Day One
The anticipation and reputation of the Second Annual Blueberry Jam Festival had definitely lived up to the hype, as they had nearly every aspect of a successful festival down to a “T”.
The gates were set to open at 1:00pm Friday afternoon, leaving us ample time to make the, supposedly swift, three hour trek from Ashburn to Wakefield, so we figured leaving around 10:00am should do the trick. However, good old 95 South had different plans for us, as our three hour trip slowly turned into what would be an almost six hour trip, due to weekend summer traffic and unfortunate accidents along the way. That really hit us out of nowhere, so by the time we finally pulled up to the entrance, needless to say we were antsy to set up homebase for the weekend, and begin our daily shennanigans.
The festival grounds all tog
ether were roughly around 400 acres, and everybody seemed to be able to fit perfectly, with room to spare even, to accomodate the ~1,000 people there. It was set up so that people entered through the front entrance, and parked their cars in a big dirt lot. From there, people could grab all of their camping gear and either head into the woods for some nice shaded camping, or find a spot in the open field to post up. We parked our car and took a walk through the woods to scope out a spot, but most of the open areas were already taken, so we just pulled up right next to the woods, took out all our necessities, threw up the tent and canopy, and were officially settled in.
We thought we would be all ready to go by the time the first artists, The Dharma Initiative, began at 4:45pm, but unfortunately we were a little late to the party. No worries though, as we could pretty much hear all the music from our campsite, so we could still listen to the soulful soundwaves of lead singer, Megan Sloggie, making it all the way to our ears. Silo Effect was coming on next though, so we knew we wanted to be well and prepared for that lil’ shindig.
It was kinda funny, because before coming to Blueberry Jam, I was wondering where Silo Effect had been over the pas
t months, as I hadn’t heard of any upcoming shows or whatnot. Interestingly enough, right when they got on stage, they announced that it was their first gig in about 3 months, as they had been working vigorously on their new album, Momentis, and perfecting their sound for the fans that they love oh so much. Clearly, a little time away never hurt anybody, as they came back in full force, sounding as on point as if they had been smack dab in the middle of a tour. They played a fantastic set, as there were still plenty of people piling onto the grounds, but by the end everybody seemed to be there and in full festie mode.
The Friday night lineup was set to be just full out party time. After Silo Effect, The Mantras were the next main band to take the stage.
I personally was super excited to catch The Mantras, as I’m sure everyone else was excited as well, but I just had never been able to see them before. They definitely have a
large following around these parts, and it is clear why. A five-piece band, they actually had Kenn Mogel (guitar) sitting in with them as well for the whole set. That wasn’t the only surprise of the set though, as they also brought in Casey Cranford, the saxaphonist of BIG Something, to sit in on their song “Man You Rawk”. Who doesn’t like a good old saxaphone sit in? That’s right, everyone likes it and it was awesome! Another little anecdote to throw in was that their sound guy was actually controlling everything from an iPad while walking around the crowd area. Not too sure the reasoning behind it, maybe to hear what it’s sounding like from all over? Either way, definitely cool to see and something I hadn’t seen before.
BIG Something were up next as the night’s headliners, but not before the smooth reggae sounds coming from DJ Seko Blackstarliner as a set break. Never take the set break DJ for granted, it is their transtitional music that keeps us all in the groovin’ mood as one band breaks down and the other sets up, and DJ Seko had this part down!
Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, BIG Something was up and off to the races. The “BIG” in BIG Something encompasses so much. BIG sound, BIG vocals, playing their BIG hearts out, they came prepared to show Blueberry Jam a ragin’ time for the first night. The unmistakeable wails from the saxaphone mixed with the powerful voice of lead singer/guitar player, Nick Macdaniels, is just the perfect match, and I don’t think they slowed down once during their entire 2+ hour set. They had everyone singing along with their cover of Prince’s “1999”, and then rocking the funk out with ballads like “Megalodon” and “My Volcano”. They put on such a great show that we just had to support them and buy a couple of their CD’s, which you can also do by visiting their website. They also have their own festival in North Carolina coming up called, “The BIG What”, which they will be headlining both nights, along with The Mantras, Zach Deputy, Dopapod, Consider the Source, Jimkata, and a slew of other magical bands.
Well, I guess that about does it for the first night. Everyone head back to your tents and get some rest……….. Wait, what’s that you say? Hubble Bash is doing a late-night set down at the side stage? Well slap my ass and call me Sally! Let’s go!
This late-night set was the perfect nightcap, it was like they were transferring energy to all the attendees and keeping everybody dancing, literally until the sun came up. It was even extra special, as the guys from Hubble Bash are close friends of us wooks, along with 80% of all the other people that were there as well, so it was just a big old dance party reunion. Hubble Bash has a few shows coming up in Norfolk and Chantilly in the next weeks, so “Like” them on Facebook to keep updated.
We couldn’t have been more happy or had more fun, by the end of the night (or beginning of the day) we could just stumble back to camp with wide smiles on our faces, and reminisce about the day. I don’t know who invited Barber either, but the last thing I remember seeing before passing out was a Hot Air Balloon going off into the sky. All you could really do was watch in amazement….
Day Two
The last thing we saw as we were passing out was that Hot Air Balloon going off into the sky, and the first thing we saw as we were waking up was it being broken back down on the ground. Still wondering where it had just went, I guess we had been out for at least a couple hours, but all I could really think about was grabbing some food. Now’s as good a time as any to talk about the awesome selection of food vendors there was, you had your choice of gyros, cheesesteaks, wood-fire pizza, homemade ice cream, and my personal favorite, pork or vegetarian arepas. According to the lovely vendors, it’s never too early for an arepa, so I grabbed some delicious breakfast and enjoyed it until my compadres were up and ready. I’d be seeing those arepas again later in the day though, that’s for sure.
