Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
The scent of a campfire is one our favorite things about fall. Experiencing that smell the warm scent of wood and flames while at a festival is a very rare occurrence, but at Suwannee Hulaween, the scent permeated the air as campers entered the grounds. The relaxed atmosphere of Suwannee with a camp-where-you-want, be-who-you-are, and do-what-you-feel attitude made the weekend an experience we will not soon forget. The campgrounds were open all week for guests to come early and set up camp for the upcoming weekend, RV’s and Tents filled the grounds as far as the eye could see, and attendees took advantage of this one of a kind festival with open arms.
The music festivities kicked off Wednesday night with a concert to benefit the families affected by Hurricane Irma. The show featured performances from The Heavy Pets, Come Back Alice, Joose, Beartoe, and Albert Simpson, guests were asked to pitch in donations to support those affected by the natural disaster. A small price to pay for a night of amazing tunes.
Photo Credit: Lia Tabackman
Thursday was when the majority of the festival goers arrived for a unique pre-party experience. Beginning at noon and running well into Friday morning, Thursday featured sets by groups ranging from bluegrass to dubstep. Highlights of the evening included two sets by Umphrey’s Mcgee – a trend that has become a festival standard for the group. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead played two sets of Grateful Dead tunes, and Greensky Bluegrass closed out Spirit Lake Stage with a raging late-night performance. Closing out the pre-party was Liquid Stranger, who rocked the Patch Stage with his unique brand of bass music until 2:00 a.m. For attendees too excited to sleep, the Silent Disco raged on until the wee hours of the morning.
Hulaween was broken down into five stages and two silent disco arenas. The Patch stage – which held the majority of hip-hop and EDM acts – was repositioned for the 2017 festival to provide better acoustics and sound disbursement. The Meadow, also known as the main stage, was nestled at the bottom of a valley large enough to cradle the majority of Hulaween attendees at any given time – especially throughout the seven String Cheese Incident sets that took place over the weekend. The Amphitheater stage had plenty of trees begging to be graced with hammocks, providing the perfect spot to take a break during the day, while The Campground, which was not originally a Hulaween stage, found a new home in the forest and began a new Hulaween tradition.
Photo Credit: Lia Tabackman
Friday shows included another set by Greensky Bluegrass, the first two String Cheese Incident sets of the weekend, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats tearing up the main stage, Big Wild gaining lots of new fans with his unique style of performance, and The Russ Liquid Test who brought their own brand of New Orleans Funk up to Florida for the weekend. Bassnectar closed out the evening with a hard-hitting set featuring unreleased music that Hulaween attendees were some of the first to experience.
Photo Credit: Lia Tabackman
On Saturday, Poolside had the crowd grooving to their mellow, summery tunes while Beats Antique shook things up with live dancers on stage moving to their Eastern-inspired beats. Saturday’s themed performance by String Cheese Incident, “Night Of The Loving Dead,” featured covers of classic love songs including Huey Lewis and The News’ Power of Love, Bob Marley’s Is This Love, Beyonce’s Crazy In Love, and The Beatles All You Need Is Love. Closing out Saturday was Damian Jr. Gong Marley with an impressive performance inspired by his Jamaican roots.
Photo Credit: Lia Tabackman
Sunday, the last and chilliest day of the weekend, featured Stick Figure with his chill reggae tunes, Lotus showing their awe-inspiring instrumental talents, and Keys and Krates whose bass-heavy performance had the power to satiate even the most extreme bassheads, Moon Taxi at the Spirit Lake dropped several new tracks and collaborated with a number of special guests, while electro-funk icon GRiZ, who on Saturday night performed a secret set at the campground, closed out the Main Stage with a set that set everyone’s spirits over the top for a perfect ending to Hulaween.
Photo Credit: Maggie Forbes
If you were in attendance at this year’s Hulaween, you know that The Spirit of Suwannee is alive and well, and we can’t wait to return next year.
Connect with Suwannee Hulaween:
https://www.facebook.com/suwanneehulaween
https://twitter.com/HulaweenFL
https://instagram.com/HulaweenFL
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