Photo Cred: Jake Blakesberg

Weeks after returning from LOCKN’ I found myself chatting with a friend over the serenading brass of a stop on Lettuce’s fall tour comparing our summer of festival excursions, when it dawned on me how the whole LOCKN’ experience was truly a special thing. We compared lineups, set lists, unexpected collaborations, and when it came down to it nothing could touch the all around beauty and magic of this event. So please join me in reliving seven very special moments that I wish I could discover all over again.

For starters, it would be a disservice not to honorably mention the musical styling’s of Warren Haynes, Susan Trucks, and Keller Williams during this incredible event. They truly made the festival with their collaborations, multiple performances, and all around amazing talent.

1. This Must Be The Place

Besides Wilco who openly expressed his disregard for the rainbow that interrupted his set on Saturday, LOCKN’ goers were amazed by the full rainbow that played as background to their afternoon of jammin’. Now I can’t speak for everyone, but the only other time I have viewed a rainbow as spectacular was after a dear friend had passed. It was as if a supernatural message had appeared implying that everything was going to be okay, which was what I also drew from the miraculous LOCKN’ rainbow.

It settled over the festival grounds as if to say that we were all there for a reason, to show love and hope to one another despite the chaos of our world. So while science surely has a more exact meaning as to the rainbow, I’d like to think that it was in a way blessing the fest, expressing that good was being done on Oak Ridge Farm that weekend.

2. Why Did We Ever Stop Listening to Kool & the Gang?

Going into the festival I was fully prepared for one of my favorite sets of the weekend to be from jam legends such as the Allman Brothers or Phil Lesh and Friends. However the one set I could not get out of my head came much earlier than expected, closing out the first night of LOCKN’. You never realize how many Kool & the Gang songs you actually know until they are laid out in front of you in a glorious display of funk; being played by the String Cheese Incident, Kool & the Gang front man James “JT” Taylor, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, alongside 30,000 of your closest friends.

It was physically impossibly not to get down as “Jungle Boogie,” “Ladies’ Night,” and “Celebration” sent funky shivers down your spine. So like I asked Jason Hann, after a recent EOTO set, “When can we expect more SCI covers of Kool & the Gang?”

Answer still yet to be determined, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two showed up at their Halloween festival in Live Oak, Florida, Hulaween.

3. The Revivalists Are Taking Over

While it may have been your first time seeing The Revivalists, it certainly won’t be your last. The NOLA boys made their LOCKN’ premiere on early Friday afternoon while most folks were still arriving on the farm.

The energy coming off their stage could have powered a small town. From the charismatic crowd interaction by lead singer David Shaw, to the sheer joy beaming off keyboardist/trumpet player Michael Girardot, to the rock star pedal steel guitar that Ed Williams was seemingly attempting to push off the stage at times, The Revivalists are here to stay as this generation’s new jam all stars.

They warmed up the stage for the heavyweights to come later in the weekend, but we predict that soon enough this group of talented guys will surely be earning prime time slots at the biggest festivals across the country.

4. Grace Potter is Flawless

Photo Cred: http://upstatelive.com

While this may hardly be considered a life-altering epiphany, if you have never seen the lady perform in person it is still a pretty incredible sight to see. It might have been the thoughtfulness of her “I Shall Be Released” tribute to Warren Haynes’ late guitar tech Brian Farmer, who passed away at age 53 (just two weeks before LOCKN’) that transformed me into an instant fan. It definitely was her rendition of “White Rabbit” that pushed me to recognize her ridiculous talent, and the fact that I could not look away from the stage from start to finish confirmed that I will forever be in love with the chops, “grace”, and flawlessness of Mrs. Potter.

5. More Fests Need to Make it About the Music

Wanting to make a music festival more about the music…sounds crazy, right? These events though once upon a time created as gatherings to foster music and peace have become the latest cash cow opportunities for entertainment corporations to benefit from, even doing so much as to restrict the entry of water at festivals in order to make another buck at the concession stand.

Though it’s naïve to long for a simpler time again, LOCKN’ has been able to take steps towards redirecting our focus back to the music, starting with the side by side main stages allowing for no headlining set overlaps. Being able to sit down and actually relax for an entire afternoon without having to stay glued to your schedule pamphlet, or fighting with your crew over which sets you’re going to have to miss is honestly the way it should always be.

6. Willie Nelson in the Flesh a lot More Powerful Than You Think it Will Be

Having a musical icon like Willie Nelson standing before you, bandana and all, is no mundane thing. Willie Nelson doesn’t just decide to walk onto the festival circuit because it’s the hip thing to do. The man plays with an all but a rotting guitar when he could have the finest instruments in the world. He couldn’t care less about trends. So when it hits you that you are in the presence of an event special enough to warrant Willie’s attention, that my friends is pretty memorable.

7. I Fear that Generations to Come Will Forget the Inspiration of The Dead

The realization that I may have been born into the wrong generation has been quite some time coming. It started kicking in when I stole all my dad’s old Talking Heads records and proceeded to play them nonstop for two weeks. It became all the more clear when I cried myself to sleep when news broke that Bob Weir would be canceling all future tour dates, and it definitely sunk in when I asked my roommate’s mom to go to a Panic show with me.

What I’m getting at is that the Grateful Dead’s presence at LOCKN’ fest has bittersweet notes for this gal. On the bright side I will be able to tell my children that I saw founding members of the Grateful Dead play live, but on the other end music may have evolved into something so outrageously stimulating that I won’t be able to sit the kid down long enough to listen to the glorious “Friend of the Devil” rendition that Warren and Phil played on that weekend back in September 2014.

But for now we will be “grateful” for the time we have left with this music pioneers and do our best to keep their spirit alive. As long as the integrity of LOCKN’ festival is around I don’t think we will have a problem with that.

Connect with LOCKN’:
https://www.facebook.com/LOCKNFestival
https://twitter.com/locknfestival

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