Ben Harper, STS9 and Railroad Earth top the lineup for the 2012 edition of High Sierra.
Gathering of the Vibes at Seaside Park, Bridgeport, CT – July 21-24
Words: Carla Danca
Photos: Jeremy Gordon
Outside of a few questions that aren’t suitable for print, “So how many have you been to?” is probably the most asked question around Gathering of the Vibes. Sixteen years after its humble beginnings as Deadhead Heaven – A Gathering of the Tribe on the campus of SUNY Purchase, Vibes has become one of the Northeast’s largest annual festivals and one of the oldest as well. In a year when many “newer” festivals celebrate their tenth anniversary, GOTV is well into is second decade. Each summer, friends – many of whom only see each other for four days each July – meet up at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT to spend a weekend together. With the heat at record highs over the weekend (103°F on Friday) more than ever it was the people, both Vibes veterans and newcomers, who made this year’s event memorable.
[All photos by Jeremy Gordon]
Sticking to its roots as a celebration of the Grateful Dead, five different members of the band played at some point during the weekend. Dark Star Orchestra brought Donna Jean Godchaux to the stage on Thursday, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s Furthur headlined on Friday, while Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann’s Rhythm Devils held court on Sunday. While many other festivals have recently been adding more electronic and popular acts – sometimes to the dismay of their core audience – Gathering of the Vibes has always stayed true to its roots. If the crowd on the field for Furthur was any indication, it seems that GOTV knows their audience as trying to snake your way out of the concert field was all but impossible with a patchwork of singing, swaying fans.
READ ON for more on Gathering of the Vibes 2011…
After a Saturday jam-packed with music at the 15th annual All Good Music Festival, I was looking forward to Sunday’s lighter lineup. One of the biggest challenges of open field tent camping at a music festival is partying into the wee hours and trying to get adequate sleep, without being cooked alive in your tent in the morning summer sun like broccoli in a bamboo steamer.
After waking up in my own personal sauna and cooling off in the West Virginia mountain air I headed up to the stage area where Sunday openers All Mighty Senators were already on the main Dragon Stage. The Baltimore-based funk-soul quintet was working hard to bring their P-Funkesque sound to the noontime set; unfortunately, their set was one of the less well attended of the weekend, probably because so many folks had taken full advantage of Saturday’s final All Good late night sets – or they were still in their tents, being braised in their own juices.
Following the Senators on the Dragon Stage were Michigan-based stringsters Greensky Bluegrass whose Saturday Rock n’ Roll in Disguise playshop set at the Grassroots Stage showed one reason why they continue to garner attention. Unlike the previous day that featured covers of songs by Talking Heads, Prince and Traffic, Sunday’s set featured mostly originals and roots covers. A sizeable audience was on hand to see GB play mostly older tunes like All Four, the Reverend and No Idea which were supplemented by a strong cover of Townes Van Zandt’s White Freightliner Blues. Closing our their hour long set mandolin player Paul Hoffman took lead vocals on a newer original tune Don’t Lie (not to be confused with the Black Eyed Peas song of the same name) that demonstrated even greater maturity in their consistently skillful songwriting.
READ ON for more from Sunday at the All Good fest…
Jam Cruise 10 sets sail from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 9 aboard the MSC Poesia and will visit Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica before returning to Ft. Lauderdale on January 14. Over the first nine Jam Cruises a number of artists have proven themselves to be ideal performers for the community-oriented vibe of the trip. Jam Cruise 10’s lineup brings nearly all of those acts back to the open seas including HT faves Umphrey’s McGee, Galactic, Soulive, Perpetual Groove, The New Mastersounds, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and Railroad Earth.
Other acts set to perform on Jam Cruise 10 will be Keller & The Keels, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Ozomatli, 7 Walkers (w/ Steve Kimock), Orgone, EOTO, Toots and the Maytals, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Toubab Krewe, Shpongle (DJ Set), Break Science w/ Chali 2na, George Porter and the Runnin’ Pardners, Dr. Klaw, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, Dead Kenny G.’s, The Heavy Pets, DJ Logic, DJ Kraz, Paper Diamond, Everyone Orchestra and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The New Deal returns to Jam Cruise this January for what will likely be the band’s last-ever performance before going their separate ways. One group we’re particularly interested in seeing is billed as A Tribute to Sly Stone and the Family Stone featuring Ivan Neville, Eric Krasno, Nick Daniels, Adam Deitch, Ian Neville and Nigel Hall. Best part? You know each of those guys will sit in with plenty of bands and in the Jam Room, a venue where Jam Cruise musicians congregate to improv each night.
Speaking of sit-ins, bringing aboard special guests to perform with the bands on the boat is a Jam Cruise tradition and for JC10 the event’s organizers have tapped Anders Osborne, Steve Kimock, Chali 2na, Col. Bruce Hampton, Big Sam, Jessica Lurie and Kyle Hollingsworth to fill those spots. Cabins go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, May 24 at Noon EDT. Those who already pre-booked will be able to pick a room according to their assigned booking time starting on May 11. Visit JamCruise.com for more details about one of the best vacations possible.
READ ON for the full Jam Cruise 10 lineup and more details…
