Beardfest – The Best Local (Northeast) Intimate Summer Festival

This weekend there is something special happening less than 1 hour from Philly, and about 1 hour from the Jersey Shore in the Great Pine Barrens. The festival is called Beardfest.  And it’s a Scenesberry.

Here’s the link to the festival. There are one night and weekend passes available.

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The music actually started last night and because I’m a fat bastard and was too busy drinking IPA’s in the backyard of my poconos summer camp, I am late getting this post up. Sue me.

Beardfest is an annual summer festival in the western portion of the Pine Barrens, which is a nationally protected site that lays claim to the largest fresh water underground reservoir in the Country. As a result of its importance as a natural resource, what was formerly viewed as a natural buggy wasteland, is now viewed more as the northeast’s version of the Everglades.

Beardfest’s long time location is campgrounds close to Philly yet in the midst of this natural preserved wonderland.  It also has a freshwater “lake” (well more like a big pond) but you can swim in it, there is a private beach, at night there are fire dancers, and due to its location, there are not noise ordinances per se, so the music goes until 3 AM. Most of the artists are local-ish, but with the rich Philly and New York Jam tradition, as well as a strong DJ scene, Beardfest hits that special note of small yet curated, regularly featuring some of the finest acts on the jam scene.

Beardfest’s organizers is the band Out of the Beardspace. They are a solid band. They may have reached their highest level of fame as the organizer of Beardspace. What started as a small party put on by their friends has expanded into one of the finest festival experiences in the country.

On the festie’s website, you can read about the origin’s of Beardfest a decade ago, how it grew from someone’s backyard into a forrest fest, and how they “failed up” into its current site “Paradise Lake.”  Because it’s curated by the band itself, it’s not like one of those cash grab festie sites that eventually get shut down (like Wonderland Forrest in upstate NY). The band put their name on the festival so their reputation is on the line to ensure a great experience for all. It even has a Woodstock-esque last minute pivot to its current locale.  From the “Beardfest Origin Story” on the festival’s website:
<p class=”font_8 wixui-rich-text__text”>Mama LoPresti showed up with a Hail Mary: a venue about 15 minutes down the road called Paradise Lakes. The lakeside camp had been abandoned for years prior to its recent purchase, but Mama LoPresti convinced the new owner to host the event with hours’ notice. The Beard team sprang into action, telling everyone in their web to spread the word of the new location. People even stayed behind at the initial camp to redirect cars. At 11 a.m. Friday morning–with music set to start at five that afternoon–on-site campers grabbed a piece of gear to transport over, and the entire event was en route. The music started on time that day.</p>
<p class=”font_8 wixui-rich-text__text”><br class=”wixui-rich-text__text” />“The fact that it went well. The fact that we managed to not crash and burn, just felt like we were meant to do this,” Jeremy recalls. He suspects that the word about this frenzy attracted even more interested visitors. </p>
<p class=”font_8 wixui-rich-text__text”>Since that fateful year in 2014, Beardfest has planted its roots deep into the sands of Paradise Lakes and continues to organically grow a community around art, music, and cultivation. Robyn Mello took over as workshop director and has since expanded the program into over thirty classes. Under the leadership of Bri Barton, Kristina Seelig, and Jess Fisher, ROMPUS continues to be a key element to Beardfest’s visual art aesthetic with their live painting and shadow dancing. </p>
Beardfest commonly features one of my favorites – Consider the Source – a Brooklyn based far out eastern space musical exploration featuring two of the finest guitarists in the world – bassist John Ferrara and double neck fretless guitar specialist Gabriel Marin. Their long time drummer, Jeff Mann, is also the Mann, but he is naturally overshadowed by the two leads given their level of virtuosity.  Jeff is soft spoken but he provides the backbone for the polyrhythmic Odyssey that is a Consider the Source show. Despite having worked with the band for over a decade, Jeff’s description on the band’s site still says “Bio Coming Soon.” It’s a perfect encapsulation of the band’s ironic approach to existence. A tacit acknowledgment that Jeff is overlooked and underappreciated, but for those in the know, they know. Similar to Beardfest itself. Beardfest doesn’t appear in the national conversation, but if you know, you know.  Consider the Source was the first national touring act appearing at Beardfest, but they are not the only. Prior headlining bands have also included Octave Cat, Dogs in a Pile, Lotus, various Disco Biscuit side projects, late night sets by Funk You; the point is the organizers know the music and how to please their fans.

My own Beardfest experience is one of mirth and mysticism.  I attended the Dogs in a Pile set on 6.23.23 which has been turned into the Hammonton Live album (available on all streaming services). For the members of the Dog Pound, this is the New Jersey equivalent of Live at Hamptons. This was also the first time I’d ever seen mini nitrous galaxy gas tanks (note: the festival’s security is lax except for nitrous. You will likely see some cans of galaxy gas but security does not permit large tanks).  Some dude was nice enough to start passing it around. I was like “Where’d the fuck you get this?” Homie was like – Bezos dude…  At the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever you could just get an endless supply of nitrous on Amazon. It was the latter stage of the pandemic, and Bezos was the richest man in the world, and just didn’t give to fucks, so decided to corner the nitrous market. 2 years on, I now recognize that Galaxy Gas (and imitators) are in every bodega in the hood, selling to teenagers, and a complete catastrophe, but at the time it seemed awesome.  Who would’ve thought I would ever take a pro-prohibition stance on anything, but getting teenagers in the hood hooked on gas turns me into a Karen I guess…but I digress. The other sweet thing about a festival in NJ is weed is totally legal. 2023 also featured the first time I’d seen a vendor openly selling weed. Budbandit based out of Newark. They are chill and weed is legal, so smoke if you got it.

The 6.23.23 set by Dogs in a Pile was incredible. However, this year’s line up may even eclipse 2023.

This year features Tauk Moore (oops it was last night), with Extra Chill Favorite Kanika Moore. Solar Circuit (another favorite local to Philly) also had a Thursday night set. Tonight / Friday we have Toubab Krewe, Zion Marley (with Beardspace), Beardspace, Consider the Source, and late night with Minka (my dude who if you haven’t checked out – please do – homie rocks out 80s synth pop with his Keytar in a banana hammock – with a band that looks like they are an 80s LSD induced version of Kiss). Saturday we have Papadosio as the festival headliner (part of their farewell tour), with a late night set by Snacktime (one of my favorites). Snacktime has been on a meteoric rise – releasing many new singles – touring the country and captivating crowds with their energy. The brass funk unit was recently featured as the house band on Jason Kelce’s late night (an ESPN late night show during the NFL playoffs).  I’m hoping that Snacktime follows in Dogs in a Pile’s lead, and releases this year’s set as a live album. The line up is below and it can be accessed on the festie’s web page. (Also if you can’t make it to NJ, we have another ZapTest from my dudes Reality Check Experiment. Always free show, 2525 W Girard Ave. Philly).  If you make it to the Pine Barens, keep your eye out for the Jersey Devil. If he invites you to a game of cards, decline, he always cheats. Or so I’ve been told by not always reliable sources…

 

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