Revival Music Festival 2019 was hosted by Useful Jenkins for the first time in Harmony Park history. With an extra tight timeline, Useful Jenkins had less than two months to plan the entire festival, book artists, vendors, live painters, and more, to prepare for the Memorial Day weekend music festival. Despite the incredible time constraints, everything was accomplished with ease by Useful Jenkins and the Northern Sun crew when it came time for Revival Music Festival 2019 on Memorial Day weekend.
Revival Music Festival was kicked off with a pre-party with early camping to the first 600 guests that arrived on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Despite the rain earlier in the week, many guests found their way home to Harmony Park in Geneva, Minnesota and set up their camps before more rain entrenched the area.
On the first official day at Revival Music Festival 2019, the gates opened to a stream of cars at 10:00 AM. With plenty of raincoats, ponchos, umbrellas, and rain boots in sight, Harmony Park guest’s set-up their camps and waited for the weather to clear.
The music was kicked off by the band Goose, hailing from Connecticut, on Friday night at the Main Stage. The clouds gave way, and the sun came out to shine as the music started. This was the first time that Goose had played at Revival Music Festival. The young band from Connecticut fit right in with jam-band vibes to help clear the gloom. Easy tunes got the crowd dancing in mud puddles at the Main Stage. Many festival-goers chose to kick off their shoes and dance in the mud. Plenty of positive vibes helped dispel the gloom from the earlier rainy weather. “They barely took a breath during their set!” one festival-attendee exclaimed following Goose’s performance. The band Goose closed out their set with a slower tune to ease the transition into the next set by New Orleans Suspects and Tribal Gold.
Plenty of muddy bare feet, tie-dye, and dead & co. apparel were seen in the crowd during New Orleans Suspects and Tribal Gold who performed Friday, May 24, 2019. New Orleans Suspects and Tribal Gold gave a performance of pure gold to the ecstatic crowd of muddy fans. New Orleans Suspects and Tribal Gold brought a taste of Madi Gras to Revival Music Festival by hitting the stage wearing magnificent, flowing feather headdresses and fans with customized beading.
On the first night of Revival Music Festival 2019, Frogleg hit the Main Stage with their funk music. The reggae-funk-jam band drew a thick crowd who didn’t mind dancing extra hard in the equally as thick of mud at Revival Music Festival 2019. The crowd enjoyed a late night that remained rain free throughout the set of funky-stylings by Frogleg. Joe Dunn from Frogleg gave a quote after his performance on Friday: “We’ve been coming here since the start and plan on coming back every year to be “revived” at Revival.”
Friday night closed without a single cloud or worry in the sky as positive vibes soared high at Revival Music Festival 2019. The music played on without need to cancel due to the forecasted rain that was anticipated.
The band TAUK brought the FUNK to Harmony Park on Friday night, May 24, 2019. TAUK performed plenty of their top hits, including “Let It Ride.” The funk fest, continued with such covers as “Superstitious” that got the crowd singing along with TAUK loudly. The crowd roared for an encore by TAUK. Fans were extra rambunctious Friday evening after they had been cooped at camp on the previous night while it rained rained during the early-camping pre-party.
Following their set, Isaak Teal, member of TAUK, gave a quote about the crowd that night: “Feeling grateful for the Att-energy (attention and energy) we had at Revival.”
On day two of Revival Music Festival 2019, the band Rampant Roots started off the day at the side stage. Following Rampant Roots, local artist Smokin’ Joe took to the main stage.
With performances by Stringdingers, and Driftwood, at the main stage, and sets at the side stage by Clusterpluck, artist Big Zach, and artist Erik Koskinen, Saturday at Revival Music Festival was musically-speaking, in the best of hands. The crowd had good times enjoying the music alternating their attention between the main and side stages, as well as, the much-desired sunshine.
Kind Country played music off their new album “Hard Times.” The vibes felt at Revival Music Festival 2019 during Kind Country’s set was the opposite of “hard times,” where everyone was enjoying the music and dancing along to Max Graham shredding on the mandolin. Kind Country played songs with lyrics that related to the crowd’s energetic attitude such as, “Sounds Like A Party to Me” that got the crowd to riotously dance in the mud at the main stage. Kind Country brought out the bluegrass and boogie to Revival Music Festival 2019.
Following Kind Country, on night two of Revival Music Festival 2019, was Aaron Kam and the One Drops out of St. Louis. The set was heavy and heady. During the performance by Aaron Kam and the One Drops, the crowd jammed along to songs like “Love Me Higher.”
