For three days festival goers flocked to Heber City, Utah for the camping, arts and music festival Bonanza Campout. Set against a quiet creek nestled among mountains at the base of the Jordanelle Dam, the festival had thousands of campers among tents and cabins, while the rest of the attendees rented off site.
After an ~8 hour drive we set up our tents and and got ready for the first day.
Transportation was relatively easy after a slow start, as the staff directed fans to park off site
at a parking lot with shuttles running all day and night. I thought this was actually fairly smart,
as there can be lots of congestion and wait times when camping is intermixed with parking.
The scene was relaxed–a collage of people floating in a local pond, drinking games,
glitter circles, grilling and the excitement of long distance friends together again. The festival
grounds were modest with maybe a dozen food vendors/trucks, a couple brand promotion
tents with some gimmicks, a country store (where you could buy beer on site!), and the main
and side stages. After making friends with our neighbors–some graduate students
from the University of Utah–we jumped into all of the above, and hosted some spike ball
for our area. If I had to make a guess there were maybe 8,000 tickets sold, and most
crowds were relatively sparse.
Day one included Robert Delong, The Knocks, Slow Magic, Wale, Cut Copy and Nick Murphy
(Chet Faker). Slow magic was a fascinating act, a drummer with a mix of live and prerecorded
electronic production. He finished his set by jumping into the crowd for an up tempo session
which was a hit. The Knocks and Wale both killed it with their high energy sets, and Cut Copy
was a fun dance party. Nick Murphy was incredibly melodic and had amazing instrumentals to
go along with his wide ranging vocals. However, I thought the show was out of place and a bit
too mellow for what the crowd was expecting at that point. The night ended with a “Yacht
Party/DJ set” by the creek but turned out to be more of a campout, complete with a circle of
festival goers around a fire. Perhaps a metaphor for the whole weekend.
Day two boasted Tokimonsta, Waka Flocka Flame, Big Wild, Cherub, Mutemath, The Airborne Toxic Event, Nas and Ms. Lauryn Hill.
on the left. First off, definitely one of the best rappers I have ever seen live–incredible
pronunciation, speed, emphasis and swagger. Backed by a full band with a trumpet, sax,
backup singers and her own amazing vocals, she was incredible during her songs. However,
they were few and far between, and the pace was a mess. She was like Peyton Manning or
CP3 on stage, a fiercely adamant and demanding general with her band, constantly
interacting with hand motions and dictating in between songs. It was incredibly frustrating as a
fan because you would be so pumped up after a song and then she would take 20 seconds to
a minute calling the play at the line of scrimmage. It also didn’t help that she didn’t take the
stage until 30 minutes after her set started, forcing her DJ to dip into his own production after
playing rap favorites, which even he was wary of. Maybe she was using the set as practice for
a larger tour or they were rusty, but overall a very underwhelming performance for such a
talented artist.
Working backwards from night to day, I thought Nas was solid and a polar opposite
performance juxtaposed with Ms. Lauryn Hill. He stuck to his hits, he had great continuity and he let
his DJ and hypeman do their own thing independently. Other highlights throughout the
day were Big Wild and Cherub, who brought their own unique electronic style to the stage to much
fanfare. The Airborne Toxic Event surprised me in their incredible musicianship and the stage
presence of the violinist, who seemed completely immersed in her music and the festival.
It’s always a breath of fresh air to witness that in a sea of artists who are so predisposed to be rehearsed every step of their set.
Waka Flocka Flame had a surprisingly very EDM set, complete with a incoherent rap over
Drowning Pool’s “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor”, which I thought was hilarious. This was surrounded by his urging of various young women on stage to let loose, a scene completely out of place at the somewhat family oriented and laid back festival. Lastly, Mutemath was an act I had never heard of but contributed the most unique band composition and performance I
have seen in awhile. The singer looked like the frontman of Linkin Park, and the drummer was a madman,
trying to kill his drum set while various stagehands were constantly tightening and supporting his kit. Plenty of fans, like the friends we met above, were recipients of the poor sticks who were brutally murdered in the process. Although their music could be categorized
as alternative rock, the singer was extremely soulful and intimate, while also dancing carefree
like he was in some Apple ad. The guitarist also brought out this instrument/contraption I
won’t attempt to label. Incredibly fascinating set where I really didn’t know what was coming next.
The acts you’ve never heard of, that radio play hasn’t conditioned your image of and that end
up blowing your mind, are what makes festivals an experience I will always sign up for.
Sunday had the biggest crowds and was a hitwith rap legends
Method Man and Redman, and headlined by festival darlings
Odesza. Method Man and Redman were polished and high energy,
an incredible feat with the length of their career and the lack of
familiarity among younger audiences. However, it was clear
Wu-Tang is still for the children. Odesza brought new songs
and closed their set with a fireworks show. Overall, the
nightlife at Bonanza Campout was disappointing, with comparable
festivals having a city/bar scene to migrate to, or a more organized
DJ production/campground after party scene. But the quality
acts mixed well with the romantic and rustic scene, and I
thought the festival definitely gave you bang for your buck
–a perfect weekend for any laid back crew.
