Upon the morn, unless you splashed a little cash for the Thursday pre-party, an eclectic troupe of freaks, mavericks, hippies, hipsters, groovers, bassheads, people who want 8 nights of String Cheese, the ones who stay for all 3½ hours of Tribe, the relentlessly devoted PL fam, and all around good people will be making their way to Live Oak, FL to get down and dirty in the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park for Hulaween.
As a first timer to the venue myself, needless to say, I’m pumped. This is a time where I get to reunite with some old friends and fellow festival lovers, and a time to make new ones, time to reacquaint myself with mother nature and get my camp on. And of course, it’s a time to take my dance moves to unforeseen levels, listen to some sweet sweet jams, and get drenched in funk sauce while getting weird in the woods with the squad. So if you’re anything like me, you’re probably getting fired up just thinking about it right now as you read this.
The lineup this year is truly stellar, so much so that pre-sales were gone in mere minutes. It obviously features the Suwannee vets like The String Cheese Incident and STS9 who'll be holding it down all weekend, but this year they managed to book some real game changers.
For starters, Pretty Lights. I've seen this man by the name of Derek Vincent Smith five times now (which would be a meager amount in comparison to many others that will be there, you can spot them rocking at least 7 pins on their hat) but I can firmly say that there's just nothing else quite like it. The guy who does his lighting and effects goes by Lazer Shark.... Lazer. Shark. That alone makes him more awesome. Not to mention that Lettuce is going to be there, whose trumpet player, Eric Bloom, was part of PL's live band tour a few years back. Break Science will also be performing with Manic Focus as Manic Science, and their drummer, Adam Deitch was also part of that same PL tour. Coincidence?!???! I think not.
Another big recommendation would definitely have to be Odesza. They really are a prime example of how easy it is for talent to be spotted and spread around on a massive scale in this technological revolution of song sharing we live in. They've got a sort of synthed out dreaminess about them, plus there's nothing better than some live drums and deep bass really.
Other great acts include Chance the Rapper, Slightly Stoopid, Primus, Griz and so many others that I just don't feel typing them all really. This weekend will be a place where you can get your fix of funk/reggae/bluegrass/soul and enough jam bands to keep your head bobbing all day long. So pack a cooler, hammock up, put your dancing pants on, and don't forget a costume. I'll see you all on the other side.
