Summer Camp Music Festival 2023 - Thursday Recap
The final year of Summer Camp Music Festival began in earnest yesterday at its longtime location in Chillicothe, IL’s Three Sisters Park. I am lucky enough to be attending this year’s event – my first full weekend of camping at a music festival EVER!
With the lengthy drive from Toronto out of the way, my dad and I set up camp before spending the evening and night exploring the grounds and various musical acts – I am ecstatic to see some of my favourite bands as well as discover new artists over the course of this weekend!
Stay tuned for each day’s recap as I make my way across the festival!
Quickly grabbing dinner (Thank you, Bio Raw salads) and heading over to the Starshine stage, I was treated to a blast of funk courtesy of Chicago natives The North 41. Powered by a laser-focused rhythm section GUARANTEED to get you moving, the quintet delivered upbeat and energetic tunes, making great use of crowd participation throughout their set. Special shoutout to the well-deserved clav tweet moment ;).
Next up was a trip over to the VIP lounge to see a unique trio of keyboardists Joel Cummins (Umphrey’s McGee) and Kyle Hollingsworth (String Cheese Incident) with Jason Hann (SCI) on drums. While Cummins has played duo gigs with both other musicians before, this was the first time all three had played together. Hollingsworth nearly missed the gig after a mishap getting into the festival.
Luckily, lack of practice was not an issue as the two keyboardists launched into Herbie Hancock & Bobby McFerrin’s “Turtle Shoes.” Playing the melody in perfect unison on piano and electric piano, solos were traded and huge smiles displayed throughout the funky number. Other highlights of the set included an expansive take on UM’s “In The Kitchen” and a run through SCI’s “Let’s Go Outside” where Cummins made full use of his Moog Voyager synthesizer. After the closing “Reelin’ in the Years,” the packed VIP lounge gave a standing ovation to the trio’s hour of incredible and unique music.
Before heading to the next artist, I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with the UM keyboardist himself to discuss the band’s history at Summer Camp and dive into a few of the top jams they’ve played so far in 2023 – stay tuned for that episode of We Move Through Stormy Weather coming soon!
I hit the Sunshine stage next for my second ever Disco Biscuits show – probably the only positive to how dusty the festival grounds currently are was how they made the laser light show even STRONGER. Since the first time I saw the group was in the tiny Town Ballroom in Buffalo, it was incredible to see the full force of their light show in an outdoor setting. Even from halfway across the huge field, I could see bassist Marc Brownstein’s distinctive head bob as I enjoyed the hose-like jam they unleashed on the crowd.
Next up was a trip to the Soulshine tent to see Organ Fairchild, an awesome instrumental trio. While I only caught the last few songs of their set, I was immediately locked in on the keyboardist who was pulling double-duty on synth bass and lead keys – sometimes even holding down the low end while ripping a piano solo! I became even more sold when they tapped a cover of “First Tube” to close, all three musicians sporting ear-to-ear grins as they peaked the jam again and again. Fairchild plays multiple times again this weekend including a guest-filled Grateful Dead set, and I will not be missing them!
To end off the night, I headed up to the Red Barn to catch the special late-night performance of “Gigantic Underground Conspiracy,” a unique collaboration featuring Big Gigantic, Aron Magner and Marc Brownstein of the Disco Biscuits, guitarist Chris Michetti of RAQ, and Ben Baruch of 11e1even Group. Showing off the clear techno and EDM influence of the musicians present, it was an hour of in-your-face synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone with a tight and bass-heavy rhythm section.
While I thought my night would end there, I was taken to my first proper EDM show ever (shoutout to Naveed), catching the middle of Manic Focus’ set. While it’s not my cup of tea, it was cool to watch the insane laser light show from yet another artist.
With three days of Summer Camp to go and many of my favourite bands yet to come, the beautiful weather this weekend is no doubt going to produce some incredible musical moments for all to enjoy!