Disc Jam 2016: A Family Affair
The beautiful Gardners Farm in Stephentown, NY filled gracefully with Northeast music lovers eager to enjoy four days of great tunes in an unbeatable environment from June 9th to 12th. Two side-by-side main stages stood tall with beautiful tapestries gracing the backdrop, a Woods Stage which was just that, and bright white tent at the foot of a pond waited impatiently for tunes to be played to the masses.
Thursday night’s early entry started in proper fashion with Northeast up-and-comers Strange Machines followed by the extremely talented blends of Pink Talking Fish, who not only cover Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish but fuse them together ever so smoothly, mixing a perfect potion of jam. Winds were mighty for a few hours for those who came early, but the smiles were plentiful as the weekend had just begun. Florida electronic duo Bells & Robes took the silent disco late into the night as the small fest filled with great vibes in anticipation of the weekend to come.
A beautiful day engulfed the farm Friday as few clouds painted a vibrant blue sky that lasted the day’s entirety. Brooklyn represented strongly in the early part of Friday as Teddy Midnight, Chromatropic and Space Bacon drew very nice-sized crowds. Teddy Midnight effortlessly yanked everyone out of their tents early and slung funky jams getting everyone’s morning moving. Simultaneously Bearly Dead amazed festival goers with their extremely well done Dead covers (as they did each morning) in the Innova Tent. Four-piece jazz fusion band Chromatropic filled the main stage shortly after as Friday was officially on its way. Hayley Jane and The Primates got funky on the Main Stage, while Space Bacon got a little bit dirty in the Innova Tent with their fast-paced in-your-face jams.
Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band impressed a full crowd at the main stage as Tom Hamilton hit the tent for his first appearance of the night with his American Babies. One of the most anticipated sets of the weekend, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong took the Grass Roots California Main Stage at 5:45 pm, and the night never looked back from there. This foursome is the definition of funk, yet as unique as they get. Sit-ins by the Turkuaz horns and covers such as Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” had the masses screaming for more. Funk continued as veterans Kung Fu rocked the L4LM Main Stage for an hour and a half, bringing the energy as usual. Electron was up next to close the Main Stage for the night with two hours of hardcore shredding from Tom Hamilton, low chilled-out groves from Marc Brownstein, and every sort of sound you can imagine out of the keyboards of mastermind Aaron Magner.
The Woods Stage, a beautifully constructed tepee-like stage with the artist elevated in the structure, hosted Vibe Street as the Innova Tent presented Dopapod, a real treat for a smaller stage. The tent filled comfortably as Dopapod stole the night. The vibe in the tent was untouchable, as the entire festival hoped at every second of silence that the show wasn’t over just yet.
What is a Northeast festival without a little visit from Mother Nature? Rain started the day Saturday, and although it didn’t cancel any music, the early part of the day was a wash. Rain came down for about three hours before subsiding. Three or so hours was a true blessing as at some points it really, really didn’t look good. The sky cleared, and although it was a bit hazy, it turned out to be a perfect day for music.
Bearly Dead saved the day for many as the tent served as a safe house during the early morning rain. The Funky Dawgs, an extremely talented brass band, suffered most from the unfortunate weather but still got to play through as many listened from their tents. That’s the thing about small festivals: not only is the vibe high, the people trustworthy and the crowds comfortable; the grounds are also small in size. With camping just a stone’s throw from Disc Jam’s main stages, the music was always accessible even when it was time to relax. The rain had mostly subsided as Mister F jammed through a slight drizzle. Extremely unusual Congo Sanchez hit the L4LM Main Stage, a three-piece consisting of a percussionist, rapper, and reggae-style singer took everyone by surprise as one by one the crowd grew into a full-out dance party. Teddy Midnight guitarist Wiley Griffin sat in as rapper Flex Matthews got real with the crowd, spitting knowledge on the world’s current state as well as positivity to follow whatever makes one happy. Flex and his band were certainly happy as they were one of the most energized acts of the weekend.
Consider the Source took a risk with their first-ever Radiohead set, and although they stopped a few times and joked with the crowd about how it was clearly their first time trying the tribute, the set was very impressive as CTS showcased their broad variety of talents. Seeing a band try something new is truly respectful and shows just how deep Consider the Source’s talents go. The sun began to sink as The Nth Power grooved funk tunes with impressive vocals, setting the mood perfectly for one of the most exciting, fun sets of the weekend, New York natives TAUK. This hard-rocking instrumental foursome took the main stage with a scenic backdrop Saturday at 7:30 pm. TAUK invited up Craig Broadhead of Turkuaz as well as their hardworking horns for the weekend, sending the crowd in a frenzy as the sun drifted away.
The festival headliner and most anticipated set of the weekend Dopapod Orchestra was up next, taking the L4LM Main Stage at 9:00 pm. With excitement still high from their captivating tent set 22 hours earlier, the festival was buzzing in anticipation and curiosity of what this Orchestra would entail. The set was everything the crowd could have imagined and more. Dopapod with horns, bongos, sit ins galore – it couldn’t have gotten much better, or gone much smoother than it did. Dopapod was easily the MVP of the weekend as there wasn’t a minute they were on stage that the masses weren’t fully engaged.
Lespecial followed in the Innova Tent as they impressed every single concert goer. Deep dark jams, a sit-in from Ryan Dempsey of Twiddle and a Brittney Spears cover created the perfect potion of late-night fun. The buzz around their set afterwards was massive. They threw a late-night party in that tent, and all were appreciative. The weekend was almost over, but first Space Jesus took over in the woods.
Unfortunate weather once again plagued the early part of Sunday as extremely high winds turned into a (thankfully) short amount of rain before acts such as Aqueous forced everyone out of shelter and up to the main stage. Their fast-moving, upbeat jams warmed crowds in anticipation for Gubbilidis and Frends. Like Dopapod Orchestra, this set was another question mark. Gubbilidis is Mihali Savolidis and Zdenek Gubb of Twiddle. Twiddle had played four out of the previous five Disc Jams but weren’t on the bill for this one, although keyboardist Ryan Dempsey was also in attendance. The three Twiddle members jammed a few songs before inviting a slew of guests to the stage to jam the festival into closure. Sit-ins included artists Lowell Wurster on percussion, Russ Lawton of Soule Monde on drums, Craig Broadhead from Turkuaz, Scott Hannay of Mister F on keys and many, many more.
Disc Jam 2016 was once again a huge success. The crowds spread nothing but love for four straight days, and the music above all was amazing. These smaller festivals truly have a feel that cannot be matched by huge corporate companies who with all their money can put on some great shows but simply can’t recreate the magic of a small, loving group of people gathered on a farm, for the love of music and music alone.