Written by: Cam Elkins
Photography by: Keith Griner & Adam Berta
There are elements of music that represent some of the most essential qualities of what it means to be human. Musicians turning feelings into sounds, painting them into rhythms, and then back into shared emotions with fans, the musical experience is an energetic feedback circuit, and it electrifies parts of the human spirit that are more ancient than language itself. “Music is a language,” said Jim Loughlin of moe. on the Weird Music Podcast. “You don’t need words to have language. Language pre-exists words. Music has been communication since the beginning of mankind. It’s a language everyone understands. It’s universal.”
For 19 years now, Summer Camp Music Festival has been home to the profound tradition of the universal language of music. Bringing in acts from all around the country to show what they’ve got, take big risks, ignite crowds, and leave everything they’ve got on stage; playing a set at Summer Camp is a uniquely special thing for any musician. “Don’t be afraid to take risks,” said Andy Frasco. “And be exactly who you want to be when you walk on that stage… We are here to entertain and give full artistic expression. Don’t waste time without giving it everything you got.”
Some people are all about getting to see the best musicians around show what they’ve got on the big stage, especially those that can get into the zone and make it all up on the fly. Other people are all about getting to dance their asses off for four days straight, creating memories with friends that they’ll never forget. For others, music itself is something they’ve been deeply connected to since childhood, and has become something almost sacred to them through the various ups and downs of growing older. For many, Summer Camp Music Festival represents all of this. No matter what genre of music you’re into, one thing that any music fan can appreciate about festivals like Summer Camp is that they get peoples’ eyes out from being glued to their screens, into being awestruck by some of the best live music that exists. From couches and iPhones to hanging intimately on the unfolding moment, events like Summer Camp seem to be part of what holds power to change our culture for the better.
“I think live music’s role in life is to keep us present and off our phones,” continued Andy Frasco. “The connection between artist and listener, and the uniqueness every show brings, is what keeps us closer and closer to staying in the moment more and more.”
From the beginning of mankind to now, music has always been the universal language, capable of bending time and bringing people more intimately connected to the power of what truly makes us who we are deep down. Festivals like Summer Camp are places where those who “know”, and those who want to find out, can come and tap into an energy far greater than any physical thing. The heart of life itself, taking the form of both musicians and fans alike, poured feverously back-and-forth for four straight days between stages and crowds. Whether it was goin’ down with Oteil & Friends, at the Sunshine Stage with Umphrey’s McGee, moe. on the Moonshine Stage, between The Flock and the good ole’ Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, or in the crowds of world-class jamtronica acts like Lotus, STS9, and Papadosio; smiling faces of psychedelic excitement glowed radiantly all weekend long.
“There is something innately human in live music… Seeing it in the moment definitely has a lot of power, and, ya know, rituals are important,” explained Jesse Miller of Lotus on the Weird Music Podcast. “Music and live performances, I think, fills that role for a lot of people right now and definitely through music history… I think it’s one of, if not maybe the highest forms of art… It’s very powerful the way [music] speaks between cultures and there’s just something inherently human about it. It’s huge… It almost feels like time is experienced in a different way.”
With this happening at Summer Camp for so many different people, in so many different ways, one can start to see a bit more clearly how bright the light is that shines from the proverbial “other side”, through all of these musicians.
Basically, for four days, the music at Summer Camp kept fans in this mind-state right between thrill and astonishment. The freeness of the music, the way most of it is created right there, live and on-the-spot… it causes people to be fully engaged, presently, as free as the music encourages them to be.
“There are a lot of things we do that are not set in stone… Really just everyone has to listen and create something new in the moment… but that is where the magic lies, and a lot of our audience is luckily on board with that, and wants to be apart of it as much as we do,” explained moe. guitarist Chuck Garvey. “It’s those moments where you’re being present and just reacting to what’s happening, and maybe finding something new… the comedy… whatever it is, you find the honesty in whatever you’re doing… You find those moments where you realize you’re doing something honest and in the moment… You know this is a different day, something new is happening, and that’s the exciting part about being alive.”
Between falling in love with complete strangers during Papadosio’s set, freaking out from hearing that Pigeons and moe. would be doing a superjam together (in place of the absent Rebelution), seeing Mihali of Twiddle make people cry in the VIP tent, witnessing people go crazy to the music of my favorite Columbus bands (The Werks, Barefuzz, and Electric Orange Peel), and getting to see some unforgettable shit from some of my absolute favorites (shoutout to Oteil & Friends, Aqueous, Goose, Mungion, and Dizgo), each day at Scamp came jam packed with its own unique reason to be bursting with happiness. Ranging from jamtronica to funk to EDM to bluegrass to brain-smashing rock n’ roll, I got to see all walks of life wearing the many faces of that profound “aha” moment of live music. Of course, we all have close friendships with people outside of the music scene, but at the same time, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you also have extremely close bonds that have blossomed from having that magical experience together dancing at a show. No conversations are needed for communication once these bonds are formed.
No matter your subjective differences, the deep connection that exists once two ecstatic people (who may be complete strangers) lock eyes during a show… there’s nothing else like it. “If you look at this festival… there’s about 10,000 people here… there’s probably not that many people that leave here angry about anything… it’s making these people happy,” said moe. drummer Vinnie Amico. “That’s why they come here… Not only are we saying something, the crowd is saying something back, and feeling something. It’s all very reciprocal.”
“Musically you can know, if I’m playing something… I don’t necessarily know what it is, it just comes out… It’s just a feeling… There’s a catharsis to it,” said Loughlin. “When you’re watching someone play, the person next to you could be watching the same person and get a completely different interpretation of what is happening and how it actually affects them… It’s filtered through your experiences in life… It’s the same thing when you’re playing! When you’re playing, you’re just interpreting something that’s coming through you… You’re kind of interpreting a moment like a conduit.”
Regardless of the genre, the music coming through is all the same One Great Spirit of Life, expressing itself through music, and that’s why Summer Camp Music Festival is such an amazing and beautiful thing. Constantly, society is reinforcing ideas of things that seem to separates us. Our brains do this as well – preoccupying us with regular ramblings of comparing ourselves (and others) to all sorts of things – paying far too much focus to the ways we appear to be better or worse than others, as opposed to the similarities we share. Breaking through the clutches of the random nonsense of politics, of comparing how many likes we get on social media, of arguing about which team is better than which, and of all the other subdivisions people have become preoccupied with, music festivals are a chance to rest confidently atop the understanding that we are all made of nature, in these miraculously complex bodies, doing this whole super ridiculous, weird, crazy awesome “life” thing. Whether you’re rich or poor, from the city or the country, a rock star or a vendor, young or old, a jam fan or an EDM fan, whatever it is… live music spiritually unites us all. Sometimes at music festivals, when two people lock eyes, the silent acknowledgment of “I am you, and you are me.” is made, instantly turning strangers into family. I guess that’s why everyone at music festivals embraces each other just like family. Anyways, Summer Camp, holy cow, you were amazing. It truly was an honor to have been apart of this unbelievable weekend.
Weird Music Podcasts at Summer Camp
Featuring moe. -> click here
Featuring Lotus -> click here
Summer Camp Music Festival 2019: The Language of Music and The Spirit of Life
