There is so much to re-cap and so much to remember from Disc Jam 2011. Weather reports, which looked grim at the onset of the weekend, were thankfully wrong and attendees were blessed with magnificent weather to go along with the beautiful scenery and welcoming music. Along with the family-friendly atmosphere, Disc Jam offered up an accessible line up that had something for everyone.
The phenomenal combination of Disc Jam’s music, disc golf tournament, and the Hayland Orchard and Brewery was totally unexpected. Guests were welcome to lounge on the green grass and in the shade of the orchard while sipping on finely crafted brews. Top this that off with some great music and weather, and you have one great weekend.
One thing to mention about Disc Jam was its unusual setup. Once the sun set and the music wrapped up around the early hour of 11pm the festival was moved from the Hayland Orchard location to a field 8 miles down the road where campsites were set up. This was because the festival’s previous campsite had to be moved due to damage from the tornadoes that recently swept through the area. Festival-goers were filed onto huge party buses, with incredible sound systems and light shows, and were brought to the camping field. People were camped around the perimiters of the field, and a small stage was set up for further jamming into the night. This worked out surprisingly well, and for the size of the event there was a great turn out. Late night music went until nearly dawn on Friday evening, but on Saturday evening a complaint was lodged against the festival and police showed up to shut the show down.
All three days consisted of a steady stream of funk, reggae, jam, rock, and blues. Saturday night was, by far, the favorite. Seed, hailing from Eastern Connecticut, has shared the stage with Sam Kininger and resonated that same sense of classic well-envisioned funk grooves. Coming out of no were, near the end of their set, was a Beatles montage starting with “Eleanor Rigby” and ending with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Topping off the early evening that Saturday was Dub Apocalypse, featuring members of John Brown’s Body, Nate Wilson Group, G-love, Sam Kinninger Band, and Dopapod. The antithesis of a motley crew, Dub Apocalypse played an impressive array of original dub-reggae, not too clean but just the right amount of dirty dub breaks you would anticipate from this all-star cast. Wrapping up the evening was Dopapod, a band who’s sure to get your blood flowing while your booty does the talking. They were one of the headlining acts at the festival, alongside Zach Deputy and The Alchemystics. It was a first for them, and you could see the sense of celebration in their faces as they played. Their syncopated, super-cool funk format jams alongside dub-experimentalism and an undeviating sense of musicianship. Their distinctive personalities blend effortlessly onstage, an amalgamation of parts that make up an incredible energy, a dependable delivery, with a command of their instruments as unique as they are to each other.
Late night music was brilliant, Disc JAM all-star JAM – featuring various disc jam 2011 artists was a perfect way to end the music. The camping scene was small, fun and friendly, with the only down side being the incredibly limited amount of porter-potties.