[Follow Rank: DropletPoints: 16.25]

What’s everyone’s thoughts? It looks like they moved the main stage some and put the VIP etc in between the two stages. Ill be there snapping photos.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10484.75]

We’ll be there too, there are 4 people from Extra Chill going.

@sgmgmt @katepbryan myself and Mikayla who has not joined here yet.

I’m looking forward to it, not really a fan of the direction they went with the headliners but I hope to be impressed.

[Follow Rank: First FrostPoints: 117.5]

George Clanton > Highwater

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10484.75]

High Water was fun. We have a lot of coverage in the works from the festival this year.

I have a lot to say of course. There was some good music to be had, and some shenanigans to be noted. I already wrote a bit about Noah Kahan’s set on this forum which you can find here.

Definitely room for improvement across the board but some of the sets were fire. I didn’t stay for Hozier last night, not because I have a problem with Hozier, but mostly because I just didn’t have a lot of interest in seeing him. Also it was cold AF, rainy, and I wanted to go home, so I did.

There are a few things I want to discuss about this event that I will dig into later this week on the blog.

1. Noted lack of local bands. The local music scene doesn’t really embrace the event like it should for many reasons but this is one of them. It’s not nearly an accurate cultural representation of the city and there is a lot of work to be done there. Babe Club was awesome though.
2. The water situation left something to be desired. Two water fillup stations that were really hard (for me) to find. The reason for this is pretty clear to me: Live Nation owns a stake in Liquid Death. Increase demand for water, sell more $6 cans of Liquid Death. Pretty lame.
3. Parking. This was the most popular gripe about the event, and since I left early both nights, I did not have to deal with this.
4. Liquor was hard to find. This was due to permitting issues that meant all liquor was served in the corner of the event at the “Cocktail Oasis” or whatever they called it. I don’t drink liquor so this really did not affect me at all. However, a bunch of people were pissed about it. Definitely shitty.

Yes, I’m going to be critical, because I’ve realized that if I don’t use my platform to say this stuff, everybody else is just going to talk about how great all the bands were and share positivity on social media. We’re moving past that phase with Extra Chill and it may ruffle some feathers in the media tent, but frankly I don’t care. As an independent journalist I feel a responsibility to speak my mind.

[Follow Rank: PuddlePoints: 35.25]

Reddit threads on Highwater this year, echo much of the same issues as the previous events. The artists and the music itself outside of our personal preferences is mostly just fine. I agree with Chris, that there should be more local representation, but was happy to see Babe Club got to be part of things.

The vast majority of complaints I’m seeing are all about poor planning, inadequate resources, high prices, lack of security and an information desert, for which people simply couldn’t get the information they needed.

I was feeling a little FOMO having not gone this year, but honestly, seeing photos and video clips, and not being a ‘huge’ fan of the lineup along with the weather goin’ kinda south on day 2, I don’t feel like I actually missed out on much other than the commaraderie with my fellow photogs in the pit… I do lament that a little.

I think Loserfest at the RA a few weeks back was probably a lot more fun.

[Follow Rank: DewPoints: 3.25]

Highwater highs and lows for me:

Highs

Courtney Barnett, Fleet Foxes, Houndmouth, The Heavy Heavy, Kevin Morby, Flaming Lips, Hozier, Danny McBride siting, Roti Rolls, and hats off to first responders- thought they were on top of it for all instances I saw

Lows

Caste system of how wealthy you are directly correlating to how boring your section is, two water stations (??), ZERO public transportation options or incentive to bike there, three beer options (lol), lack of focus on the city/culture, being gouged on tickets when initially purchasing, people not shutting up during sets they weren’t there to see (usually all mainstream music fests tbf)

Overall had a good time and beat traffic both nights so I’ll chalk that up to a success. Hozier was a proper headliner. In a just world not controlled by bottom line thinking and algorithms, Fleet Foxes plays another 30 mins instead of Noah Kahan on Saturday

[Follow Rank: DropletPoints: 31.75]

Honestly, all the hubbub about the parking and whatnot is shocking. Any large event will have gridlock and agonizing parking/exit situations. If you ever go to an event the size of Highwater, and you get to your car and out in a matter of minutes, let me know. That being said, some shuttle systems to nearby parking lots or drop off points to like Bonnaroo does would be wise.

My friend made me stay for Briston Maroney and they kinda sucked. Maybe it was just the fact that I had sensory overload from my socks and underwear being wet, and I was cold as fuck. Babe Club was immaculate. Jenna really put on an awesome show and had great outfits. She must’ve had an awesome stylist for the show.

I think it would be way cooler if they shifted to a more art and music festival approach. That way vendors, food trucks and artists from Charleston and nearby states could come through and make things more local, and way more cool. Instead we got Cabot cheese and Josh wine.