It was nice being up a little early, with plenty of chillin’ time before The Shack Band came on at noon. The Shack Band is another band that I had heard nothing but good things about from nearly everyone I talked to, and
they did not disappoint one bit. Another five-piece band, they also include a saxaphonist as one of their lead instruments. You’d think with all these saxaphones going around people might get tired of hearing them or just start blending them all together, but they do the exact opposite of just blending in, and like I always say, the saxaphone makes the band. Performing all original songs, their high-energy set was the perfect way to start off the music for the day, even if the sun was at its peak shining down on us. The Shack Band is in the middle of touring right now, so check out their schedule on their website, and catch them anywhere from Maryland down to Gerorgia.
After starting off the day with the funkified Shack Band, it was time for a nice chilled out acoustic set, from the lovely and talented, Lena Klett. Hailing from Norfolk, VA and Central New Jersey, Lena has had musical talent just bursting out her fingertips from a very yo
ung age. Mixing her original songs with a couple amazing covers, my favorite had to have been her rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”. Her voice and guitar breakdowns during that song were truly captivating, and definitely made me a new fan of hers. Check out more of her originial work on her soundcloud.
Coming up next, all the way from the west (West Virginia, that is) to the east, was the good old American bluegrass stylings of, The Woodshedders. Rocking instruments such as the upright bass, a violin, and a mandolin, these guys had me up dancing like a fiddlin’ fool the whole time. I’m not even usually one to listen to bluegrass or “country” for that matter, but when it’s a live setting, and they’re up there singing about moonshine and havin a good ol’ time, I can definitely get down with it. They also were the winners for the catchy line of the weekend, with “Bottle in the hand, bottle in the hand, bottle in the hand at Blueberry Jam!!!” Just reading it doesn’t really do it justice, so try belting it out a couple times on your own, and it’ll probably be stuck with you the rest of the day. We’ll be catching The Woodshedders again this weekend at Pasture Palooza, so hopefully we’ll see some of ya’ll there too!
By the end of The Woodshedders, Lena Klett was about to come up for another quick 30-minute set, so it seemed like a perfect time to take stroll around Shakedown and check out all the other vendors, with Ms. Klett playing in the background. There were a ton of awesome vendors set up, so many unique pieces of art and clothing it was hard to pick something to buy. I was trying to edge on my friend to buy a ring that she had her eye on, but of course, if you don’t buy it right then there’s a good chance you’ll be walking away empty handed. No worries though, good thing there is no shortage of heady jewelry around here, so I’m sure she’ll be able to find the perfect one.
It was almost time for the scheduled break in music now, and pretty good timing for it too, because from this point on it was cloudy and on-and-off rain for the rest of the time. Not to say that it was going to put a damper in anyone’s party plans though, because we still had work to do, with The Session Rockers, Galaxy Dynamite, and Dopapod still on the lineup.
Although it was raining, it’s always refreshing to get a nice praise to Jah in, and the Session Rockers were the perfect dose for that. The roots reggae sounds were enough to keep plenty of people jammin’ through the rain, and I’m sure they were happy to provide that for the people.
Ohhh shittt, it’s almost that time now. The dark grey clouds were slowly turning into the night sky, meaning only one thing, Galaxy Dynamite is preparing to take the stage. We knew we were in for a treat with this particular set. 
After talking with drummer, Mike Mahgerefteh, earlier in the day, he really couldn’t have been more pumped, enthusiastic, proud, just flat out ecstatic to be playing with all of his best friends for a whole 2 hour set, we knew at that point this set was gonna be a HEATER, and boy was it. Starting off with their spacey jam, “Nothing Says Beach Like a Highway”, it didn’t take long before they were in full force rock mode. Giving a huge, “HELL YEAHHHHH!!!” to the crowd, you could just feel it in the air that Galaxy Dynamite is extremely comfortable in a headlining spot and really care about giving their fans a good show. I think I’d have to say “Rocket Smash” is my favorite of theirs, which they played second to last, but check out all their material for yourself and see what you like. Kudos to you, GD, see you on the Pasture.
Damn, the bittersweet feeling of it being the last set of the weekend. Bitter because obviously you want to keep seeing awesome shows, sweet because that last awesome show happens to be Dopapod. A little late to take the stage due to what seemed to be some technical
difficulties, they finally seemed to work it out and got on with the show. Dopapod really says it best in their own bio, they really have no regard towards any stylistic boundaries. Super funky jams with multiple levels of sounds going on, I for one was pretty mind-fucked, to say the least, by the performance being put on. Dopapod has definitely been on a roll as of late, they’re still hitting Rockinghill Music Festival, Family Roots Festival, The BIG What?, and this other little festival by the name of Electric Forest, maybe you’ve heard of it? Either way, mad props to them as they seem to have found their niche and are sticking with it. Check out their website for full tour information and more music you can hear from them.
So, I think that really does about wrap it up. There was supposed to be another Hubble Bash sighting down at the side stage, but by this point the rain did not seem like it would be holding off, so we called it a night and decided to finish out the party at our camp. Packing up in the morning was certainly no picnic, as the dirt lot was now a mud lot, and all the tents were wet to pack up, but hey, what are ya gonna do? Blueberry Jam was still an epic festival, and I can only wait and be super excited for what they have in store for next year. Now to take our stories and experiences onto the next adventure….
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