I can
hardly express how much I loved this
year’s Dark Star Jubilee, hosted
at Legend Valley in Thornville,
Ohio on May 24, 25, and 26th.
It was a beautiful weekend of perfect
weather, feel good music, and the best
group of people in the world. This was a
smaller festival, I can’t imagine there
were over three thousand people in
attendance, but a small festival like
this is always something special. The
music never overlaps, and also never
stops at Legend Valley. The stages are
set in the bottom of a naturally formed
bowl. There is a large stage decorated
with the most elaborate tie-dyes you can
imagine, and right next to it is the
smaller stage.
Friday started out with one of my
favorite bluegrass bands, Greensky
Bluegrass. They are a collection of
five string players, each with a ton of
personality; they were a great way to
open this festival. Friday’s line up
was a bit light, giving everyone time to
settle in and set up camp; music didn’t
start until six in the evening. After
Greensky Bluegrass, The Ark Band
took the smaller stage. This stage was
decorated with beautiful tie-dyes from
Prismatic Fabric Tie-dye and Batik,
a vendor featured at the festival. The
Ark Band is led by guitarist Mark
Hunter, who has a very impressive
set of dreadlocks, and a great reggae
voice. They laid down some great reggae
beats as Dark Star Orchestra got ready
for their first performance of the
night.
For
Dark Star Orchestra’s (DSO)
first set of the weekend, it got a bit
cold. Everyone migrated to the stage
area wrapped in blankets and settled in
for a three and a half hour set. This
set was from 1971, and featured many of
the Grateful Dead’s most recognizable
songs like “Eyes of the World” and
“Uncle John’s Band.” This set list was a
great way to open up a weekend of
nostalgic jams, and stories of Grateful
Dead tour days told around the fire late
at night.
One
of the highlights of the night, for me,
was the Mickey Hart Band. This is
a project of Mickey Hart, one of the
original drummers from the Grateful
Dead. Mickey Hart took us on a transient
journey, that echoed through the valley
and was perfect foreshadowing for the
awesome drum solos and trance music that
would light the valley up this
weekend.
I
woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful
day. The sky was that perfect color of
blue, and the clouds were the type you
could sit and watch for hours. I
couldn’t have picked a more perfect day
to spend outside if I tried. The music
started earlier and featured some laid
back, waking up bands. DSO’s tour
manager Matt Reynolds got his own
set followed by Bigear and
David Gans. This was a perfect
afternoon to cook at the campsite,
wander around meeting people, and look
at vendors on Shakedown Street, with
some great, chill tunes in the
background.
In my
opinion one of the bands to see on
Saturday was the Yonder Mountain
String Band. The set started off
with the sun setting in the background
and a full moon rising to the other
side, which would end up being partially
eclipsed throughout the night. This
up-tempo, bluegrass band is a Midwest
favorite. As the banjo and string bass
echoed through the valley, it was hard
for anyone to keep their feet still as
everyone geared up for a marathon, late
night DSO set.
Dark
Star Orchestra
took the stage at 10:30 p.m. for a four
hour late night set. The moon was full,
the air was crisp, and you could feel
the anticipation in the crowd. This
original set list was quite possibly one
of the greatest DSO shows I have ever
witnessed. They opened with a jam that
was four songs long: “Help on the way”>
“Slipknot” > “Feel Like a Stranger” >
“Franklin’s Tower” featuring Donna
Jean Godchaux, the original female
voice from the Grateful Dead. In my
opinion, DSO is a great interpretation
of what the Grateful Dead would be doing
today, if they were all still alive and
well. They embrace the original
techniques, but also add a unique point
of view that is purely their own.
Second set started off with one of my
favorite songs “Box of Rain,” and ended
up being a set I will never forget. The
“Drums>Space” during this set was
absolutely spine chilling. As the leads
of DSO left the stage and left us in the
hands of their amazing percussionists,
Dino English and Rob Koritz, any sort of
structure began to fade away, as you
became a slave to the drum beats. As
things disintegrated, slowly the
drumbeats turned into vibrations that
resonated through the entire valley. The
earth below us echoed with the sounds of
electronic drums and an amped bassoon.
The crowd stopped moving and stood
feeling the vibrations of the hills
around them; the earth and landscape
around us became the concert stage. It
was one of the most amazing moments I
have witnessed. As the other members
slowly took the stage the crowd was
pulled out of this vibrational trance,
and we were welcomed back to reality
with “Not Fade Away." The dancing
resumed with the night being closed with
“Midnight Moonlight,” a perfect tune for
the beautiful full moon eclipse we had
been witnessing all
night.
Sunday Morning was another equally
beautiful morning. We enjoyed some
wonderful breakfast burritos from the
food vendors and an energetic morning
show with the African Showboyz.
The afternoon was packed with great
bands like JGB & Melvin Seals,
Rumpke Mountain Boys and The
Wailers, Bob Marley’s original band.
The eclectic Pimps of Joytime
took the smaller stage while DSO
prepared for their closing set. The
Pimps of Joytime have a great stage
presence and a diverse sound that’s easy
to love and easy to dance
to.
DSO
took the stage for the last time of the
festival. Sunday was the warmest of
nights and drew the largest crowd down
from the hills. This was another Dark
Star Orchestra original set list, once
again featuring an amazing “drums to
space” in the second set. The first set
was opened with “St. Stephen” and closed
with the energetic song “Goin’ Down the
Road Feelin’ Bad.” After an extended set
break, DSO took the stage for a second
set packed with some Grateful Dead hits
like “Dancin’ in the Streets” and “Dark
Star,” the song which Dark Star
Orchestra obviously named themselves
after. They closed in a familiar way,
much as they did last year in the rain,
and in classic Grateful Dead style with
“And we Bid you Goodnight.” Everywhere
in the crowd friends stood together arms
around each other singing along and
celebrating the wonderful festival that
could never again be
recreated.
Overall, this is a festival I wouldn’t
miss for the world. I went in the rain
last year and had such an amazing time
that I had to come back again. This year
was nothing short of magical. This
festival is a great place to bring all
of your friends and family. Everyone is
warm and respectful, even the security
team. There are no long lines or crowds
so large you can’t see the stage. You
don’t have to choose one band over
another, because respectfully, the music
never overlaps. I would like to end with
a quote from the schedule everyone
received which was written by Dark Star
Orchestra. “This weekend before us is
one that we anticipate all year long and
with your help we aspire to create a
harmonious, peace loving, intimate
setting where everyone can experience
one’s own individual freedoms while at
the same time enjoying the communal
spirit of the whole.”
MORE
PHOTOS
HERE
Written and Photos By: Cassidy Maley
Edited By: Rosemary A.W. Roberts
