Mountain Jam Festival X Review

Around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, half of our Rock Camp Productions crew was packed and on the road headed to Hunter Mountain in upstate New York for the Tenth Annual Mountain Jam Festival!

Our journey ended after ten and half hours of highway, but once we arrived it was clearly well worth the drive - the mountains that encompassed the festival grounds were incredible (and reminded us of home)! We made our camp in the best Rock Camp fashion with our signature massive pink fabrics (in honor of Pink Moon Festival) draped here and there. The Bear heads were placed strategically on top of the two cars that defined our camp space so passersby could see the mascots when they weren't out dancing around.

After getting a much needed night's rest, we were up and raring to go for Thursday's acts - but first, coffee! Many of the food vendors in the venue had not opened quite yet, so we ventured down to the little bakery down the road and fueled up on coffee and bagels. If you happen to arrive to the festival a day or so early next year, I highly recommend Bakery & Cafe as well as the Chinese restaurant next door, Peking - right across the street from Hunter Mountain.

It was only fitting that the Dancing Bears came out to see Dark Star Orchestra at 8:00 p.m. and were even able to get on the screen during their dance through the crowds! Many pictures and hugs later, the bears were ready to retire for the night to gear up for a jam-packed Friday. With the bears at rest, Puff T. Magic-Dragon was ready to come out and get down to Umphrey's McGee on the East Stage. Umphrey's killed it with two amazing sets of pure rock!

Friday was nothing less than spectacular with a performance by a personal favorite, Trampled by Turtles, an alternative bluegrass group, who got the crowds moving a little after four. The Bears made an appearance for the Moon Taxi set as well as for Bob Weir & Ratdog. Beats Antique played an awesome late night performance with Puff T. running through!

Saturday was filled with more Bear-ing around for Tedeschi Trucks Band because there is no way that Susan's amazing vocals could keep them away! We loved "Bound for Gory" as we Bear-ed through the crowd! The evening continued with a rowdy set of Gov't Mule with our glo-puppet Sid Glo dancing through and Puff T. fast on his heels. The two then came together for a Glodeo run during the Pretty Lights late night set - with Sid riding Puff through the crowd - this was a sight to see, while Pretty Lights remixed "Midnight Rider" by the Allman Brothers!!

The last day of the festival was an exciting one - the Bears got to go on stage with Michael Franti in Healey Hall! The Bears had a blast and even did a little spoof beside of the security check point. Security was pretty tight during the festival, so the Bears decided to joke around and give each other a pat down before exiting the festival grounds.

The Allman Brothers Band closed the festival that evening. The show came to an abrupt end. The conclusion of the festival also brought copious amounts rain - thankfully it was all sunny skies throughout the weekend!

With the festival wrapped up, the car packed, and new memories and experiences permanently etched in mind, we were southbound once again!

A huge thank you goes to all staff, volunteers, musicians, artists, and attendees that came together to create such a magnificent weekend! Rock Camp Productions was thrilled to be part of Mountain Jam X!

Also, if you enjoyed our Dancing Bears or our Dragon, be sure to "like" our Facebook pages!
https://www.facebook.com/rockcampproductionsllc
https://www.facebook.com/pufftmagicdragon