Festival partner, Rebecca Sparks told us that “The People at High Sierra Make the Festival Special.” I couldn’t agree more. It was clear that many High Sierra festival goers had been there from its 1991 inception. The festival was filled with people of all ages and was very family friendly. The lineup consisted of funk, bluegrass, jam bands and live electronic acts many of which played multiple sets throughout the festival. We loved the entire festival, but here are some of the highlights.
Music
Soul Rebels
Why not get the festival off to a strong start? One of our favorite acts took place during the day of the first day- The Soul Rebels. It isn’t often anymore that you get the pleasure of listening to a good brass band. Well, we were in luck as The Soul Rebels took the stage and had the crowd moving throughout the entirety of their set with their great energy. The Soul Rebels started with an idea – to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of pop, hip hop, jazz and rock. The band has settled on an eight-piece lineup that took up the majority of The Big Meadows stage. It was great to see them on such an intimate stage, and they set a high bar for all the acts that followed.
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation was one of the best acts of the weekend. The group out of Washington D.C. puts on a show that features multiple singers, rappers and a wide variety of musicians. The energy and versatility throughout the show made this a special night time set.
Main Squeeze
Main Squeeze was all over the festival. You could find them jamming out in the funk showcases or playing just about every stage at the High Sierra. The energetic five-piece started in Bloomington Indiana brought the funk all the way to Quincy, CA.
Lettuce
The funk group out of Boston got the crowd so excited that people were dancing on top of their RV’s. The old school funk band has certainly come a long way over the past couple of years and is a must see group on the festival circuit.
High Sierra Atmosphere
Camping
At most camping festivals you are ushered into the campground and meticulously directed to park in a row of cars where you will be camping for the duration of the festival. Not at High Sierra! In fact, it’s pretty much free for all to find the best campsite to call your own. Although it was super hot during the day, finding a nice campsite on Hillside proved to be perfect. The trees provided natural shade that kept inside the forest a lot colder than when you got into the festival. You could also dig out your campsite and make it your own by digging stairs and flat areas. Additionally, within the fairgrounds itself, people could set up camp right next to the stages. Not so bad to be able to crawl out of your tent and be able to listen to live music!
The Silent Disco
The silent disco at High Sierra raises the bar for other festivals thanks to ZerOdB. What made this one special was the fact that festivals goers could take headphones anywhere throughout the festival grounds. Whether you wanted to dance all the way to your campsite, dance by the food tents or hang out by the silent disco field, there were no boundaries. For festival goers that couldn’t get enough music, the silent disco was perfect as lasted 24 hours. The DJs that played throughout the festival always had a group of people dancing no matter what time of day it was.
The Food
The vendors at High Sierra were on point! High Sierra attendees could even find music down at the food grounds. Our favorite places to go was a restaurant who has been serving up awesome Mexican food at the festival for over 20 years.
Kinder’s BBQ joint which delivered amazing pulled pork mac and cheese.
Frickle was the pace to go for a perfect fried snack.
Thanks to all the artists, vendors and festival goers that made this festival special. High Sierra, we’ll see you again next year.
