This past weekend was one that was full of surprises, twists, turns, and honest miracles. For those that attended, we experienced quite a rollercoaster of emotions (Fisher pun intended), but one thing that we all know for sure is this: there is no family like Dirtybird family. To address the news that spread throughout social media, Dirtybirds flocked to the campsite and eagerly awaited to get down to the music they were so excited to hear. But, unfortunately, the opening party the night before had too much fun and the surrounding neighbors weren’t exactly happy. To check out what went down in more detail, check out the Claude VonStroke Q&A here.
While we were disheartened and a bit confused, we didn’t let that stop us from making the best of it. This is why Dirtybird is as strong and incredible as it is. We all came together, partied with our own speakers and dance floors, and kept our spirits high for what we knew was going to be an incredible festival weekend. Outside of campsite party hopping, attendees could watch Claude VonStroke play drunk soccer with team Brazil, play late night bingo with the enigmatic Rusty, or do the most ridiculous rendition of Lap Dance for your life. Although there was no music, there was spirit. And that’s what mattered.
Around noon the next day, we heard a rumbling of cheers and outcries of joy explode through the camps. Counselors rode through and called through the big horn speaker that the music was back on. Aw, sweet sweet Dirtybird relief. Christian Martin kicked us off for the day, which was a bit of a switch up from the expected sunrise set. Campers flocked to the Birdhouse in droves, finally getting a taste of that music we had all been starving for. As Claude said in the Q&A, we came back from the dead, and we are here to party. We got our boots shaking to his mash up Johannes Volk’s “Earthbound” and Chen’s “Yellah VIP” amongst his most beloved laid back classics like “Flight of the Pterodactyl” and otherworldly “Fantastic Planet”.
Campers hopped between the Birdhouse and Bass Lodge to catch their favorites like DJ Tennis, Sage Armstrong, and Mija + Ryan Forever. One artist that will definitely be on our radar moving forward is Persian Empire. The special thing about this DJ, as father Claude announced on stage, is that he mixed everything live. Literally. There was no laptop at all, just a simple deck set up and the German-based producer, Sam Khatam, was throwing down incredible mixes. It was one of the most passionate performances seen the entire weekend.
The sets that set the dance floor on fire heading into the night were definitely by Will Clarke followed by Fisher at the Birdhouse main stage. Clarke had the crowd jumping with “Booty Percolatin’” and his Walker and Royce collab “3 4 Shake It”. Fisher quickly took to the decks to blast crowd favorites “Stop It” and “Ya Didn’t” while also dropping some unreleased goodies that will keep fans on their toes till he drops his next fire EP, like his unreleased “Burnin’ Up” that fans have been posting across Facebook and YouTube.
Next up at the Bass Lodge was the This Ain’t Bristol showcase with BOT, Billy Kenny, and Maximono. We got an excellent mashup of each artist, with blends of “Techno (Not Techno)”, Billy Kenny and Maximono’s “Hulahoop” and Maximono’s most recent single, “No Joke”. It was dark, moody, and had a dash of eccentricity that could only come from This Ain’t Bristol. We finished off the festival schedule with Walker & Royce and Claude VonStroke. We got down to VonStroke’s most recent “Book on the Table” and plenty of colorful smash ups of “Take Me to Your Leader” and “Mind Yo Bizness”.
Though the music ended around 10PM every night, it didn’t stop the campers from putting up renegade stages, where artists like Soul Clap, Justin Martin, Bruno Farlan, Worthy, and Billy Kenny would sneak in some groovy tracks and play until the early hours of the morning. When the music finally came to a close, campers where left waiting for Sunday’s set list and music times, and that’s when the Dirtybird team came through and gave an incredible second day full of music, dance, and unforgettable moments.
Campers barely got a wink of sleep between the after parties and the time the real stages sprung back up: 7 AM, bright and early. By that time fellow dirtybirders got together at the Bass Lodge to enjoy artists like Eprom and Justin Martin playing some exceptional beats, when all of a sudden DJ Tree (Claude Vonstroke’s Drum and Bass alias from the 90’s) did a B2B with Martin himself. It was all pretty exciting, but there was still so much more to see, and it wasn’t even noon yet! Campers had plenty of activities, like archery, dodge ball, and balloon tosses to keep them distracted on the way to the next stage. One of the best aspects of all the events was the combination of campers playing alongside some of the most renowned DJ’s in the scene, which is one thing you don’t see in many festivals. Not to mention how, at any moment, you could find prominent artists like Will Clarke in the crowd enjoying the music. Throughout the rest of the day, exceptional sets were played and thoroughly enjoyed. J.Phlip supplied her great taste in music, Ardalan his classic sound, and Claptone his familiar feel-good beats. All in anticipation for a family set that would close up the night, where everyone came back together to make much celebrated appearance.
All in all, the weekend was exceptional! The combination of games, music, and overwhelming support of the campers and staff is what saved Dirtybird Campout in the end. This is truly a festival that will go down in the books, not only for it’s experience but also for that damn come back! It goes to show, even when you think everything is going to shit, if there’s a will (and there was) there’s a way. We’re looking forward to hearing some announcements about next Campout, but until then–stay dirty, birdies.
Connect with Dirtybird Campout:
https://www.facebook.com/dirtybirdcampout
https://twitter.com/dirtybirdcamp
https://soundcloud.com/dirtybirdrecords
https://www.instagram.com/dirtybirdcamp
http://east.dirtybirdcampout.com
Co-written by: Alicia Carabarin