Wakarusa 2014: The Top 6 Moments We Carried From Mulberry Mountain

After compiling this list of top moments from this year’s Wakarusa I began questioning whether I had journeyed to a music festival or some magical land out of a fairy tale. The people were kinder, the music was sweeter, hell the air might have even been fresher. It was my first experience on the mountain, and it surely won’t be the last. So enjoy reliving these top moments from the festival, but we will warn you that side effects from this article include painful longings to return to Waka, sasquatch hallucinations, and uncontrollable smiling.

1. “Losing Ourselves” When String Cheese Busted Out an Eminem Cover

It’s well known that String Cheese Incident are the kings of covers, but let’s be honest…who was expecting Jason Hann to spit out an 8 Mile chorus? Oh Cheese you’ve done it again. We fell in love with these guys once more with their quirky display of range and talent that just wouldn’t feel quite right coming from any other incident but this one.

2. Bassnectar…Enough Said

When that sweet Nectar sound started flowing over us quenching our thirst procured in the oh-so-long drought that was Lorin’s creative hiatus, I swear I could barely breathe. For those of us who were unable to properly celebrate Bassnectar’s glorious return at Red Rocks the previous week, his main stage performance at Waka Saturday night was a close second. It was a strange and ethereal listening experience for the seasoned Bassheads who were beholding his new unreleased music for the first time. The shock and awe was cut with rage and head banging though when Lorin threw in his anthems including “Heads Up,” “Take You Down”, “Ping Pong”, and our new favorites “Now” and “You and Me.” The highlight of the set though goes to the Martin Luther King Jr. speech clip which brought such meaningful thought and perspective to the party.

3. That Moment We Discovered the 3D Faces in the Trees at The Satellite Stage

When I heard my neighbors hysterically discussing the faces in the trees that they had seen the night before I didn’t really think too much of it. Much to my surprise, not exaggerated or hallucinated whatsoever, was this mind-blowing display mesmerizing all those who crossed its path.

4. The Flaming Lips: Much Wedding, Many Inflatables

I’m not a huge Flaming Lips fan, but damn these guys sure know how to put on a show. The crowd was transfixed by the band’s spectacle which included, but was by no means limited to dancing rainbows and mushrooms, a muscle jumpsuit, a wedding, a blow up “Fuck Yeah Wakarusa” balloon, all the while beginning the set about three times with various prompts to the crowd. We laughed, we cried (literally I saw people crying), we thoroughly enjoyed the magic and showmanship The Flaming Lips brought to the Wakarusa main stage on Saturday.

5. The Floozies “Bless the Rains Down in Waka”

Throw these dudes a pair of crowns because they rightly earned their titles as the princes of Wakarusa 2014. The Floozies hosted two unforgettable sets, Friday at the Revival Tent and again Sunday closing out the weekend at the glorious Satellite Stage. I thank my lucky stars that we left an average Rusko set Friday night to jam with the Kansas kids. Their energy was unreal, start to finish, every song, and once again they had us dancing our asses off to their killer cover of Toto’s “Africa.”

6. That Unbelievable Wakarusa Sunrise

After a raging night of String Cheese, Bassnectar, Papadosio, and ill.Gates going until the wee hours of the morning, the universe managed to reciprocate the beauty that the musicians had delivered the night before with a breathtaking sunrise that you had to see to believe.

Photo Cred: Phil Clarkin, Grateful Web, Seen Imagery, Live Edits Lab

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