High Sierra Music Festival. The name itself does not imply the wildness that is about to take place. To the unknowing reader of the name, one might think this event would have some resemblance to a county fair or a craft festival. To anyone who has experienced this festival in its entirety the name invokes songs in your head, an extreme fear of missing out, and a need for sleep. A more telling name might be “where the wild things are”.
Getting in to the festival is always the hardest part besides leaving the festival. There is a good amount of time spent in a car waiting for a wrist band, then you have to park and take a shuttle in with all your camping gear. Once your dropped off in the festival grounds the situation turns in to a frantic mad dash land grab where emotions are high and all forms of festy love are out the window until everyone is set up and comfortable. It is interesting because you will find groups of people arguing over space one minute then hugging and being stoked the next. A phenomenon created by the anxiousness and anticipation of an epic weekend, combined with the need for ample space for your group of friends that expect two people to hold down space for twenty. Once the scuttle of setting up is over everyone is smiling from ear to ear.
Music, friends, and partying is what this festival is all about. It would be nice to candy coat it, but the truth is, people rage it for 4 days at this event without regret. The lineup features 60 bands on 5 stages. With that many bands it is tough to see it all but most try.
The Dead Winter Carpenters are a band out of Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and are making a fast rise as the band to see in the Bluegrass/Rock scene. The band tours tirelessly all over the United States with a grass roots approach. They are super fun to dance to and are writing great songs. You can hear them regularly on Truckee radio. The Dead Winter Carpenters performance at High Sierra proved to be a stepping stone for them and it is exciting to watch their growth. They kicked off the festival with the first performance of the weekend.
A unique feature that adds an exciting element to the event is the late night shows. Most of the time these late night performances last from around 12:30 am to 4:00 am. Thursday night featured STS9, an innovative live electronic band that was formed in Athens Georgia during the late 90′s. Originally their sound was unique because they played all instrumental electronic dance music. Since then they have evolved in to a show that is a mixture of pre-produced samples and live instrumental music. The late night show show featured a return to all instrumental music to the excitement of their fans who rarely get to see a performance of that nature. For the old school fans it was a pleasant return to a sound from times gone by. A great performance by all accounts and a great kickoff to the festival. STS9 has an excellent lighting director named Saxton Waller who was especially on fire this night with a collage of colorful beams and color combinations that blew the minds of unsuspecting attendees.
The next day STS9 headlined the main stage of the event. This performance would be vastly different from their late night performance. The band would be performing their ultra modern show that has been dubbed the “The Great Cycle Spectacle”. The Spectacle features a huge light show that displays a giant Mayan pyramid made of LED screens behind the band and a navigation flight control looking screen across the front of the stage. The band is dressed in airline pilot suits and appear to be flying the Mayan pyramid. Truly a sight to behold. The main stage can hold around 8,000 people and is a long throw for sound so at times bands have a hard time carrying the entire room. STS9 had no problems with that, and probably put on the best “show” this main stage has seen. There have been countless great musical performances, but this was an amazing “show”. Most people were completely blown away by the lighting and the music was a perfect compliment. Normally the lighting is a compliment to the music, but with The Great Cycle Spectacle the lighting is so huge its takes the main focus of the concert.
The Motet is a band from Boulder Colorado that had a magical run at High Sierra almost ten years ago. This year they popped back up with a new project called “Funk is Dead”. This project featured 3 amazing vocalists and and 3 piece horn section added to the core Motet players. This was one of the best musical performance of the weekend. The band played soulful, gospel, funky renditions of some of the heaviest, hardest to play Grateful Dead songs. Keep in mind that they sounded much different than the Dead, but did them justice with unique renditions that were true to the live energy and musicianship. The crowd showed their appreciation by giving multiple ovations and packing the Big Meadow stage.
If you have’nt heard of Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, you will. She is a quickly rising star who went from an obscure vocalist to the next big artist in the matter of a few years. It is easy to see why. Her voice is absolutely spot on beautiful and she rocks. Married to Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips who is also in her band The Gramblers that features such artists as Steve Adams from ALO. Her performances throughout High Sierra were awesome, and she was featured in many different projects including Brokedown in Bakersfield a tribute to west coast country stars like Buck Owens. Recently she had a video of her “Van Sessions” receive over a million views and gained national attention. Check it out here:
Singer Songwriter Nathan Moore is the true definition of a character. His writing skills are genius and he is a constant entertainer with magic tricks on stage and countless shenanigans. He truly represents the spirit of High Sierra. He has performed at the festival for over 15 years with multiple projects starting with the beautiful quartet named Thamusemeant, in to Surprise Me Mister Davis featuring members of The Slip. Nathan has the ability to draw you in to his world and make you understand the heartfelt yet light hearted approach he brings. Never afraid to take a mistake and turn it in to a story or new song. Nathan was an integral part of the kickball phenomenon at High Sierra and has been known to get little or no sleep during the four days because he has an extreme fear of missing out.
It is easy to talk about musicians at High Sierra, but the crowd puts on just as interesting of a show just being themselves, or their alter ego. Here is a video of the mid day madness in the big meadow during the motet, and an impromptu performance by Tea Leaf Green on top of someones Winnebago.
Here is a recap video of the festival featuring clips from Ben Harper, STS9, kickball, Paper Diamond, and Big Gigantic among many other artists. A good example of the diversity of music found at High Sierra.
This festival needs to be experienced first hand to truly understand the fun people have. One could go on for ever breaking down every band they saw. Writing about it is merely a tease. Hopefully this added some insight and gave you a glimpse.
