Just Joshin’ a Celebration of Life, Love and Music
Written By: Christopher DeMorro
Music festivals have always been about bringing people together, but just what brings those people together changes from festival to festival. For the production team and attendees of the Just Joshin’ Festival, the celebration centers around the life of Josh LeJeune, a young man who enjoyed life, music, and bringing his friends together in a unique way.
Born from the grief of a lost loved one, Just Joshin’ is the brainchild of Andy Mooney and his girlfriend, Anne St. Hilaire, the brains, wallets, and music behind this hidden gem of a music festival. Gathering together an eclectic mix of local musicians performing their own take on jam, funk, and the blues, the second iteration of the festival attracted hundreds of attendees to Camp Hemlocks, a summer camp setting uniquely suited to hosting a small music festival.
Built in 1973 to provide handicapped and developmentally disabled individuals access to a safe but fun summer camp environment, Camp Hemlocks has no stairs to ascend and provides indoor accommodations to those who want to enjoy a true VIP experience. A pavilion not far from the main building provided the perfect setting despite a determined drizzle that damped the setting but not spirits. For 16 hours on October 8th, 2016, bands such as The Alpaca Gnomes, The Juicy Grapes, Jeremiah Hazed, and Canadian one-man-band ensemble Stephen Lewis, played a wide-ranging mix of music that pushed the norm as the show went on.
The jam and funk flowed freely to be sure, but as the second set from the Alpaca Gnomes started, the covers came out to play some of Josh’s favorite tunes that included hits from Sublime, Rage Against the Machine and Tool. An emotional rendition of Joe Cocker’s take on “A Little Help from My Friends” appropriately ended the main stage marathon, bringing out hugs and laughter, love for one another, and excitement for what was yet to come. As the night wore on, the music moved inside, where Camp Hemlock’s facilities turned into an indoor arena, filled with mind-blowing space rock and an other-worldy Boo-Yah Funk: Talking Heads Tribute set performed by to close. Despite the bumpin’ beats and jammin’ tunes, however, attendees could find peace and quiet on the other side of the main building, where some smaller festivals have a hard time separating the fans from the fun.
Yet what made this small, almost family-affair so special were the overwhelmingly positive vibes and welcoming atmosphere that seemed to channel Josh’s famously warm personality. Strangers from across the region came out to celebrate life and build new friendships and relationships in the memory of a unique soul. A festival created to remind us that life is precious and that we need to cherish the relationships that we have with each other and enjoy the moments that bring us all together.
It sounds sappy because, frankly, it is. After a long summer of partying and playing at major music festivals across the East Coast, Just Joshin’ was a breath of fresh air: small enough for everyone to interact but drawing big local names into a unique setting that has many attendees looking forward to the 2017 iteration already. We hope we’ll see you there.