It’s The Last Summer Camp And…

This past weekend, I had the incredible pleasure of attending my very last Summer Camp. It was emotional in so many ways for attendees, artists, and staff. The one thing you kept hearing throughout the weekend was that it was the last SCamp and we had to go out with a bang. Honestly, the whole weekend was emotional. I’ve been going to Summer Camp since 2015 and have attended every edition since then. And I feel like I’m losing a part of myself with SCamp not coming back. Each year, I go back to my home and enjoy myself with the BEST people around. There were so many rumors swirling around the festival- from SCamp going all jam band and back to their roots next year to the festival being all EDM because that’s where the money is. Either way, we will have to wait until next year to see what happens with our beloved Summer Camp.

Let’s go into our weekend recap! Sadly, my other job (not The Festival Voice) is challenging to take off the Friday before Memorial Day so I generally miss the preparty. It’s just something I deal with every year and it is what it is! I’ve been lucky to attend the preparty a few times, but overall, I have to miss it.

First off, I have to start by saying this was the easiest SCamp to get set up at, EVER. The lines were smooth and we were inside the festival in no time at all. And this year, my crew decided that we were going to get car camping. And let me tell you, for any festival in the future that I ever attend, I will get car camping if it is available! It was so awesome to not have to drag all of my stuff in. I had one wagon load with my cooler and my camera- and that was IT! Everything else was loaded in my friend’s truck, which was parked on our spot. Everything was so smooth and less stressful than years before because we were set up in absolutely no time at all. I will NEVER go back as it is worth every penny!

So we were all set up in just a short bit of time and we were ready to enjoy the evening! I didn’t bring my camera out Friday night because I had just gotten there and I was ready to enjoy myself. First up, Maddy O’Neal! She was phenomenal. I was grooving and vibing the entire time. After that, people were telling me I had to stay at the Starshine stage for INZO and I was not disappointed!

The night continued and we cruised on over to the Illumination Woods to check out Ahee for a while before coming back to the Starshine for Manic Focus. We really only checked out each of those sets because next up was the man, the myth the legend, Excision.

If you don’t know this about me, I am a HUGE headbanger at heart so I broke my neck at this set, which was phenomenal.

I wanted to check out the later sets, but honestly, after working all day and setting up, I was beat and just couldn’t keep going, so to bed I went.

And on Saturday, the weather was beautiful! I woke up and took an epic shower and felt great! It was time to go explore the festival! We checked out the vendors and then headed into the Illumination Woods, taking pictures and checking out all the woods had to offer. I love all of the art installations present and people really seemed to be enjoying themselves. We also checked out the Frick Frack Casino, which was really neat! You bring anything you want, I mean ANYTHING, and gamble for it. No money allowed. Everything in the Illumination Woods was beautiful and it’s definitely one of my favorite additions to the festival.

We decided to go check out Girl Talk, which was a vibe! I had never heard of him before but my friend was telling me that he made crazy mixes. All of these people were partying on the stage and dancing. It was a great set and I was sad to have to leave it because I had the keys to the truck and my friends needed in. He is a set I’ll be checking out again if I get the chance!

We ran back to camp, gave my friend the keys, and geared up for the night by getting some dinner in our bellies. Then, as per Summer Camp tradition, we went to go check out some Moe. because is it really SCamp if you don’t see Moe.? Don’t worry, we found some time for Umph too!

At some point, we checked our phones and saw that Manic Focus was doing a surprise Silent Disco set. We headed back into the woods and sadly, we weren’t able to check him out because the line was too long. I went in to take some pictures without headphones because when else was I going to get the chance to be right in front of Manic Focus?

We vibed around checking out Moe. and Umph together then Kumarion and Daily Bread before heading to Ganja White Night, where I took some amazing pictures.

Like the night before, I was exhausted and went to bed shortly after GWK. Before that, however, I snagged some delicious Spicy Pie before heading to bed.

Finally, Sunday Funday! I decided that today was the day I was really going to hang. We grabbed our comfy gear and headed out to see Break Science. We had our awesome Tarpestry and our sun shade. During that time, my friend and I grabbed some delicious lemonade and smoothies- which were to die for! It was perfect on such a hot day like that.

My friend wanted to check out Andy Frasco & The U.N. and they were phenomenal! They had so much energy and livened me right up.

Before they were over, we split up to go back to camp to get ready to check out some Willie Nelson! That set was PACKED, I mean, wall to wall people. I didn’t get any pics because it was so crowded! I stayed for a bit before meeting up with my other friend to check out some Sunsquabi. We ran back to camp for some dinner because we had to fuel up for our night!

We spent the night dancing our hearts out to sets like Dogma, who was the BEST set of the weekend, in my opinion. I discovered Rusko a few years back at SCamp and have loved seeing him each and every time since! Next up, Rusko, who was amazing, for sure, followed by Boogie T. I wanted to make it to the end of the night, but man, I had just danced so hard and it was time to head to bed.

Another plug for car camping- the next day, it was so easy to get out of there! We packed all of our stuff into my friend’s car, dragged our cooler out, and were out in no time! I’m telling you- CAR CAMPING FOR THE WIN!!!!

And so there you have it, my SCamp adventures. It was a weekend I’ll always cherish and remember as it is known as the very last SCamp. Whatever they decide for next year, Summer Camp will always hold a special place in the hearts of many. Peace out, Summer Camp!