What to expect

JUST WHAT ARE YOU LETTING YOURSELF IN FOR HERE?



NOW:
If you haven't yet secured your ticket, you can still get the 10% online discount off the at-the-gate price for a few more weeks. If you're planning to camp with us, you want the all-festival with tent camping ticket. If you're rocking an RV, each vehicle is an additional $40 fee (you'll be a few thousand feet away from our tent city, but easy to stroll over for a visit). You may also want to monitor craigslist's for sale/tickets category, where you can often get a deal from someone who bought early and needs to bail.

Yeah, the ticket is pricey. I was shocked when I saw the list price. (Most of our returning campers bought tickets back in December at the ultra-early bird discount price. That's long before any performers are announced, but we all know we're going no matter what.) I'll only point out that there are hundreds of hours of concerts on five stages, more impromptu music in the campground and parking lots, dancing until the wee hours, spectacular crafts and all- day kids activities. For comparison, tix for Jay-Z and Beyonce are going for $175 on cl, Billy Joel or One Direction for $200, Katy Perry for over $235. And that's for one four-hour show.

If you're not camping, but want to sit with us at the concerts, keep your eyes open for half-price tickets on local deals sites such as phillyfunguide.com/funsavers/. They often offer all-day Sunday and occasionally all-day Friday tickets if advance sales stall out. Remember that kids 12-17 get $30 off each day ticket and kids under 12 are free. Don't buy a full-price ticket for the young'uns!

This would be a good time to inspect your tent and sleeping setup. You'll have time to wash out that mildew smell, repair that sticking zipper, test inflate your air mattress. You'll have plenty of time to repair, revive or replace. If you're a first-timer starting from scratch, you may prefer to borrow rather than buy big-ticket items, so ask your friends and family early. In the unlikely event that you have no fun and never want to return, you won't have to take a loss on equipment you'll never use again. Also, watch craigslist for sale/sporting goods for cheap used stuff.

The mark of a truly civilized festgoer is a short-legged, low-back chair for the concerts. They'e often called sand chairs in the ads. Look for something light, which folds easily and locks and can be carried easily in one hand. Mine has backpack straps, which frees my hands for cooler, blanket, or picnic bag. Nobody is more hated than the moron in a high chair blocking the view of dozens seated behind on the gently sloping hill before the stage.

My personal tip is to get a little sun in the weeks leading up to fest. There's precious little shade at the Old Pool Farm, and even overcast skies can burn like hell after ten hours. If you're pale like me, find a big floppy hat and the two-gallon tube of SPF 1000 sun block. But I've found even a slight base tan will reduce the risk of a blistering burn.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13:
You're (probably) not at the fest yet, but our Steve Z. arrived early with the festival volunteer crew. His mission today: Stake out a compound the size of Rhode Island. High, level ground, close to the camping parking lot for easy loading, preferably in the quadrant called "quiet camping," (which is a hope but not a promise). Steve hauls in and sets up the shade canopies, the first load of beverages, tents, tarps, chairs and coolers. He's the provider of large cargo wagons, which make your load-in and load-out infinitely easier.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14:
Note that all Thursday activities are open only to camping ticket holders. If you have single-day tickets, or an all-fest without camping, you may not enter the campground. There are no activities in the concert area on Thursday.

The campground opens to the general public at 10 a.m. As you come in on Salford Station Road, the parking volunteers will steer you to weekend a/k/a camping parking. DO NOT let them send you to day parking if you have camp equipment to unload.

Your first stop should be camping check-in, where you'll exchange your advance ticket for a camping wristlet, which is also your admission to the concert area. I like to carry my tent to this point, since it's the first thing I'll be setting up. As you join the line, phone us at the campsite and someone will come out to the gate to guide you in. Drop your tent in the best remaining space, reach for a cold one, and greet your new neighbors. If Steve Z is around, thank him for his great advance work. Take note of where we're camped; make sense of the gates and the route back to your car. Unless you roll in during a concert, there will be someone to drag a wagon and help bring in the rest of your stuff.

Exploring

The only official event on Thursday is a 7-10 pm concert on the Camp Stage featuring three acts whoI believe are all new to the festival. I'll steal two paragraphs from the official fest site here. David Dye, legendary host of the daily World Café radio show, will welcome Sturgill Simpson, Caroline Rose, and Parsonsfield in an intimate under-the-stars show that will be recorded for future broadcast on WXPN 88.5 FM. Expect a high-energy start to the weekend, and wear your dancing shoes. The crowd is still light on Thursday night, so it's easy to plant your chair or blanket right down front for a great view, but expect to get up to get down. Luckily, there are wide areas stage left and stage right reserved for rocking out.

Sturgill Simpson goes beyond country music and bluegrass, adding spirituality and metaphysics to his tunes, inviting listeners to connect on multiple levels. Dubbed “Best New Country Badass” by Rolling Stone, Simpson is the real deal. Songstress Caroline Rose writes songs wise beyond her 24 years and delivers them with distinctive, stunning vocals coupled with some impressive guitar-chops. Rose is sure to become everyone’s new indie-girl crush. Roots band Parsonsfield rounds out the night. This Connecticut quintet will excite the audience with their non-stop energetic and infectious renditions of old-timey and vintage-inspired bluegrass and Americana music that is uniquely their own. \
After
Still writing ... Pausing now ... More soon.


FRIDAY, AUGUST 15:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16:

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17:

THE DAY AFTER