Pasture Palooza 4 Review

Seth, Jake and I left from Rock Camp at 12pm on Friday, June 28th for the 4th Annual Pasture Palooza Music & Arts Festival. The sun was shining brightly and there was barely a cloud in the sky. We packed up the car and hit the road, Jake following us on his Harley.

It took us about 4 hours to reach Berryville, VA. I was following directions on my iPhone, which lead us down Honey Ln, to a dead end where we found a few other festival kids and some confusion. The lovely gal who apparently lived at the end of Honey Ln directed us down Triple J Rd to Pasture, and finally we got to 339 Minniewood Ln.

Photo Credit: Teresa Poole

The fest was set up much the same as in years past, although there were significantly more vendors this year and some cool new art installations! We set up camp in the evening sun as the rest of our crew arrived!

Unfortunately we missed Galaxy Dynamite's set, but it was wonderful to bump into Mike (GD!'s drummer) and so many other wonderful members of the Pink Moon Family as we did our preliminary wandering of the grounds.

As the most incredible sunset began the Former Champions raged on stage. Jake and Christian jumped into their respective dancing bear suits and tore it up in front of the stage. Seth and I did some Pink Moon flyering as the most incredible double rainbow bloomed over the pasture.

Baltimore MD band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong was the headliner Friday night. They have played the last 3 Pink Moon Festivals, and although they will not be able to join us for Pink Moon 5, they are still deep Pink Moon Family. And they killed it! We busted out Puff T. Magic-Dragon a few times for their incredible set.

The music ended at 12am on the dot due to the VA noise ordinances....however once the main stages shut down an incredible bonfire rager started up right in the middle of the Pasture. Paul Bee (of Cosmic Campout, Fall Freequinox and more) and his band raged some incredible covers around the campfire as most of the festival attendees sang along.

Finally Seth and I wandered off to bed, looking forward to the Saturday sun.

Saturday started off hot, and that theme continued throughout the day. I am not certain as to the actual temperatures that day, but it felt like 110 in the shade! Due to the crazy heat we weren't able to "bear" very much, and mostly just hung out lethargically in whatever shade we could find or manufacture.

Our campsite was wonderfully and strategically placed however, and we could enjoy the incredible tunes on stage right from the comfort of our camp chairs and coolers! The Southern Belles (another Pink Moon veteran) were awesome, and I was incredibly impressed by Woodwork and then Tiny Boxes, neither of which I'd heard before, but both absolutely blew my mind.

Just after Mountaintop Madness the forecasted rain came. And it came down hard. Seth, Jake and I had ducked into Jake's tent just in time, and waited it out for awhile. But as Gangstagrass' set drew closer I gave up on hiding and emerged from the tent to dance in the rain. I was super psyched for Gangstagrass....a band I had just recently discovered and ADORE. They crank out some incredible bluegrass hip-hop!!!

The rain passed entirely just in time for Gangstagrass' set. A beautiful sunset emerged as their hype man announced that they had "scared the rain off for us". They played a killer set, and tried out some awesome new material on the eager crowd. They masterfully blend a good-ol-boy country vibe, with an urban freshness and style which can't be matched. Banjo, guitar, and fiddle are matched by smooth flowing raps, and poignant lyrics.

Pink Moon Family and favorite People's Blue of Richmond took the stage after Gangstagrass. PBR's got a new drummer, and an incredible vibe. They raged an incredible set that we won't soon forget. We cannot wait to have them out to Pink Moon 5.

PBR was followed by the final act of the night, Ghost Owl, a Perpetual Groove side project. They played an awesome set, Puff T. made another appearance, and Saturday night came to a close.

Something I really love about Pasture Palooza (and Pink Moon for that matter) is the incredible sense of family and camaraderie. Most of the musicians, including the headliners (Gangstagrass, PBR, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Galaxy Dynamite! and more), hung out around the fest, before and after their sets; partying with attendees and promoting a general vibe of fun on and off stage. It is great to see artist mingling in the crowd, getting off on the experience of the festival as much as they do their sets.

Gangstagrass member with Pasture Palooza attendee
Photo Credit: Monica Hamlin

Sunday morning was rainy and quiet. Staff helped attendees maneuver the mud on their way out of the festival, as we packed up and prepared to head out. We visited our friends over at Crystal Purpose, and awesome vending booth that will definitely be at Pink Moon this year! Finally, although we dragged our feet, it was time to head home from a very successful Pasture Palooza.

A big thank you to Trevor Creany and all of the incredible people that made Pasture Palooza 4 happen! We'll definitely be back in the pasture next year, it's a Rock Camp Productions favorite!!

Me and Mindy, Rock Camp Productions Crew
Photo Credit: Mindy Priddy