Gathering of the Vibes Festival Review (July 25-28)

Thursday, July 25^th had finally arrived. Anticipation and excitement filled the Rock Camp crew as we all were packing away the final supplies needed for our extended weekend trip to the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes. Not only did the weekend mark Jess and Seth's anniversary, but it also marked the 9th year that Rock Camp Productions would attend the festival! We were on the road by 10 a.m. headed to Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut - a solid 11 hours of traveling. Though a long journey, the sunny drive was accompanied with tunes from the Grateful Dead, Jim Croce, and the Allman Brothers traced with light conversations. This combination generated nothing less than happy spirits!

We arrived around 9 p.m. just as the rain was ceasing. We checked in and were in search of a spot to set up camp. We found a prime location directly beside of the 1876 Solders’ and Sailors’ Monument that was the perfect distance from the stages. Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead tribute band, could be heard in the distance so we knew it was time to get set up and grace the crowd with Puff T. Magic-Dragon. Thursday night would mark Puff’s first appearance in his brand spankin’ new dragon skin. We had spent the entire day before cutting, sewing, and sizing Puff T.’s newest skin with a Stealie patch along his spine. Puff finally came out for Dark Star’s second set and was lovingly welcomed to yet another GOTV by the mass of people! After a good run through, we came back to camp and rested up a bit for Friday.

Photo Credit govibes.com

Around lunch Friday, a few dancing bears came out to get down to Assembly of Dust at the Main Stage. Assembly of Dust plays a variety of music and was formed by Reid Genauer in 2002. They put on quite the show! The bears were also spotted hanging around the Green Vibes Stage listening to David Gans and later around the festival grounds giving hugs and bringing smiles to everyone! David Gans will be playing at the 5th Annual Pink Moon Festival in Rock Camp this September! Railroad Earth played earlier afternoon, one of my personal favorites, and they did not disappoint! The sextet opened with their well-known “Elko,” which is from their fourth album that was released in 2006. 

The day continued with other great performances by musicians such as Galatic, JohnScofield, and Tedeschi Trucks Band! Evening started to fall over Seaside Park, which meant only one thing – Puff T. Magic-Dragon would be waking from his slumber and begin gearing up to check out Phil Lesh & Friends on the Main Stage with guest appearance by John Scofield.

Photo Credit gratefulweb.com

Puff was so impressed with everything he was hearing that he danced around for both sets of Phil and even came out for a beautiful encore of “Ripple.” The night was quite over for Puff either; he stopped in for Connecticut's own, Deep Banana Blackout, at the Green Vibes Stage for late night as well!

Saturday was yet another gorgeous day by the Long Island Sound! Dancing bears were making their way around the grounds once again and happened to run into a few puppet friends from Ash Street Puppetworks that were parading around! The Main Stage had phenomenal musicians all throughout the day. The Roots, a Philadelphia group, performed around midday with a spectacular show with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals playing shortly afterward and blowing the crowd away with Grace’s killer vocals. Gov’t Mule, formed by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project, played later in the evening and was absolutely incredible! Phil Lesh & Friends played again with another impressive performance with yet another guest appearance from John Scofield in addition to Bill Evans on saxophone for which Puff made dragon appearances during the first and second sets as well as making his way to catch Papadosio’s electronic and progressive rock vibes emanating from the Green Vibes Stage for late night.

Phot Credit B.K. Angeletti

The Sunday sunrise over the sound was one that will be forever ingrained in my memory. It was a lovely morning spent with new and old friends all embracing the magic that was Vibes. The Children’s Parade took place around 11 a.m. where Puff T., our bears, and fellow puppeteers from Ash Street Puppetworks in addition to others trekked on to see Andy the Music Man until it was time for the World Peace Ceremony. The ceremony featured Wavy Gravy, an entertainer and activist for peace and was a member of an entertainment and activist commune at Woodstock called the Hog Farm (a true inspiration to Rock Camp Productions). During this time, the parade continued throughout the crowd of flag-holders, representing  different countries. A prayer of peace was spoken for each country with a “may peace prevail” before every mention of the country. After the World Peace Ceremony, our bears danced away throughout the day hitting the crowds for Max Creek and Kind Buds! The day held great performances by Blues Traveler, John Butler Trio, and the Black Crowes, which drew quite the audience! I had met a few festival goers that had purchased a Sunday pass solely to see the Black Crowes and after seeing them live I can understand why they have such a dedicated following!

Photo Credit Jeremy Pantovic

The weekend slowly came to a close with another beautiful sunset by the water. Vibes was an incredible time for me during which I formed bonds with people I would not have met otherwise and a deeper relationship with my fellow Rock Camp crew members. It was the most perfect weekend. The energy that comes from the community of musicians, artists, festival goers, and staff can only be defined as good, positive vibes. If I was not already in happy enough spirits when I arrived, it certainly generated an even more elated feeling as we pulled out of Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut headed south back to mountains of West Virginia.

A huge thanks to all of the musicians, artists, staff, volunteers, and festival goers for such an amazing weekend! Be sure to check out Rock Camp Productions and Puff T. Magic-Dragon on Facebook! We love you!

Photo Credit Gathering of the Vibes