Summer Camp Festival: we’re not in Chillicothe anymore

text: Greg Sheer | photography: Mark A. Spomer for Summer Camp

Passing a minivan at 80 miles per hour on a two-lane country highway, with the sun in your eyes and a cigarette in your hand, on the way to some hamlet or another that’s agreed to host a four-day-long music festival, is not an American tradition. But it fucking should be.

Chillicothe, IL personifies small-town American life. With the arrival of a 3,000-plus-strong army of music-hungry festival cronies, comes all the expected suspicion from the townies, countered by the general disregard for their home by some attendees, and the convivial spirit of travel and respect leaned by others.

Cruising down the strip of shops and restaurants before Three Sisters Park, the grounds on which the festival takes place, you’ll find signs welcoming festival-goers and advertising deals; Kroger’s grocery store offers 24-packs of bottled water for less than $2, and a full selection of beer, booze, and sustenance.

A half-mile farther the sea of trampled grass and dust-caked automobiles unfolds into the foreseeable distance. Festival carts (read: glorified golf carts) bob and weave through the rows, and for a minimal fee/suggested donation, their drivers will assist you ever so graciously in humping your camping gear up into the grounds and within the general vicinity of a place to set up camp.

Campgrounds form the interior of the grounds with a few stages, like the Camping Stage and the Moonshine Stage, surrounded on all sides by tents and RVs. If you’re pitching a tent for the weekend, probably the most desirable locale would be in the Mello Yellow zone, a stand of trees located close to the main entrance of the grounds, with the most abundant source of natural shade. Also, there are some really trippy neon lights set up in the trees for the nighttime – that being another matter entirely though. Aside from that area, you’re pretty much relegated to exposed ground.

For the day-to-day, a handkerchief is pretty much a must. Besides looking like you, at any moment, might hop on your badass stallion and stick up a stagecoach, you also won’t get a mouth/nose-full of dust and grime, the result of sun-dried dirt roads, running throughout the grounds, that roast into a fine powdery cloud blowing around with the breeze.

Speaking of roasting, if the sun is beating down the whole weekend, it makes hydration a top priority. Not to worry though, because if you forgot to get your 2-buck case of water at Kroger’s, then the concession stands are plentiful and all too pleased to sell you bottles of water at $2.50 a pop, thank you very much.

But you’re not here for the weather, and you’re not here for the badass neckerchiefs. You’re here for the music, the 100-plus bands and artists who perform over the course of three main days, and the early arrival on Thursday shows.

Mainstays like moe. and Umphrey’s McGee feature multiple performances over the course of the weekend (each plays all three days). Other big-name acts like Jane’s Addiction, Common, and Primus appear, the latter performing this year with guest Bob Weir. Aside from the heavier hitters, there’s a multitude of bands and artists, performing throughout the day at one of the eight venues.

Part of the pleasure of a weekend at Summer Camp lies in one’s multitude of options. Wander the grounds, beer in hand, and without fail you’re guaranteed to stumble upon a show to match your mood.

Tired from an early afternoon of running around, you might relax on the hill hugging the Moonshine stage, taking in the Family Groove Company’s chill afternoon set. Saunter up to the Starshine stage a little later, munching a grilled chicken sandwich from one of the many food vendors nearby, and catch 12th Planet dropping a late afternoon dubstep set that might have you thinking it’s three in the morning in an especially sunny warehouse. Common, in the middle of a 10-minute freestyle run, reaches into the front rows of the crowd around the Sunshine stage, snags a blunt and almost hits it before whipping off a line about not knowing what it’s laced with; there’s wisdom in those words.

Late night, as the crowds and the order of events start to loosen at the seams, the Vibe Tent is still packed and rocking on its hinges into the wee hours. There’s a particularly animated set from White Rabbit, mask and all. Purchase an additional pass, and you’ll have access to the insomniac hours shows in the exclusive Red Barn, featuring performances from artists like Gigantic Underground Conspiracy and Pretty Lights.

The unifying factor here seems to be the near-constant ability to attend performances by diverse and talented artists while doing so in a setting that’s as spirited as it is intimate. The music isn’t lost to the party, but this isn’t a crowd of snobby connoisseurs either. The experience and the spectacle blend together, cheek and jowl. Maybe it’s the crowd, or maybe it’s the beer or it could be something else entirely, but this festival carves out a space all its own, and one weekend a year, you’re allowed in.[/wpcol_1half_end]