For it’s second annual Big Up Music & Arts Festival, Shireworks has shown great promise & poise as it prepares for its [already] notorious social gathering. Featuring 50-plus hours of music on multiple stages, arts and culture, as well as multimedia experiences, it takes place on the beautiful Sunnyview Farm & Estate in Ghent, New York. This has proven to be a perfect central location to the hubs of New York City, Boston, and Connecticut and just a stone’s throw away from New York’s Capital Region, Albany. With last year’s attendance right around 1,500, I think its safe to say that this year will make that number look minuscule. A recent sell out of Camp Bisco and an incredible lineup to feast on, I would not be surprised if this one reaches max capacity as well. (Although I don’t know any concrete numbers on the cap mark or how many tickets have been sold already). For all you potential gate buyers, don’t say we didn’t warn you!
[Tickets will be $120 at the gate.]
This rolling hill mecca for mind expansion & partying is one of the more beautiful and tranquil locations to hold a festival of this size. Straight from The Big Up’s website, “In addition to its great location, Sunnyview Farm offers breathtaking views, making it a one-of-a-kind festival destination that features wooded camping, four unique performance stages, an on site farmer’s market, local vending, large scale multimedia installations, and workshops dedicated to hands-on sustainable skills and collaborative art.” If that isn’t enough to get you to attend this festival, than hopefully the lineup or the 100% satisfaction guarantee that I am personally stamping on this event should be.
[See The Big Up’s 3 day schedule here.]
Now lets get into what we think you should checkout this weekend:
Abakus – 2am Saturday night; Barn Stage
With a recent release of a pre-album EP, entitled Beyond the Fields, Russ Davies aka Abakus is taking his talents and keep it movin’ skills to the Northeast for the first time. After hearing live mixes such as “The Jaguar Sessions” and “Live in Mexico – July 2009” we have been waiting to experience it first hand for quite some time now. These sets lead me to believe that Big Up is the perfect place for Abakus to join the movement we’ve got going on around here.
“…Beyond The Fields EP features 6 melodic and dreamy downbeat beats. The upcoming album from Abakus is undoubtably Russ’ finest work to date, an intensely heartfelt expression of the vast amount of music knowledge and experience Russ has acquired over the 10 years he’s been professionally releasing music.” (source: Aristabakus.com)
Tipper – 12am Saturday Night; Barn Stage
Already on a tear this summer, Tipper has been delighting the West Coast with some of the more memorable performances to take away with us from 2011. Last summer we thoroughly enjoyed his set at Camp Bisco 9, and this will be no different. To get to know a little bit more about the reserved electronic intellect, checkout our interview from October 2010.
Peep this undeniable video from Raindance in California:
Higher Organix – All 3 Nights; Barn Stage (Thurs), Main Stage (Fri/Sat)
As the “resident” band of The Big Up, I was shocked that I had not heard of the band before last year’s festival. This band is full of incredible energy and improv capabilities that make me think of EOTO. They are a much different beast than EOTO though; one night last year they even played with a 3 piece brass section which sounded amazing. One can only hope we are lucky enough to catch that again in 2011! Monster bass lines and guitar licks based on jam roots, the glue comes from Jules on the kit. Playing with fever and a purpose the whole band feeds off of that energy and it brings the ruckus!
Gramatik – 630pm Thursday; Main Stage
Pretty Lights got a heal of a deal when he recently signed Gramatik to his label. And ever since, neither has looked back. Fresh off the signing and a release of some old school 4/4 house material (dubbed Gr4m4tik), Gramatik has released another LP, also cleverly entitled, Beatz & Pieces Vol. 1. If there is one reason to make sure you are there on time, Gramatik is it. Spell-binding hip hop beatz accompanied by some classic sounding guitar make this a no-brainer. I’m sure he’s stoked to be playing a sick festival just 2 hours from his current city, Brooklyn, NY.
Download Beatz & Pieces Vol 1.
Consider the Source – 215pm Saturday; Main Stage
Blowing me away at last year’s Big Up gathering, I am highly anticipating Consider the Source’s set this year. This 3-piece band from New York could best be described as heavy-hitting psychedelic prog-funk laced with a Claypool/Wooten/Marcus Miller bass twang and Middle Eastern influenced fusion guitar slaying on a half-fretless, double-neck axe. Needless to say, their sound packs a powerful yet technically refined punch from start to finish.
Live Recordings – Archive.org
Zoogma – 4am Friday night; LateNight Barn Stage
Zoogma is a rising gem amongst what is sometimes considered a diluted “jamtronica” scene. After listening to their music, you will come to find that they have one of the freshest and most mature sounds on the circuit today. Whether you are looking for rock, dubstep, four on the floor dance beats, or just plain ridiculous musicianship, Zoogma will give it to you, and they will give it to you good.
Checkout our interview with guitarist/synth player, Justin Hasting.
Orchard Lounge – 4am Saturday night; Barn Stage
What a perfect choice Shireworks made when they booked OL to perform at this year’s Big Up. These 3 Disc Jockey veterans are no amateurs when it comes to tearin’ the roof off, and the late night Barn Stage feels like the most appropriate place for such antics. Living to party and partying for a living, Bethany, Spencer, or Ben are also constantly spinning renegade parties throughout a weekend. They love to push the boundaries and play all night. Rarely ever do I see these guys take a break or even try to hibernate as the sun comes up over the horizon. This is what they do, and I couldn’t think of a more stupendous place to spin us loyals into a stupor.
Get Down on some OL Soundcloud action.
Another great reason to get down on the Big Up are the copious amounts of performances by Lost in Sound family members. If you’re looking for some new music or want to accustom yourself to 1/5 of the acts at The Big Up, checkout these links:
Wobblesauce – http://wobblesauce.com/
Perileyes – http://soundcloud.com/perileyes
Supersillyus – http://supersillyus.com/
Lespecial – http://lespecial.bandcamp.com/
Dopapod – http://dopapod.com/
Mun – http://tinyurl.com/livemun
Auto Orbit – http://soundcloud.com/auto-orbit
D.V.S*(festival closer) – http://dvsmusic.bandcamp.com/
Steadyknock – http://www.myspace.com/steadyknock
BBP – http://blueboyproductions.net/
The Goddess Realm – Providing stellar yoga, meditation, hooping, massage, tarot, glitter, makeup, bindis, and all the necessities to get crafty with your creative self!
Grassroots California Dome – sick hats, raging beats, and a cool spot to kick it and catch some shade!
If you’ve only taken part in larger festivals such as Bonnaroo, Ultra, Wakarusa, or Camp Bisco, then please don’t let the idea of smaller sized festival that you might not have heard of turn you off from the idea of attending. It is these smaller more intimate gatherings that I thrive on. You walk away feeling like you’ve connected with people. There seems to be more time to get to know one another, chill with different campsites, and try out things you might not normally try. You can accredit this to the less amount of time you spend walking from place to place, less stages to present overlap problems, and a more self sustaining group that generally cares about their surroundings. Now don’t get me wrong. There is no shortage of what we’ve come to expect and look forward to from a vacation – letting loose and partying! But the sort of thing a smaller festy promotes is cherishing our parties and raging responsibly. The two things I hold in such high regard when it comes to festivals. NOW LETS HAVE FUN!
