Cuko Rakko Music and Arts Festival ~ May 1-3rd, 2015~ Horse Pens 40 ~ Steele, AL

Written and Photos by: Cassidy Taylor

On the first weekend in May, 2015, music and arts festival Cuko Rakko took place at beautiful Horse Pens 40 in Steele, AL. The main stage was set up in front of a huge rock garden perfect for climbing and listening to the music at the same time. I was amazed by the acoustics back in the rocks. It was perfect for people of all ages who enjoy good music, activities, hand crafted art, and good people.

Saturday fell perfectly in line with the day and time. It started off with some folk rock and blues from singer/songwriter Taylor Hollingsworth. As the sun was beginning to go down we got touched by the ideas of love and community from Reggae band Natti Love Joys. Getting into the night we heard from cbdb who performed a whirlwind of improvisational genres. They got everyone on their feet and took us on a journey through their free-form jams and brought you right back, just like any good jam band should. Next that night we had Bit Deff, an energetic DJ with a very modern sound that fit perfectly with the glow sticks and flashing neon lights dancing around the crowd.

Sunday was spent just like it should with fellowship throughout the entire camp grounds. 7 a.m. yoga, breakfast, then Curtis Jones, Primal Roots and Matt Mundy bringing us the gospel through classic Bluegrass. We finished our trip with Harkestra, a southern dance band who had the Cuko Rakko Players join them along with many other musicians from the weekend. They put the feelings of peace and acceptance down in everyone’s souls, a great way to finish off my weekend.