s late night shows are held. The Campfire stage played host to many of the acts listed on the bottom half of the lineup throughout the weekend, although each night it hosted some truly epic late night shows.
I decided to stop lugging my cumbersome wagon through the heinous dust clouds engulfing the crowd at this point and check out Fox Valley Harvest on the aforementioned Campfire Stage. Their upbeat mix of folk and bluegrass was just the boost I needed to trek my gear through the sand and gravel over towards the Moonshine Stage where I was opting to set up shop. After I got all settled in and shot the shit with some good friends, it was time to make my way to Family Groove Company on the Starshine Stage. These cats have been a Summer Camp staple for years and rarely disappoint, so I knew this show was not to be missed. Needless to say the Fam threw down and got the party started right, boosting my energy and getting me pumped for the rest of the night, which was stuffed to the gills with music.
I wanted to check out the festival grounds before it got dark, so I went on a little stroll. There were a myriad of vendors lining the routes to the stages, all peddling their unique products to inquiring patrons. There was a large canopy filled with a number of hammocks strung about in a chaotic fashion, lets just say this thing was never empty the entire weekend. Next to that was a large metal geodesic dome, which housed swings and ropes for people to let their inner ape loose on. THIS WAS FUN. On top of these attractions was your usual carnival staples, a Ferris wheel operated by a Jerry Garcia clone and a few other rides. All of these things were great, but nothing touched the pure awesomeness of the Amazeballs Amusements mini golf course. Free to play and fun as can be, the mini golf course would be the cause of much strife between friends as they battled it out for the crown in their respective crews.
I took a quick walk through the woods, trippy as ever, as the sun started to dwindle and the night crept up. People seemed to be mostly settled in and raging proper, so I decided it was time to do the same and see some music. The Werks had three sets throughout the weekend, including a VIP Lounge Tent set, but my favorite was Thursday’s Pre Party set. The Werks just slayed it and brought so much heat to the Campfire Stage I thought it might catch fire itself. I wanted to leave early and catch the end of Future Rock on the Starshine Stage, but The Werks reeled me in and did not toss me back out until the set was well and done.
Time to catch Dopapod. Dopapod played in the Red Barn, which creates something that is rarely seen anymore at music festivals, an incredibly intimate setting that feeds fans and musicians alike. Dopapod, as many fans are aware, bring a dance party along with them. There set was perfect for the barn, people were getting hot and sweaty dancing the night away. I left Dopapod to go to the Soulshine Tent, which was located close to the hammock haven mentioned above, to see the Soulshine Session presented by Melk. This could have been one of my favorite shows of the weekend. Members of Melk, Spread, The Main Squeeze and a few other artists held an open-ended jam sesh that went to some weird places and even garnered a rendition of the theme song for Fresh Prince, totally spectacular.
In an attempt to save myself for the days to come, I went back to the campsite and opted to relax the rest of the night and catch some z’s, tomorrow was a new day with new adventures.
Friday started out with guns blazing as moe. took the Moonshine Stage at 2:30 for their annual day set. Scamp was started by moe. 15 years ago and although the festival has evolved into something so much more than just a celebration of moe.’s music, the roots of the festival cannot be dismissed. Plus moe. still throws down, so why would you want to miss that? Bringing the happy, eccentric vibes they do, moe. ushered in the day with great style and grace. I left the set with a huge smile on my face, finally feeling like I was back at home.
I had to catch the end of Xavier Rudd’s set after moe. The mix of politically driven lyrics and reggae style grooves was fitting and enlightening.
Next up were Keller Williams and Grateful Grass. Anything Keller and Grateful Dead related is bound to be a hit in my book, so I was pumped to witness this extravaganza. The show was super upbeat and perfect for the time of day, much dancing commenced.
Umphrey’s took the Sunshine Stage at 6:00pm and played a ripping set that segued nicely into their next set at 7:45pm, Godboner Meets Gene Ween. The Godboner set was fun, hilarious, provocative and all around entertaining. They played quite a few Ween songs and even some Umphrey’s songs with Gene, making for some truly unique music. Umphrey’s finished off their night with a third set at Sunshine Stage, where they tore the roof off the place with a smoking rendition of “Regulate” and a bunch of other massive tracks.
After Umphrey’s I had to take a quick break to regroup considering I left my face on the ground at Sunshine Stage. It didn’t take long for the enduring sounds of EOTO’s improvisational electronic music to lure me to Moonshine Stage and continue the shenanigans.
I left EOTO early to secure a good spot for STS9 at Sunshine Stage with the crew, a move I would not soon regret. Sunshine Stage was PACKED for STS9 and the band played accordingly, even playing a rendition of “Gobnugget” with the one and only Victor Wooten on bass.
The night was slowly but surely coming to a close, so I trekked to the Red Barn and caught the rest of The New Deal’s set. Dirty, dark and dank, The New Deal brought out the dance demons and perfectly encompassed the late night dance vibe I was looking for.
Thus, Friday night was over and it became hard to even imagine there were 2 more days of this debauchery.
Saturday started out swimmingly with a nice noontime set by Victor Wooten in the Soulshine Tent. Wooten took patrons on a low-end sonic journey as he ripped through bass breakdowns left and right, not even stopping to change a broken string.
After Wooten I decided to check out Freeman, Gene Ween’s new project. The show was put together very well, although I did not know a lot of the new material being played, it was fun nonetheless and the crowd was digging it.
SPREAD, a Chicago based band originally hailing from Carbondale, IL played the Camping Stage at 3:00pm and from prior experience I knew these guys were going to go hard, they were a must see for me. There was quite a crowd for the show and the band even treated us to a sit in with the saxophone player from Chicago Funk Mafia.
