I attended the Evolve fest with my entire family, that is, my wife and two sons ages 6, and 3.   Having been to the two previous Evolves we had an idea of what to expect, although every year so far has been different from the others.   This was the first year at Hidden Valley in Vernon, N.J.

We found the venue to be very accommodating and appropriate for a music festival.  There was plenty of open grassy space to run and play.   The hill in front of the stage was comfortable to sit on and there was no trouble seeing the action on the main stage no matter how crowded it got.  The indoor stage offered a different atmosphere, much smaller and more intimate.   I enjoyed the contrast between the two  musical environments.   Most importantly, I felt safe to let my children play at a distance without having to watch them like a hawk.   (I should add that I knew a lot of people at the festival as well as many of the children that they were playing with.)

The vending area was slightly up the hill from the left of the stage.   I found the vendors interesting and friendly.   There were two choices of good home-cooked food.  (The venue, Hidden Valley, also served food.)   The most interesting was the “gong tent”, that treated festival goers to a one-of –a-kind personal sound experience for nothing more than a small donation.   Overall, I would like to see more in the vending area, but all of the necessities were covered.  Personally, I come to music festivals to listen to music and don’t usually buy anything besides food.

As for the music, there were a lot of bands.   The main stage and the indoor stage kept going all day and the indoor continued long into the night way past my bedtime.   Overall I found the quality of the music to be exceptional!   Almost every band, even in the middle of the day, was listenable.   This is rare in festivals these days, I feel.   Most of the bands that I had not heard of were fun to watch and listen to.    I wouldn’t say that I would seek them out any further or that I am buying their CD, but it seemed like between the two stages, there was always a good band to see.

Specifically the headlining bands like Swampedelica and Natural Breakdown I have seen before.   I have never been disappointed in either band.   Swampedelica is a solid jam band with a great female vocalist, fun to dance and for the whole family.   Natural Breakdown is a little more out there but again, not disappointing to the crowd.    Other bands worth mentioning are Only Living Boy and Mike Lawlor Banned, local rock bands in the Northern N.J. area.   Most other bands fit into the typical “Jam Band” description, but there were Ska bands and Hip-Hop artists as well as singer-songwriters and even children’s music.

The other half of the focus of this festival is on yoga.   There was yoga in front of the main stage in the morning.   One morning there was even a sitar player for the class.   That seemed cool.   Other yoga classes took place during the day up in the camping area.   I would like to see the music and yoga a little more integrated, although I can’t say that this is easy to do.   Perhaps it is easier to have it further away.   Again, there is yoga happening, for those interested.

Overall, I would say that my family’s weekend spent at Evolve was enjoyable.   My kids had a blast an my wife and I enjoyed ourselves, too.   The vibe was safe and family friendly, but also embraced the younger “party-time” vibe necessary to accompany any Jam Band.   Alcohol was sold by the venue, but there was not an overwhelming amount of drunk people.   

Click on the images below to enjoy a photo slide show  from Evolve Festival 2009.

 

Words by Adam Hamer

Photos Courtesy of Evolve Festival & Andrea Gianchiglia