Okochobee Music Festival 2018
Okeechobee Music Festival [OMF]Now in its 4th year, the Okeechobee Music Festival was a grand success. While having drinks with friends, Ellen and Kylie, Sunday night on our way back to Palm Beach, they told us they had a family field trip in Year 1 and (at that point) it had not been particularly well organized.
BUT.... Practice makes perfect, and we were very impressed with the festival and the way the 30,000 people were moved to and fro!
BUT.... Practice makes perfect, and we were very impressed with the festival and the way the 30,000 people were moved to and fro!
Okeechobee was out of our normal music realm. We travel to dance, and festivals provide a huge dose of dancing all at once. Plus, we love camping and the festival vibe. Our preference is electronica, and the faster the better.
Helllloooo PsyTrance!!! (bambam being so committed he will travel internationally for a solid line up of PsyTrance DJ’s).
The staff and the attendees at OMF were friendly, and the age range was much younger than we are. Admittedly, this is happening more often, as we are 47 and 57, which was well above the average college age of the Okeechobee demographic.
We were drawn to OMF for a few reasons:
1. FESTCONSULT had recently been asked to opine on a location for a new Spanish music festival in the region and we wanted to check out the area.
Admittedly, we looked through our analytical FESTCONSULT eyeglasses the whole time..
Helllloooo PsyTrance!!! (bambam being so committed he will travel internationally for a solid line up of PsyTrance DJ’s).
The staff and the attendees at OMF were friendly, and the age range was much younger than we are. Admittedly, this is happening more often, as we are 47 and 57, which was well above the average college age of the Okeechobee demographic.
We were drawn to OMF for a few reasons:
1. FESTCONSULT had recently been asked to opine on a location for a new Spanish music festival in the region and we wanted to check out the area.
Admittedly, we looked through our analytical FESTCONSULT eyeglasses the whole time..
- Overall, we were very impressed with the festival. (As Festival Consultants, we focus on base level layout and design that most attendees don’t... And, in all fairness, these elements are not usually noticed if they’re done very well.)
- FLOW: Our specialty is flow, and we thought flow was pretty good.
- ENTRY TRAFFIC: Entry Traffic was processed efficiently. Staff searched every car with a friendly welcome. The Amnesty Bin was used. We had some thoughts on parking, but on balance, it had been thought about and there was structure.
- STAFF: There was plenty of staff everywhere, and they were always friendly.
- SECURITY: Again, friendly. We were informed the focus was on bottles and weapons, and they certainly searched for those items.
- MAPS: We would have loved a map - or more map stations. It was such a large layout it took a while for us to figure out what was where and no one had a map nor really knew where certain stages were (in the beginning).
- WATER STATIONS: There were adequate stations. Aside from Friday Morning when one of the sinks went dry (I passed multiple carrying multiple gallon containers back to their camp, which was annoying when I couldn’t fill my water bottle), all the stations we used had water.
- PORTA-POTTYS: Supplies were filled. Toilet paper was present most of the time. They were drained fairly regularly. They were filthy though. (Another accolade to Burning Man for setting the standard for odor free portapotties, stocked with toilet paper and sprayed down after every draining!)
- VENDORS: Plenty of vendors offering a variety of food. We eat pretty healthy, and were pleased to find non-fried, protein options.
2. The line up was interesting: a mix of live musicians and DJ’s, with a number of big names like Snoop Doggett, The Roots and Chaka Khan (Live) ranging to Tipper (electronica) and we wanted to see if it integrated. (It did!)
3. We live on Nantucket Island, in New England and a Florida weekend in early March promised to be the opposite of our cold, raw, and dreary weather. (It was!)
The 600+ acre OMF site was organized into different areas: several camping areas and several stages. Jungle 51 and The Grove required bracelet scan in and out (exceptional demographic tracking opportunities...) and the Main Stage by the Ferris Wheel was free flowing, with no check in.
Security checked bags, and their main focus was glass bottles, weapons, and making sure we were not bringing liquids in (ie, no filled containers. Even Camel Back water containers had to be empty - but my clear water bottle I wear on a scarf never posed a problem). Staff and Security was plentiful and friendly.
Given our musical preference, it will make sense that our favorite day was not seeing the biggest names like Snoop, the Flaming Lips, etc, but Sunday, playing paddleball for hours (until the sun went down) by the pond, while a series of DubStep DJ’s played.
As per our usual, we glamped in a U-Haul van, which has the advantage of drive in - drive out, offering a flat sleeping surface, privacy with the doors shut, and the perfect amount of room to set up our air mattress and decorate our little home with sarongs, etc.
At this point, we have it down to a system that takes under an hour to set up.
RookieFail:
We were totally unprepared for the nighttime temperature. Not only did we not bring enough blankets, we did not bring enough warm clothes. Each night when we went out, I wore successively more clothes, (culminating in 3 pairs of leggings, 3 tank tops, 3 long sleeve shirts and bambam’s windbreaker). Our final night was the warmest, although not necessarily the most comfortable as we decided to remove the sleeping bag layer we use above the air mattress and below the fitted sheet and sleep in it like a traditional sleeping bag. Together. Which involved coordinated turning. “Hey, can we spoon to the left?” A tossed and turner by nature, this prompted more than one “Again?” response from bambam during the night.
