I had heard a lot about Summer Camp Music Festival. Most of the time, people talk to me about the incredible vibe there. I’ve been to other music festivals, and I agree that if you get a lot of people in the same place who have similar interests, they will most likely get along famously with each other. With all my heart, I believe music has the power to unite people who might not have other things in common (i.e., politics or religion). I always believed that it was the music that was the glue. But after attending Summer Camp in Chillicothe, at Three Sisters Park, I learned that Summer Camp’s vibe is much more than that.
I arrived early afternoon on Thursday. So, I wasn’t there with the early birds nabbing the primo camping spots, but I did get there much earlier than most people who attended the festival. I grabbed my huge duffel bag with the bare essentials for the next four days and started to make my way from the parking lot to the camping grounds, which is not a short leisurely walk, especially if you are dragging camping gear with you. I noticed some frowning faces as people navigated their way from all corners of the parking lot, through the grass, through sand to get to the entrance, and eventually to what would be their home for the next four days. However, as far as I can recall, I did not see another sad face until it was time to pack up and go home.
Despite the long faces of people dragging what appeared, in some cases, to be their life belongings, the staff were all extremely friendly and accommodating. This wasn’t a forced friendliness either. It felt like getting back to actual summer camp and seeing your old counselors. I heard a lot of “Happy Scamping” or “Enjoy your Scamp,” from day one through day four. It was hot at times, and none of the work for the staffers was much fun by any stretch, but I never saw a grumpy one, not even a volunteer.
I set up my tent literally in the first open spot I could find, to save myself walking any further with my gigantic duffel bag and a camping chair. I chose a spot that would eventually turn out to be smack dab in the middle of a giant tent city. My neighbors were all very friendly when we saw each other, but I would come to learn that there was a reason people get here early on the pre-party day to nab a good spot. There is not a quiet spot on the whole campgrounds (until about 6 a.m., and that only lasts a couple of hours), so never mind finding a spot to avoid noise. You’ll get it everywhere, but if I had to choose over again, I would have hunted for a spot among the trees, not only for the relieving shade (the worst part of the entire experience was waking up to a sauna in my tent every morning), but mostly for the “vibe” of the woods. People in the field tents were strangers who acted like neighbors. The people in the woods were family.
On day three, I had taken somewhat of a “nap” from 1 to 4:30 a.m. when I heard my group stirring outside the tent. They were all 20-somethings, and they were soaking in every experience they could at their first, but the last overall, Summer Camp Music Festival. I slowly arose from my tent and asked what they were about to do as they put on their hydration backpacks and looked like they were suited up for an expedition. I asked where they were planning to go since the last set of music ended at 4 a.m.
“We’re going to the woods to see the wooks,” one of them replied.
Having never heard of a wook, and being relatively sure it was different from a snipe, I decided to tag along. It turns out a wook is just a nickname for a certain type of person who attends EDM/Jam band festivals. It’s someone who has a unique style of clothing, a very chill attitude, and may or may not enjoy drugs that enhance their experience. A modern-day hippie, if you will.
As I gingerly weaved my way through a maze of tents and canopies, I thought about what I could possibly see at 4:30 in the morning. Busting out of the tent city, I saw the heart of the festival, the Illuminated Woods, pumping and thriving with wooks and non-wooks of all kinds.
We walked up into the Illuminated Woods to see every manner of persons interacting with each other and with the many art installations set up here. There were bright LED lights and spotlights everywhere, trippy art, psychedelic sculptures, and a giant wooden statue of a mythical wood man. If not for the darkness, you would think it was the middle of the day from all the activity. As we made our way to the paths that meandered through the woods, it felt invigorating and inclusive. Our walk revealed even more curiosities. People dancing, DJs spinning their mixes, impromptu jam sessions between bands, and just an overall feeling of happiness and belonging. Every person you came across was friendly and almost like family. It was 5 a.m.!
I started to understand why founder and organizer Ian Goldberg said that people feel like they’re “home” when they come back here. People were free to be themselves and to let their freak flags fly. There was no judgment, no criticism, and to be honest, barely any second looks at people who would be ridiculed if they wore what they were wearing or acted how they were acting on the street.
I almost forgot: We’re all here for the music, right?
Yes, there was music too. There were seven stages and over 150 bands. Covering music in Champaign Urbana, I made my best effort to catch all the local bands in action. I missed Children of the Rat Temple and Emily How due to their early sets on Thursday, and Trouble Chasin’ on Saturday evening, but on Saturday, I did get to the Illuminated Woods stage in time to catch local hip hop artist Mousepad featuring Half House (look for my article next week on Half House studios). While not the typical Summer Camp musical fare, these artists took the stage and made it their own. The crowd was sparse initially because it was a noontime set, but soon people crawled out of their tents to come check them out. Half House is made up of a collective of individual artists who collaborate and record music at Half House Studios in Champaign. I was extremely impressed by how all of them genuinely supported each other onstage as the crowd grew larger and louder.
Later in the day, I had my first real opportunity to catch a full set from local band Kangaroo Court, from Urbana. The lead singer/guitarist started their set by saying “Uh, we don’t sound like the other bands here,” as he plowed into a blistering set of original progressive rock songs. This band was tighter than a steel drum and effectively melted the faces of the pleasantly surprised Scampers in the Soulshine tent. I truly can’t wait to see what these guys do in the future.
My Sunday started with some great music on the Starshine stage by Chicago Farmer and the Fieldnotes. Cody Diekhoff (Chicago Farmer) bantered between new songs, and old songs, and had the crowd laughing as well as dancing. He mentioned that he had been coming to Summer Camp since the beginning, and it felt like he had come full circle being able to play here. He also asked for organizers Jay’s and Ian’s (Goldberg) forgiveness because he was fairly sure he had sneaked into the first one.
The key to great exposure at a festival is to have a primo slot to play, and while you might get a great time slot and even a good location, when you are playing at the same time as a festival headliner, you may not get the turnout you hoped for. That did not deter Champaign band Modern Drugs as they took the Soulshine stage while Willie Nelson and Vulfpeck were playing elsewhere at the fest. The band came out firing on all cylinders, sharing their synth-based pop with the hearty few that were there at the beginning. As people left the Willie Nelson set, the tent filled up, and the crowd was enthusiastic by the time they were done.
I get it now, having seen so many people running up and hugging one another like a family member they hadn’t seen in a while, and strangers dancing with each other. I witnessed many drinks, food, toilet paper and, uh, other stuff, being shared freely with one another (COVID what?). I walked around in awe, trying to wrap my head around what it must feel like to organize an event that has created so many memorable moments for so many people. While Summer Camp as it was may be going away next year, I hope that Ian Goldberg is able to capture some of the incredible magic of this festival in what he’s planning for next year. I’m in, and you can come find me in the woods with the wooks.