Friday night at Revival Music Festival 2019 was full of positive vibes among the oak trees. The crowd’s energy was revived as Fruition took to the main stage. Night two of Revival Music Festival 2019 brought a warm crowd to the chilly night at Harmony Park. The warm feeling extended to a double encore by Fruition to close out the night.
After Fruition’s double-encore ended, the music was not over. To continue the high feelings of revival, musicians such as Max Graham (lead singer and mandolin) of Kind Country, and Jon Sullivan led the crowd in a sing-along acoustic jam session at Lucky’s Pub.
On the final day of Revival Music Festival 2019, the band Humbletown started Sunday with bluegrass music to ease into the afternoon. Their easy tunes got the crowd feeling laidback and ready for the last day. Local act Bob Pat Band, and the band Monsters of Grass from Wisconsin, took to the stages next with bluegrass.
Revival Music Festival 2019 would not have been complete without an appearance by the band Burbillies, and the local act, Space Monkey Mafia. Warm feelings were heightened as the sunlight at Revival Music Festival 2019 continued to brighten and lift the spirits at Harmony Park.
Finally, on Sunday afternoon, the band that brought Revival Music Festival 2019 into creation, Useful Jenkins, hit the main stage. Useful Jenkins delivered with their set with plenty of crowd favorites. Useful Jenkins started off their set with “Festival Express” one of their top hits. The crowd danced vigorously barefoot to “Fast Eddie.” A guest-appearance by artist Keller Williams joined up with Kind Country to perform a bluegrass-rock cover of “Another Brick in the Wall.” Useful Jenkins finished their set with a heartfelt thank you to all of those in attendance of Revival Music Festival 2019. Useful Jenkins fully-delivered with both their set and their festival. To finish their set, Useful Jenkins performed for the loving Harmony Park crowd, “Home Sweet Home.”
Later Sunday afternoon, the Revival Music Festival crowd welcomed back to the Harmony Park main stage, artist Keller Williams, who performed on the main stage. He performed in front of a positively gleeful crowd who enjoyed Keller William’s looped-music. During his set, Keller Williams narrated a hilarious incident that occurred the previous night while he was playing at Sumer Camp Music Festival in Illinois which made all of Harmony Park laugh.
On Sunday evening at Revival Music Festival 2019, the west coast band, Dirty Revival, hit the side stage with a soulful sound hailing from Portland, Oregon. The romance at Revival was turned up with songs like “I just kissed my baby.” While the crowd was feeling frenzied and turned on following Dirty Revival’s set at the side stage, the high energy was building throughout the evening leading up to the festival headliner, Here Come The Mummies.
Here Come the Mummies started their set with a surprise entrance to the crowd’s awe, outfitted with light-up LED drums in a procession to the main stage where the funk fest commenced. The performance of Here Come the Mummies was epically choreographed, with suggestive lyrics enough to make your grandmother blush. The dancefloor was packed with gyrating hippies moving their booties to hilarious sexual innuendos and drug-use references. The performance was complete with elaborate mummy costumes that cloaked the musician’s identities to further titillate the crowd’s imagination, which just begged to be pulled off for a look at what was underneath the sheets. The cumulation of musical events leading up to Here Come The Mummies on Sunday night led up to an explosion of funk that carried on the euphoric vibes at Revival Music Festival 2019.
Although the lineup at Revival Music Festival 2019 consisted of bands from across the nation, there was a mutual feeling which was carried across the stage from the musicians to all of those in attendance of Revival Music Festival 2019. There was an agreed upon feeling of regeneration, reinvigoration, and restoration.
Joe Scarpellino of Smokin’ Joe gave this quote about Revival Music Festival 2019: “Revival was a resounding success. From the caliber of the national talent to the local showcases - you couldn’t have asked for a more sonically sound weekend. The Revival team truly came together to create something greater than themselves. They created a moment in time many will cherish for the rest of their lives, and I already can’t wait for next year.”
Revival Music Festival 2019 was a complete success, or as the Revival Music Festival website describes, “an improvement in the condition or strength of something.” There could not be a better way to describe how everyone felt after Revival Music Festival 2019. Those in attendance felt the strengthening of relationships of those around them, and the appreciation for the revitalizing moments shared at Harmony Park during Memorial Day weekend 2019.
Check out more photos from Revival Music Festival.
