Disc Jam Music and Arts Festival - Day 2
Stephentown, NY June 9-12
Artists featured: Electron, Dopapod, American Babies, Hayley Jane and the Primates, Kung Fu, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Space Bacon, Mister F, Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Teddy Midnight, Wobblesauce Wu Tang Clan's Capadonna, Panda Jam, Incus, Bearly Dead, Wyllys, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, Litz, Incus, Chromatropic,and Members of Turkuaz
The 6th annual Disc Jam Music and Arts Festival finished up this past weekend in Stephentown, NY with a lineup chock-full of Jam fun and despite a rainy Saturday morning the festival seemed to flow smoothly and continuously with mostly all acts performing on-time. Festival staff worked day and night to keep up with the needs and requests of artists, fans, and staff. A large number of food and crafts vendor were on site including a general store where fans could purchase items like ponchos, tent stakes, lighters, cigarettes, water bottles, blankets, candy, snacks and many other items you’d find yourself using at a camp-out festival. "If you forgot it...we brought it!" is the saying on the banner at the general store, which usually ends up to be true.
Arriving at Disc Jam late in the night we were primed and ready the next morning for a full day of music from Friday’s acts like Litz, Teddy Midnight, Bearly Dead, (performed both Friday and Saturday morning), Panda Jam, Chromatropic, Incus, Wobblesauce, Space Bacon, Hayley Jane and The Primates, Tom Hamilton’s American Babies, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Kung Fu, and Wutang Clan’s Cappadona with sit ins by drummer Michelangelo Carruba and axe player Craig Brodhead from Turkuaz. Shira Elias joined Hayley Jane and The Primates along with the Turkuaz horn section treating the crowd to a fun and familiar David Bowie tribute set. On Saturday Bearly Dead brought all the Deadheads back to the Tent stage huddled away from the rain storm in the late morning where the group covered some of the familiar classics from the Grateful Dead. Boston’s Wobblesauce, Brookyln’s Space Bacon and Chromatropic also played afternoon sets on Friday, each putting on sets of their own unique blend of jam.
The 6th annual Disc Jam Music and Arts Festival finished up this past weekend in Stephentown, NY with a lineup chock-full of Jam fun and despite a rainy Saturday morning the festival seemed to flow smoothly and continuously with mostly all acts performing on-time. Festival staff worked day and night to keep up with the needs and requests of artists, fans, and staff. A large number of food and crafts vendor were on site including a general store where fans could purchase items like ponchos, tent stakes, lighters, cigarettes, water bottles, blankets, candy, snacks and many other items you’d find yourself using at a camp-out festival. "If you forgot it...we brought it!" is the saying on the banner at the general store, which usually ends up to be true.
Arriving at Disc Jam late in the night we were primed and ready the next morning for a full day of music from Friday’s acts like Litz, Teddy Midnight, Bearly Dead, (performed both Friday and Saturday morning), Panda Jam, Chromatropic, Incus, Wobblesauce, Space Bacon, Hayley Jane and The Primates, Tom Hamilton’s American Babies, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Kung Fu, and Wutang Clan’s Cappadona with sit ins by drummer Michelangelo Carruba and axe player Craig Brodhead from Turkuaz. Shira Elias joined Hayley Jane and The Primates along with the Turkuaz horn section treating the crowd to a fun and familiar David Bowie tribute set. On Saturday Bearly Dead brought all the Deadheads back to the Tent stage huddled away from the rain storm in the late morning where the group covered some of the familiar classics from the Grateful Dead. Boston’s Wobblesauce, Brookyln’s Space Bacon and Chromatropic also played afternoon sets on Friday, each putting on sets of their own unique blend of jam.
I expected to be and found myself feeling a bit like a ping pong ball…popping back and forth between stages, but if you want to keep up - well, you’ve got to keep up! Luckily at this small festival the grounds were not on the massive scale and it was easy to get around from stage to stage and back to the central vending area. If one really needed to get to the local gas station it was directly up the road about 500 yards. Disc Golfers and Yogis milled around the festival campus with morning routines on the main field and in the woods before the music started. The Disc Jam grounds were also riddled with live painting artists, fire performers, hula-hoopers and the troupe of dancers called The Magnaterrestrials, a joyous bunch full of love and smiles and were a core part of this festival. One thing I noticed immediately is that there was plenty of vending and wares on site to keep you busy on Shakedown Street, or whatever they call it these days. As the evening set in, Kung Fu brought great energy to keep us going directly after Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, who finished up at 7pm. Just as the sun was going down I also got over to the Woods stage (the stage in the woods, duh. That's where DJs spun) to see our friend and fellow Philadelphian, Wyllys, who had those fest goers in the woods grooving out to dance music just before the headlining sets from Electron and Dopapod. Wyllys returned to the Woods stage at 3am for a late-night silent disco set.
One thing that remained static throughout the day: Turkuaz! The six members of the Brooklyn funk tribe melded well with the sit-ins which included Shira Elias with Hayley Jane and the Primates for the David Bowie tribute set. Michelangelo Carruba and Craig Brodhead sat in with Wu Tang's Cappadonna and Craig again with Dopapod. Last but not least, the three noble horns of Turkuaz with Chris Brouwers, Greg Sanderson and Josh Schwartz seemed to be everywhere at once with a main sit-in with Hayley Jane.
One thing that remained static throughout the day: Turkuaz! The six members of the Brooklyn funk tribe melded well with the sit-ins which included Shira Elias with Hayley Jane and the Primates for the David Bowie tribute set. Michelangelo Carruba and Craig Brodhead sat in with Wu Tang's Cappadonna and Craig again with Dopapod. Last but not least, the three noble horns of Turkuaz with Chris Brouwers, Greg Sanderson and Josh Schwartz seemed to be everywhere at once with a main sit-in with Hayley Jane.
Headlining Friday evening was Philly’s own Electron with Tom Hamilton, Aron Magner, Marc Brownstein, and Mike Greenfield on the main stage followed by the boys of Dopapod on the Tent Stage to close the live acts at 1am with a packed tent full of fans, lasers and fog. But the fun didn’t stop there if you’re a late-nighter. Turntable masters like Leila Harrison, Brightside and Vibe Street played into the morning leading up to the silent disco at 3am where fans listen in to the DJ with wireless headphones which made it quite eerie to walk up on. DJs slapping around on digital percussion and spinning wax, yet completely silent…it can seem very Twilight Zone-ish if you aren’t prepared for it. I noticed people talking to each other and having conversations while others were completely immersed in the music. Saturday morning during the rain we caught a bit of the set from Funky Dawgz Brass Band who delivered that classic Nola sound to a somewhat empty field unfortunately as the rain picked up and most fled to the Tent stage for Bearly Dead.
Even after long days in the sun spent consuming (music, food, alcohol, drugs, etc) there is a ‘force’ that exists in these festival goers – they are prepared and ready for this, they planned this and the excitement of being there with friends adds fuel to the fire of course. With the low ticket price and so many great acts, the Disc Jam Festival was a total steal and completely worth the five hour drive up north to the rural town of Stephentown, NY from Philadelphia. You really got your bang for the buck considering the talent that showed up. We were glad to be invited to to cover this very chill, low-key non-commercial event put on by fans, for the fans.
Band Photos from Disc Jam 2016