I thought I had a decent grip on what to except from my first AURA Music and Arts Festival. My experience with Spirit of the Suwannee for Hulaween had blown me away, and the thought of finally dancing amongst the mossy trees and the sandy woods left me sleepless for weeks approaching.
Cruising around the venue Friday afternoon I quickly discovered that where I had expected the main stage there was an empty field, sprinkled with a stray hooper here or there. The shady amphitheater would be the revised home base for the weekend. The change of setting may have thrown off the ideas in my previous daydreams of where I would be getting down to Dosio and The Biscuits, but after settling into a leafy seat for Moe’s first set, the rest was history.
Fast forward three days of jamming out with an intimate crowd of 5,000 folks attending for the love of the music and art, and I’m officially spoiled rotten for the rest of festival season.
AURA encompassed what a music and arts festival should truly be about. The creativity flowing through Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park was second to none of any festival I’ve ever seen. Every ounce of the venue was transformed into a visual stimulant to be soaked in and enjoyed, right down to saran wrap makeshift canvases hanging from the trees.
The minimalist nature of the event drew such an organic crowd of people that is so rare at to see at most festivals now, and it didn’t seem that it was necessarily due to a more mature demographic of attendees or lack of any large EDM acts. Festival goers mostly seemed to average early twenties and there was a good bit of deep house, etc. trickling from campsite speakers, yet somehow not one fluorescent, drug innuendo, graphic t-shirt crossed my path.
Chilly nights around the campfire gave way to gloriously rested mornings, where waking up in time for an early afternoon set didn’t have to be the struggle it is at most fests. These one and two o’clock sets turned into easily the top performances of the weekend with Consider the Source’s face melting, sci-fi, Middle-Eastern fusion and TAUK’s charismatic, melodic rock.
Not so surprisingly though the most memorable afternoon show of the fest goes to The Main Squeeze and their Michael Jackson tribute. Few things in the world can bring people together like some MJ classics, and Corey Frye’s renditions couldn’t have been more on point.
Video Cred: CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS
When dusk settled and the laser light ceiling emerged above the crowd in the amphitheater, the magic of AURA really set in. Doubleheader evening sets of Moe on Friday and the Disco Biscuits on Saturday couldn’t have been a more perfect scheduling call. Just one set of either would have seriously been a tease. Both bands really shone during their second sets, with Mike Dillon sitting in with Moe for “Meat” and Bisco rocking an incredible “House Dog Party Favor” to close out their inaugural AURA performance.
The highly anticipated Break Science Live Band project debuted in full force Sunday. Lettuce’s Jesus Coomes, Adam Smirnoff, Ryan Zoidis and Eric Bloom’s accompaniment brought the Break Science duo to life. Together they all put their own spin on the electronic artist turned live band experiment premiered by the Pretty Lights Music label master, Derek Vincent Smith. Their set was the ideal, high-energy ending to the weekend, and it will be exciting to watch this project blossom as the guys explore all the magic they can create as a live band.
It would be a disservice not to shout out a handful of other stand out moments of AURA. Turbo Suit had a rough set time, a bit of a walk away from the main stages and during the better half of Moe’s closing set, but despite the circumstances they lit up the Music Hall Stage for the intimate crowd. Their “Cocaine Blues” remix left you with no regrets for making the haul away from the main drag, and had us still dancing on the route back to the Porch Stage.
While exploring around the vendor tents, imagine one’s surprise when Dopapod throws down the 90’s anthem by No Doubt, “Just A Girl.” If you ever wanted to see a crowd of hippies get down to some Gwen Stefani, that was probably your best bet.
Disco Biscuit’s second set of “Helicopters > I-Man > Crickets (Intro) > E Jam > Helicopters > House Dog Party Favor” couldn’t have been a better way to begin this Bisco love affair for many of us in the dirty South who don’t see The Biscuits come around as often as we would like to.
We’ll see you next year, AURA! Thank you for the tranquil memories and setting the bar way too high for the next months of festivals to come. This event so flawlessly succeeded in taking the chaos and stress out of what festivals can become, and focused on the roots of why we’re gathering in the first place. We hope to see more of this ambiance relayed throughout 2015.
Connect with: AURA Music & Arts Festival
https://www.facebook.com/auramusicfestival
https://twitter.com/AuraMusicFest
Photo Cred: Jeffrey Dupius, Jason Koerner Photography, Sonsini Media
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