Highlight for me were The Linda Linda’s. Got damn! What a show!! I was completely shocked their drummer was 12 years old which they revealed about halfway through their set. Awesome. I wish the vibe of Highwater leaned more towards interesting acts like The Linda Linda’s.

There are some really funky awesome musical artists in the Charleston area and it’s appalling that they don’t include more. Also, having a couple smaller stages with more lowkey bands would be a much more immersive and special experience. They could also throw in a silent disco and a couple face painters/henna artists and people selling festival-y accessories and it would really amp things up.

Still had a pretty good time and would go again. Killer venue and great to go chill by the water when people start weirding me out.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10484.75]

Yeah shout out to Roti Rolls & Cosmic Charlie’s for keeping some reasonably-priced options on the menu! Both locals who have been around for a while and know what’s good. Roti Rolls had the vibes going all weekend too with their centrally-located booth.

Ate Roti Rolls yesterday and it was dank.

[Follow Rank: DropletPoints: 16.25]

It would be cool for a small stage addition which could mix up the back and forth stage setup. Including locals and arts would be a plus. All the photographers definitely pulled together on Sunday with all the extra rain gear and trash bags. I’m curious why they don’t do shrimp records band and have local vendors selling stuff like past years.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10484.75]

I agree about the smaller stage addition. That would be awesome and would only add to the experience, giving people more options for music throughout the day and giving local bands a built-in audience. Not to mention, a reason to be excited for the festival (and a bunch of free tickets).

I also think if it was more directly tied in to the community in Charleston, we would see more of a wave around town surrounding the event. We could have things popping up all week long leading up to the festival. Friday night pre-parties at multiple venues with local bands + lineup bands. Afterparties even. It would enrich the whole scene this way.

Obviously it’s going to take time to see any of these things implemented, but I can see a place where it fits.

[Follow Rank: DropletPoints: 16.25]

I know bigger festivals have a smaller third stage and would keep those running until a little before the headliners so it doesn’t take away from any artist with time slots being the same etc. With the current setup, it seems like they have cut a lot of the extra stuff like “Pass The Peas” etc that added a little more than “just music and booze” type events. I know Garden & Gun does the recordings at the Eternal Father Church during the festival, but that would also be a neat venue to actually do some pre show stuff at.

For the future, I am not sure how they will expand past what they have already set up. There just isn’t enough space in the footprint of Riverfront Park. They were able to push back the stages with the artist area moved to across the bridge. It would be nice if they could setup some stuff over in that area instead and maybe move the artist stuff to the old Navy housing area like before.

The master plan for the Navy Yard will be pushing a lot of these things in the coming years. The overpass that is currently blocking the main road going into the area should be done this year (or early next year) and the Navy Yard people are working on getting more of those big buildings up and running for events, with the Power House being a huge undertaking that could be a nice venue at some point in the future.

[Follow Rank: DewPoints: 3.25]

Smaller stage is a great idea. Think a good template that I’ve seen work incredibly well is Folk Festival up in Newport, RI with the three levels of stages (Harbor, Quad, and Fort) with two smaller soap box style stages for local artists/open mics. Recently (two years ago?) Illiterate Light has been running a bicycle/solar powered stage that is really community and family centric with local artists. Also they have plenty of great local art/jewelry/clothing vendors everywhere and non-profits for volunteer days throughout the community. On top of a festival and historical museum that has a few sets too. Gushing rant about Folk Fest over.

[Follow Rank: Frozen Foods IslePoints: 10484.75]

@toastedcarrot fun fact I stood behind the Linda Lindas during the Flaming Lips and they were all dancing, grooving, and having the time of their lives. One person asked them for a photo but mostly everyone just let them boogie!

I gotta say Wayne Coyne’s stage presence was also really great. He really seemed to care and created an atmosphere that was very positive to be around.

I’ll be back when my article is ready… and Kate’s… plus photos…

[chubes]

Shoutout Chelsea Grinstead for her reporting of High Water Festival in the Post and Courier. 👏👏👏

https://www.postandcourier.com/charleston_scene/high-water-festival-2024-mishaps-riverfront-park/article_3c6c445c-00d4-11ef-9bd0-7b2a87b088c7.html/?tpcc=charleston_newsletter_sceneapril24&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Charleston%20Scene%204252024&utm_content=Charleston%20Scene%204252024+CID_0756cc61cf034df02c9bf37ac28c97b9&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=What%20went%20wrong%20at%20High%20Water%20Festival%202024

• This reply was modified 4 days, 16 hours ago by chubes.
• This reply was modified 4 days, 16 hours ago by chubes.
• This reply was modified 4 days, 16 hours ago by chubes. Reason: Added link, moved to correct forum

[Follow Rank: Crisp AirPoints: 83.75]

The Walkmen – Photo by Sarah Grace Sherbondy (@sg.mgmt)

“This is what you guys look like” as he pulled out his own digital from a bag on stage. All the photographers in the pit laughed and continued to shoot