The people were friendly, the vibe was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed the weekend - especially the warm sunny days!
Xoxo
Bee & bambam
3. We live on Nantucket Island, in New England and a Florida weekend in early March promised to be the opposite of our cold, raw, and dreary weather. (It was!)
The 600+ acre OMF site was organized into different areas: several camping areas and several stages. Jungle 51 and The Grove required bracelet scan in and out (exceptional demographic tracking opportunities...) and the Main Stage by the Ferris Wheel was free flowing, with no check in.
Security checked bags, and their main focus was glass bottles, weapons, and making sure we were not bringing liquids in (ie, no filled containers. Even Camel Back water containers had to be empty - but my clear water bottle I wear on a scarf never posed a problem). Staff and Security was plentiful and friendly.
Given our musical preference, it will make sense that our favorite day was not seeing the biggest names like Snoop, the Flaming Lips, etc, but Sunday, playing paddleball for hours (until the sun went down) by the pond, while a series of DubStep DJ’s played.
As per our usual, we glamped in a U-Haul van, which has the advantage of drive in - drive out, offering a flat sleeping surface, privacy with the doors shut, and the perfect amount of room to set up our air mattress and decorate our little home with sarongs, etc.
At this point, we have it down to a system that takes under an hour to set up.
RookieFail:
We were totally unprepared for the nighttime temperature. Not only did we not bring enough blankets, we did not bring enough warm clothes. Each night when we went out, I wore successively more clothes, (culminating in 3 pairs of leggings, 3 tank tops, 3 long sleeve shirts and bambam’s windbreaker). Our final night was the warmest, although not necessarily the most comfortable as we decided to remove the sleeping bag layer we use above the air mattress and below the fitted sheet and sleep in it like a traditional sleeping bag. Together. Which involved coordinated turning. “Hey, can we spoon to the left?” A tossed and turner by nature, this prompted more than one “Again?” response from bambam during the night.
The people were friendly, the vibe was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed the weekend - especially the warm sunny days!
Xoxo
Bee & bambam
8Hill Top Festival | Goa, India, 2017
Running Cow, the Goan deity in the form of a cow, is the deity of movement, knowing when to move swiftly, and to do so with choice and intention. However, to see Running Cow, one must stay up late, as he does his daily run at sunrise.
I am in Goa, India to take part in the annual Hill Top Festival. PsyTrance had it's early formative days in Goa, and the grounds of Hill Top have been hosting PsyTrance gatherings for 35 years. I have always wanted to make a pilgrimage to Goa, to feel the roots.
When I saw the lineup for the three day 2018 Hill Top Festival, I knew that it was time to go. Many of my current favorite DJs were headlining; Alpha Portal, Ace Ventura, Astrix, Eat Static, DJAntrix, Raja Ram and Loud. And it additionally gave me an opportunity to see up and coming DJs Vini Vici and Greg. Fifteen other DJs and acts took the Main Stage, while an additional Chill Stage provided a non-stop alternative, with at least as many additional DJs.
In total, I was in Goa for six days, which provided an opportunity to experience even more of the environment, from motorcycle trips into the mountains to visit my new music producer friends from Amsterdam in their mountaintop combination home and studio, to body surfing the rolling waves.
As I was traveling solo, I would need to find a safe place to stash my belongings while out in the ocean. A small rock outcropping at the oceans edge seemed to do the trick.
There is much to be learned from Running Cow. For instance, when to swiftly extricate one's beer from the crevices of moss covered rock upon which one sits when the Goan sea waves of impending tide cast upon the world.
I am in Goa, India to take part in the annual Hill Top Festival. PsyTrance had it's early formative days in Goa, and the grounds of Hill Top have been hosting PsyTrance gatherings for 35 years. I have always wanted to make a pilgrimage to Goa, to feel the roots.
When I saw the lineup for the three day 2018 Hill Top Festival, I knew that it was time to go. Many of my current favorite DJs were headlining; Alpha Portal, Ace Ventura, Astrix, Eat Static, DJAntrix, Raja Ram and Loud. And it additionally gave me an opportunity to see up and coming DJs Vini Vici and Greg. Fifteen other DJs and acts took the Main Stage, while an additional Chill Stage provided a non-stop alternative, with at least as many additional DJs.
In total, I was in Goa for six days, which provided an opportunity to experience even more of the environment, from motorcycle trips into the mountains to visit my new music producer friends from Amsterdam in their mountaintop combination home and studio, to body surfing the rolling waves.
As I was traveling solo, I would need to find a safe place to stash my belongings while out in the ocean. A small rock outcropping at the oceans edge seemed to do the trick.
There is much to be learned from Running Cow. For instance, when to swiftly extricate one's beer from the crevices of moss covered rock upon which one sits when the Goan sea waves of impending tide cast upon the world.