The first installment of the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival was a huge success (It SOLD OUT!). The detail oriented team behind this amazing experience has established a new powerhouse that will rival any and all music festivals from this point forward. The reasoning is simple. Half of it relates to the music. The lineup is as diverse as they come and covered all genres nicely. The other half is the people you meet. Negativity was left at the gate and positivity reigned supreme. Everyone was there to relax and enjoy all Okeechobee had to offer.
The site was well maintained, including portable toilets and actual fresh water filling and hand washing stations. The beach was immaculate and steps away from one of the five stages. The jungle stage, where all things late night were concentrated, was found in the midst of a large tree lined enclave, hidden from the sight of all the other festivities. It felt like we were on another planet. The light show was especially stupendous, mixing multi-layered moving lasers (the same used by Pretty Lights) and a massive amount of directionals which covered the stage and immediate areas surrounding it.
The main three stages were through yet another tree lined canopy which opened to a large field. The “Be”, “Here” and “Now” stages hosted the majority of major concerts. The “Be” and “Now” being the main two with the “Here” stage in the middle for up and coming and/or mid level acts. This was our favorite part of the staging. Not only was the “Here” stage overflowing with amazing, raw talent, it hosted many of its shows between sets of the other two. This allowed for the discovery of many of our favorite acts. Several of its sets rivaled, in crowd size, the main stages. The best part of the layout? You can easily walk between any of the main three stages in less than five minutes!
The campgrounds were well layed out with more room for camping and cars than any other festival we attend. This lead to people getting to know their neighbors by choice and not because they were sharing 10 feet of space among eight people. There will definitely be a need for expansion of the grounds with the assumed addition of ticket sales next year. The only downside is the two lane road leading to the festival and lack of anything, other than one gas station between Orlando and Okeechobee. Our advice is to do your shopping in a major city before coming to the festival.
Thursday
The first day of any festival is a lot of getting to know the area and acclimating yourself to the whats and wheres. Okeechobee made this overly simple with signs posted in intervals showcasing the entire property. There were also an abundance of bicycle driven taxis to take you from campground to festival entrance. Only the beach and jungle stages were open on Thursday.
The Spam All Stars were the first to bring out a major crowd with their funk driven dance music. Their style is very much New Orleans influenced. Their show had the crowd moving and piling in close as the sun set over the beach stage.
The Okeechobee All Stars was the first super group of the festival with Roosevelt Collier, Jeremy Salken (Big Gigantic) and several members of the Spam All Stars. Following the set, there was a Bonnaroo style second line through the Aquachobee and Jungle areas.
Friday
Sun Bears is a name you should get familiar with and fast. They are one part My Morning Jacket and one part Band of Horses. Their loud indie rock set the tone for the day. This is one of those acts you will say you saw when, when they are headlining in a few years.
Nahko and Medicine for the People are back with new material and it’s really good. Their set was much like Michael Franti’s at the first Hangout Festival. It brought cohesion to the growing crowds and set the pace for the positive nature of what was to come. This was one of the sets we most heard people talking about. They even premiered a new song written for Bernie Sanders.
Kamasi Washington is pure and simple amazing. His sax driven jazz funk is bar none. This was our favorite of the day on the “Here” stage and one of many discoveries we would make at this stage. Make sure and catch his sets at Bonnaroo later this year.
Portugal, the Man are always on our favorites list and for good reason. They never cease to amaze with both their live show and their versatility. This set, which closed down the night in the main area, was up against Bassnectar, and clearly was the winner. The boys were decidedly more edgy and grunge inspired than previous shows. They also performed several covers, including “Helter Skelter,””The Wall” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.”. Here’s a vide of “Guns and Dogs, from their show.
Saturday
Deer Tick was the first major crowd of Saturday and had the crowd both dancing and holding their sides with laughter. “We know what to do, we just have to do it. First, tune this guitar. We’re bad with time management. So what do you want to hear?” This lead to screams of request which they diligently picked and performed. Our favorite was “Old Shoes” which contained a “Superstition” tease.
If your are not familiar with this man, change that now! He wrote hits for numerous artist including himself, including, “Uptight,” “Green Onions” and “Tic-Tac-Toe.”His cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” as the sun was setting with one guitar left chills all over our bodies.
This was the first all out dance party of the day and it felt like everyone at the festival was there. We have watched these two grow from tiny 50 person shows at 90 Proof in Knoxville’s Old City to headlining major festivals all over the world. Each time they leave the stage, we are breathless and covered in sweat. Along with Griz, Odesza and Gramatik, they are the future of EDM.
This was a mega super jam which featured John Oats, Miguel, Win Butler (Arcade Fire), Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters), Geprge Porter Jr., Kamasi Washington, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Eric Krasno and Neil Evans (Soulive) and Kris Karns with special guest Skrillex and Mumford and Sons. Check out the setlist below. *Note they did not perform “Low Rider.” Win Butler did not seem to be a fan of “Hotline Bling,” but did rip his shirt open to reveal a Trump 2016 t-shirt which he pointed to throughout “Sympathy for the Devil.” He then proceeded to offer everyone a place to live in Canada if and when this happened. This was not the first or last time that artist commented and pleaded with the audience to wake up and get rid of this lunatic that somehow is still running for the top office in our country.
https://twitter.com/ArcadeFiretube/status/706475847486668800/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Sunday
The Shelters are a four piece described by Jambase as “Rock missionaries, testifying for the earthy pleasure and purpose of music delivered with full heart and zero subterfuge. The Shelters make one feel something, a propulsive beginning that testifies to rock’s enduring power.” They shredded so hard that we are surprised the stage was left standing.
Jason Isbell once again blew us away with his performance. Every year, people say, “this is his year.” And every year, they are right. He is the epitome of doing things perfectly. His set covered his years with the Drive by Truckers and to present. It was warm, but not hot and we spent the majority of it lying on our backs and taking in the beauty radiating all around us.
Odesza brought the heat and did so with a full band. This announcement sent shudders throughout the crowd. To say this was special is an extreme understatement. The set was much more chill than past shows, but it still bore enough intensity to be easily the second biggest crowd of the weekend. The light show and visuals are so far advanced that words do no do them justice. They will be primarily playing festivals in the coming months, but do boast a quickly selling out Red Rocks show in June.
Mumford and Sons was the exclamation mark on an already incredible weekend. We could go on and on about this set. The first twelve songs were a mix of their three releases and were beautiful. Then, they welcome Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against The Machine), Eric Krasno (Soulive) and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad” and their own “Dust Bowl Dance.” As if that’s not enough to satisfy us, then they welcomed The Avett Brothers for “House of the Rising Sun” (Traditional) and “You Really Got Me” (The Kinks). The Avetts exited before the last three which were comprised of “All Night Long” (AC/DC), “Unchained Melody” (The Righteous Brothers) and The Wolf (Mumford and Sons).
Video by coolbritannia97
There really are not words for this weekend and this festival. This is the next (and we don’t mean replacement, because that’s impossible) Bonnaroo. Get ready world, Okeechobee is here to stay. Check out the official recap video below.
