Music+Camping=The Music Camp

Image credit: John Grubbs

The Duhks, the Belleville Outfit, the Infamous String Dusters, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Boombox, Donna the Buffalo, Casey Driessen, and many others came together for two days of incredible music and beautiful weather in the South Carolina foothills. The crowd braved the heat during the daylight hours finding seeting in the shade and keeping their cooler's close. But at night was when the real heat was turned on. The majority of the crowd, old and young, swelled toward the stage and the energy created by the music fed the crowd's dancing and singing. In turn, the bands truly responded to the excitement and festive spirit of the audience. Bathing suits, body paint, and beers were the name of the game along with swimming with friends in the river to keep cool and rinse of the dirt and sweat of the day after the music was over.

The low-key nature of the festival gave the musicians the ability to relax into the jovial atmostphere of the hot southern hills, frequently making guest appearances with one another during sets and dancing with festival goers during late night concerts. The bands, especially the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, encouraged audiences to be participatory, even calling them up on stage.

I spent the weekend at a fledgling music festival in Spartanburg called The Music Camp. The majority of attendees set up camp in the field and forest that surrounded the festival grounds. Tents and campers created temporary community of individuals dedicated to loving music and the outdoors.

Donna the Buffalo kicked off the night on Friday with their rollicking, exhuberant zydeco and Americana got the crowd dancing. The energy snowballed as The Duhks launched headlong into an incredible set. I happened to meet a little girl named Katie that had been seeing Duhks concerts since their first singer, Jessi. She sang along to all of the songs and new all about the band members. Luckily, her love of music has led her to take violin lessons. I hope to see her again.

After The Duhks played overtime, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band of New Orleans continued the French/American/Canadian/African connections. They invited Ms. Sarah Dugas of the Duhks to sing with them, and eventually several audience members to dance during a call and response style blues jam.

The Infamous String Dusters lead the crowd into the nighttime on Saturday, preparing the way for hometown favorites and organizers of the very special festival, the Belleville Outfit. The band features 3 members who are Spartanburg natives. Rob and Jeff took it upon themselves to use their connections to bring together the people and the bands. The crowd was incredibly appreciative of their hard work and their music. Heartfelt thanks were made and the audience really soaked up their amazing set.

A change of pace came for the last set of the festival. Even when Boombox was setting up, it was clear this would be a differnt set than those before it. Electronic music equipment filled the stage and only one guitar. No fiddles or banjos. The main lights went down and beat rose from an unseen instrument as the color filled the stage. The dancing changed and so did the mood. Everyone danced themselves into exhaustion until just around 2am before everything fell silent for the night.

It's safe to say that it was a hit and I think everyone's looking forward to seeing something just as spectacular next year.