Okie Dokie Okeechobee: GA Experience
As I sit, staring at the bassdrop/hamsa combo tattoo on the girl dancing in front of me at Halsey’s set, I cannot help but think to myself: this life is amazing, and I’m so glad I’m living it.
That pretty much sums up my entire weekend at Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival this past weekend. You may hear that theft was rampant, security was horrendous, vibes were terrible, but that was not the case for me and probably not for the majority of people in attendance. Remember, however, that it is always the people with complaints that scream the loudest. Not to diminish those, however, there are thefts, crap security personnel, and areas of bad vibes at all festivals, and Okee is no different. Just remember that these incidents happen to a much smaller contingent of the overall festival crowd and play things smart to minimize these less-than-awesome aspects of festival life.
Arriving with a group of 10 at around 3 on Thursday was butter smooth, with the party starting as soon as we had our camp set up, all of us excited for the intimate Full Moon set with Bassnectar, Opiuo, and Thriftworks that was set for that evening. Before the set we went exploring Chobeewobee Village, an area filled with awesome art installations of all types as well as a few stages. Some of the art is standard graffiti and mural art, some are awesome places to relax such as the Tea Lounge and Sonic Curtains, while others are very interactive, à la the Dragonfly Kaleidoscope, and so many more. Find a link to all of the awesome stuff in the village HERE. The stages included a stage in the Tea Lounge, one on the beach, one in the center of the village, and the Incendia stage, a fire-breathing behemoth that hosted late-night dance parties.
After our initial journey through these areas, it was time to set up camp for the mystical magical show that was to come. With the release of THIS description of what the Full Moon set was going to entail, my crew and I were ready for just about anything. What we got was what I refer to as a DJ Lorin set rather than a standard Bassnectar bass-assault. The set was filled with more loops, more hypnotic thrumming, and many more organic feeling combinations in comparison to the standard highly-curated sets that are Bassnectar events.
The following day The Grove opened; this is the area containing the three main stages, Be, Here, and Now (I’m so grateful that these names are easier to convey than the confusing naming used by my home festival, Bonnaroo). Throughout the course of the weekend I spent ~65% of my time here. Security was slightly strict, with this being the first festival I’ve ever attended with a clear bag policy and metal detectors. The clear bag policy was lenient, however, with hydration and small non-clear bags being allowed. As with any policy of this type, there was inconsistent enforcement, and I saw several people with bags much larger than the allowed sizing, but that is not the fault of the festival but rather one of human error. The metal detectors were present but were set on a very low sensitivity and seemed only to detect if you had enough metal on you to potentially pose a threat to others. I for one walked through with a belt, hat pins, necklaces, and sunglasses on many times and never set it off. It did go off on me twice when I forgot a flashlight in my pocket, but even then staff took me at my word and did not give me the third degree about what I was carrying. I also only waited in a line to get in upon my first time going in, but people’s results may vary, as there are three entrances and varying degrees of traffic before some performances.
Upon entering the grove you find vendors selling food and alcohol as well as sponsored lounges by various companies trying to sell you on their products. Generally speaking these places were cool and fun to hang out at, while not pushing their brand on you. I was particularly grateful for the Bacardi lounge, which had free sunscreen, and my wife enjoyed using their free braiding and glitter service. I also took an awesome nap in a hammock that was provided by ENO.
The stages were much improved from last year, having been arranged and angled differently to allow the festival to add more volume, greater clarity, and even have more space than previous years. My crew and I never had trouble moving through the crowd or finding a spot big enough to accommodate us, which is impressive because we like to be mostly parallel to the sound board at most shows, finding that it offers the best sound-to-visuals ratio. My only complaint with stages was the lack of enforcement of the totem rule, which stated that totems would only be allowed behind the sound board. I’m a fan of totems in general, but only when they do not impede the experience of others, and my view was blocked by giant signs more times than I bothered to keep up with throughout the weekend.
The rest of the weekend was a blur of shows, each one better than the last. Some moments that stood out were the amazing Bassnectar “My Name is… BASSHEAD” intro, The Big Quiet guided meditation, all of Gramatik’s set, and Misterwives‘ incredible precision usage. Please just take the time to look up some Youtube videos and see all of the amazing things that happened throughout the weekend. Over all, Okeechobee is still in my top three music festivals, and I will definitely be back next year. Until then, I’ll see you all in The Portal.
