Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival is an Instant Classic [Event Review]

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival’s first introductory year went off without a hitch. Nothing but amazing vibes, amazing people, and an overall great review. The 4-day camping festival opened it’s doors on a Thursday, offering tickets to buy on the spot at the will-call location. By the end of that same night, it was completely sold out. A 4-day camping festival, on it’s first year, day one, sells out. That alone will tell you a lot about a festival and the anticipation behind it. So let’s break it down.

As with the concern with a lot of camping festivals, traffic is always a concern. The line of seemingly endless cars actually moved fairly quickly, and the security check was a breeze. As people pulled up to festival workers, wristbands were quickly checked, trash and recycling bags (extra kudos to them for doing so) were handed out, and we were on our way to finding the perfect camping spot for the weekend. My friends and I found a great end camping spot, so we had ample room for fun and activities, with no insane crowding or feeling as though you were on top of each other, like you can feel at other festivals (TomorrowWorld and some others). Privacy wasn’t an issue with the staff, the shower facilities were conveniently located, and the porta potties were extremely clean, with being serviced multiple times a day: godsend. One of the only things that comes to mind when thinking about room for improvement about the festival, and probably the entire weekend, was the actual camping areas themselves weren’t marked. We had a hell of a time trying to figure out what area on the map we were camping in exactly. By day 2.5 we had it figured out without any help, which really is entirely too long. Small thing to a giant in this case.

After exploring the grounds a little, we went straight to the Jungle 51 stage, designated for electronic music. Because the stage only went from dusk till dawn, it was assumed that there would be a decent, but small little setup that accompanied a DJ booth/table, some lights, but nothing too crazy, which any true dance music fan would have been content with. Boy was I wrong. Okeechobee delivered some of the best lasers and lights we have ever witnessed. From crazy patterns overhead, to meticulous flickers and stretches that perfectly accompanied the beat, to a sea of green laser light completely blanketing over top of you, it was a truly magical and eye catching experience. Match that with some funky fresh techno beats, tech house vibes going darker and deeper, and everyone was in electronic heaven. It was easily the most shuffling myself and other new friends that I met have done in one festival. Another convenience was that if you needed a break, there were 6+ couches that could fit 5-6 people, perfectly positioned alongside the edge of the dancing area to catch a breather.I discovered so many new artists that I wasn’t too familiar, which was still phenomenal. Music keeping the night awake to shuffle and dance to all, attendees spinning orbs and poi everywhere, and just all around positive and great vibes from everyone. With such a great underground after-hours feel, and was definitely one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend. Although there was water and other beverages being sold inside, there weren’t any water filling stations nearby, forcing you to go on a little bit of a hike. Not the end of the world by any means.

Due to such a diverse line-up, Okeechobee had six different stages that included three main stages which were conveniently named  BE, HERE, and NOW. All of the stage names were illuminated to make the trek to view the perfect set a little easier. Despite the closeness of the main stages, there was minimal sound bleeding and lots of breathing room.This made it easier to hop from stage to stage, and also wander around to discover new music. Each artist’s set times were staggered on average by 25-30 minutes, making it easier to catch bits and pieces of everyone you wanted to see. There were over 100 different DJs and artists to listen to over the weekend, including a pow-wow session including Mac Miller, Hall & Oates, Skrillex, Miguel and more.

Some of the other artist highlights started with an amazing set by Big Wild. Throwing his funky, jazzy sounds down along with some crowd-pleasers and some soon to be released jams, it was a great way to start off an incredible weekend with some chill, laid back vibes. Friday’s highlight was definitely Bassnectar. Lorin captivated the crowd with visuals choreographed perfectly to every bass drop. The perfect combination of head-banging classics and new releases that have been craved by his audience since blowing everyone’s mind in Birmingham for his NYE 360 2015 show. Tom Morello performed a perfect mash-up between electronic and late 90’s Rage Against the Machine with classics such as “Bonfire” by Knife Party, to “Show Me How To Live” by Audioslave. Hermitude was easily one of mine, and many other’s personal favorites of the entire weekend. Playing classics, to newer jams, and of course not forgetting their best remixes, I was blown away. Towards the end of the set, Luke and Angus did a b2b dual against each other. It was the first I had ever seen of anything like it, and it was definitely a great way to close out their set. Check out a clip from their b2b jam sesh below.

After their performance, the two gents even hopped down from the stage to do an impromptu meet and greet with the people who stuck around. Great music, great guys.

Skrillex played one of the better sets we’ve seen from him on a solo stage. It seemed like the entire festival showed up for his set, because it was packed to the brim. As far as the eye could see, there was head-banging, jumping up and down, and everyone just losing themselves to the non-stop energy which is always incredible to see Skrillex conducting the audience. And to top it all off, it was personally my first opportunity to see Odesza. They provided a beautiful ending to an already heart-warming weekend. Melodic, relaxed sing alongs with some of your newest closest festival friends left everyone feeling accomplished and loved. Okeechobee couldn’t have chose a more perfect headliner to close the festival. Luckily for those who weren’t ready to call it a night, Jungle 51 was open for some more late night dancing.

Aside from all of the energy from the six stages, and late-night vibes from Jungle 51, Okeechobee also provided a slue of other activities and areas throughout the festival that could be explored all hours of the day. Chobeewobee village supplied a variety of art with galleries and shops that incorporated both music and art interests that included handmade jewelry, clothing, and collectibles.

Art was not only found in just the village, but throughout the entire festival. There were large structures made from completely re-purposed materials that spit fire along with being completely functional and moving about, to smaller pieces for your eyes to take in and interpret in your own way. Multiple activities were scheduled that went from acroyoga classes at yogachobee, to volleyball on the beach, there was always something to spark attendees interests beyond just music and art to enhance your experience.

Last but not least, the food was amazing. The venue had many international cuisines covered, located conveniently around multiple stages which pulled from many of local food trucks. The lines were quite long for the food trucks in the morning, but with great demand comes great patience, with quite a few mouths to feed.

If you haven’t noticed by now, pretty much anything I’ve talked about to do with this festival that you could perceive in a negative light, I have brushed off, and made it seem like it wasn’t at all a big deal. And that’s exactly my point about the first year of Okeechobee Music Festival. With great vibes, any one of those little negatives never wore on your mind for more than the blink of an eye. Okeechobee gives many of the long running festivals a run for their money. Mind you, although this was the inaugural year, we forsee a very bright future for Okeechobee. Once you enter the portal that is OMF, you won’t ever want to leave.

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http://www.Okeechobeefest.com

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