Starting out the evening was Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. JRAD has been bringing new breath to old Grateful Dead songs by playing them fast and with fervor. Tom Hamilton, the guitarist, plays Jerry licks with precision and speed and has really found a home in his new home with Russo and the rest of the gang. Their set was nothing short of majestic and showcased some heavy hitters along with some rarities. Everybody was dancing, for sure.
I was able to see a little bit of the Violent Femmes show before I made my way over to the Starshine Stage to see Victor Wooten, The Violent Femmes sounded fantastic and masters of their craft. What I saw was inspiring and a nice departure from the electronic and jam based majority of the festival.
I had to see Victor Wooten again after witnessing his set earlier in the day; the man is a virtuoso and was spotted on different stages sitting in with different artists all throughout the festival. Wooten has long been a driving force in the Summer Camp scene and he made his presence known once again this year with stellar performances across the board.
The rest of the night would be made up of the classic moe./um tag team. Ever since Umphrey’s began making Summer Camp just as much their festival as it is moe.’s, the two have been sharing the glory every Saturday night, and for good reason, the fans love it. Jumping back and forth between the Moonshine and the Sunshine stages has become a tradition the past few years. Both bands tore it up and played some incredible music, really bringing the meat of the festival for me.
All that was left after the moe./um extravaganza was the late night. I knew there was only one place I wanted to be for the late night this night and that was at Kung Fu. Kung Fu has been funking amazing as of late. This show was no exception, either. They played some riveting funk music and hosted a plethora of other artists throughout the set. This was just what the doctor ordered, some good old-fashioned funk.
Sunday came and it seemed like the weekend had gone by in a flash, although there was still so much music to see. Along with Sunday came a nice, heavy rainstorm to start off the day. While this put a damper on things for about 45 minutes, it didn’t ruin the day and actually helped subdue some of the dust that had been wreaking havoc on everyone’s sinuses.
Moe. once again gave me a wonderful start to the day with a set where Bruce Hornsby accompanied them. The set consisted almost exclusively of Dead tunes, a surprise to others and me alike. This set is ranked up there with some of my favorites of the weekend, just all around quality musicianship and uplifting, blissful vibes.
Yonder Mountain String Band followed moe. on the Sunshine Stage and brought with them some fast-paced in your face bluegrass that helped the whiskey go down smooth and got the feet moving. Yonder has really come out of their shell since their recent roster change and their performance at this show is a reflection of that.
I left Yonder in a flash, hoping to make the opening song of Bruce Hornsby and the Noise Maker’s set, which I did. These guys were pros and put on a fantastic performance.
I took a little break to catch my breath until Steve Miller Band came on at 5:30pm; I knew I would need it. Steve Miller band was a spectacle. There were more people at this show than any other show I attended the entire weekend, but it didn’t really surprise me. The band was so good, I could not have discerned if it was a live show or from an album. They played all the hits and even some obscurities, rounding out an unforgettable performance.
Immediately following Steve Miller Band was Widespread Panic, another legendary rock group. Widespread came on late for their first set, so it was cut a little short, but was nevertheless full of energy and some mean ass guitar licks and bass lines.
I swung by Moonshine Stage to catch a little Cherub before Widespread came on for their second set, which was a great decision because Cherub blew up! Incredible energy and great crowd, Cherub brought me the last true dance party of the weekend and it was glorious.
After dancing my ass off at Cherub it was time to see the last set of Panic. The last set went longer to compensate for the shorter first set and Panic used that extra time to their advantage, playing some nice and long versions of songs. Playing with the fire in their bellies, this show held up as one of the best sets of Sunday.
I moseyed on over to Greensky Bluegrass after Panic and that’s where the trouble all began. There had been rumblings throughout the day that the rain was going to return. The skies were largely cloudy and throughout the day and the wind blew ferociously at times, all sure signs of water in the sky. About half way through Greensky’s set, the rain came, and it came hard. It down poured. However, this did little to thwart the efforts of the boys in Greensky, rather, it seemed to inspire them to play even better and put on an epic show for fans willing to battle the rain.
It wasn’t long after Greensky that the rain subsided and the night continued with the final moe. set of the weekend.
Moe. usually closes out the Moonshine Stage each year with a compelling set meant to send campers back to their campsites feeling rejuvenated, revived and generally happy. Keeping the trend alive, moe. did just that by performing the best original moe. set of the weekend, in my humble opinion. Moe. kept it classy and thanked the fans and crews for contributing to what has become one of the best festivals in the Midwest.
I didn’t get late nigh tickets to Big Gigantic and Friends, but Twiddle, an up and coming band on the jam circuit, played the late night show at the Campfire Stage and I was BLOWN AWAY. These guys were pure energy and played with a sense of purpose. Shit, they were having as much fun as the crowd, which explains why they absolutely killed it. I had never been to a Twiddle show before this one, but that is changing as of right now. The band played incredibly well and sent off campers at 4:00am in a daze, wondering how it could all have ended so fittingly.
The next day brought the ever-so-familiar scenes of people woefully drudging through the dust and mud with all of their gear, half of it hanging out of the wagon, back to the car in preparation to leave. Smiles were abound, as well as frowns and dismay, but the feeling of accomplishment was ever so present, Another weekend in the woods had been conquered and although the weekend had come to a close, the memories and friendships facilitated by it had not, and never will.
Summer Camp Music Festival is a little slice of paradise in the drab landscape of middle Illinois. Scamp provides a getaway for thousands every Memorial Day Weekend and many would be lost without their annual excursion to Three Sister’s Park. The 15th installment of Summer Camp was one of the best yet and is sure to go down as a favorite among attendees for years to come.