“Wake up. Time to go to church,” urges Bill to his partner Jody the Jedi, my next door neighbors at camp. “I missed the show last year, and it’s not happening again.”

The Bowl stage is smaller and closer to the ground, which is convenient when you are in the Pit with no stepladder. It is more intimate than the Oak and Ridge stages.

The rain started early Saturday morning, just after the Umphrey‘s McGee set closed up shop. That dope encore was legit. The intermittent downpours left over 5 inches of rain in their wake on the fields of Oakridge. Personally, my tent was soaked. The air mattress was now officially a floatation device in the wonderfully glassy sea that previously was the tent floor.

“You’re damn right I got the blues,” Buddy Guy sang out as he opened his headlining set at the annual Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival in fiery northern California on Sept. 13. While the so-called 73,000-acre Valley Fire, which burned more than 500 homes, raged as close as 30 miles away, the two-day festival site at Johnson’s Beach on the Russian River in the small, Bohemian town of Guerneville, California, was smoke-free.

Early details of a major new festival experience that will take place just outside Florida's magnificent Lake Okeechobee have been announced. Slated for March 4^th - 6^th, 2016, Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival will be Florida's biggest ever camping festival, with an extraordinary multi-genre bill boasting more than 80 artists, bands, and DJs from around the globe performing across five diverse stages.

In the wake of an awful set of circumstances, faced with the possibility of a non-existent fall music extravaganza, the fabulous folk of Deadhead Productions have again stepped up to the plate with their announcement of Hillberry 2: The Harvest Moon Festival.  Earlier this year we told you all about the 1^st Hillberry Music Festival that occurred this August on the Farm outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas… well party people, get ready to do it all over again!

I awoke Friday to the sounds of car horns honking at 6 o’clock sharp, as the initial Lockn’ Festival attendees were allowed entrance. We all understand the excitement and the urge to share it with the world, but stealing the rarest and most desirable of festival resources is just uncompassionate. A little rudeness will not keep me from “Feeling Alright.” Internal monologue starts, “And so Lockn’ begins. Get up@!

Of all the events that I have covered and shows that I have attended, none sparks or enlightens the soul more than ARISE. Creators and producers Tierro Lee and Paul Bassis have worked extremely hard to craft a festival that has something for everyone. This festival just feels good, like the energy in Maui. The music lineup is extremely diverse, the activities are plentiful, and the vibe is second to none.

Today, Silver Wrapper and Purple Hat Productions unveils over 25 new additions to the original lineup, adding to the festival's depth and prestige. Suwannee Hulaween challenges festival goers to step outside the norm and explore the new, the fresh, and the worthy that will be on display throughout their attendance.

If you love bluegrass and jam rock, dogs, swimming, and good people, Shoe Fest is the place for you!

A microburst came through Arrington, VA Wednesday afternoon, leveling all the tents and structures at Oak Ridge Farm. Staff members were thrown through the air by walls of wind gusting over 70 miles an hour.  The pummeling of Oak Ridge lasted 10 minutes and delayed Lockn’s opening until today. A big heart-felt thank you and much respect goes out to all the staff that worked overtime to rebuild the festival grounds.