Camp and Jam 2024
Camp and Jam 2024
The Power of Music, Nature, and Community
I want to first give my apologies, as I realize it’s been a month since this happened. Life is busy. But still, this whole thing was such a moving experience to me that I still wanted to share my account with our readers.
If you’re a music lover like myself, one of the best recommendations I can give to you, that I never really would have considered until the past year or two, is to get involved in your local music scene. I live in a small town in a small county in North Georgia, and until the past four or five years, I actually kinda hated it here, for various reasons that I won’t get into at the moment. Pickens County doesn’t really seem to offer much on the surface, other than some beautiful mountain views. Turns out I was wrong about a lot of things here, I can admit that without hesitation. My favorite thing I was wrong about? It’s boring and there’s nothing to do here. That’s not even a little bit true anymore. In fact, Downtown Jasper has kinda taken off as a really cool place to hang out, with great restaurants, boutiques, cool little shops, an ice cream place, breweries and bars, a wine tasting room, you get my drift. Discovering that a certain pizza place held karaoke every Thursday night? Well, that quite literally altered the entire trajectory of my life back in the fall of 2020, and it was just the very beginning of my exposure to the music scene in this town, in fact I’d call it the tip of the iceberg.
To simplify a lot of what has happened in the two years Ian and I have been married, we have expanded beyond our karaoke DJ gig into writing, recording, and producing music. Our company website here has a lot (but not all) of what we’ve been up to. Ian has produced songs for my daughter and me, as well as several of his own projects, and a few for some people we’ve met while hosting karaoke. Toward the beginning of this year, we were wanting to do some networking and possibly expand further, and perhaps build community with the artists around us. Ian suggested we start looking into a few local venues that are known for live music, and I mentioned a few friends of ours we could probably talk to who might have some connections. I also decided to comb social media and see what I could find. And wow, did we discover a lot! Most relevant to today’s story is our discovery of a fairly new wine bar called Hive & Vine, recommended by one of our friends, along with an organization called Bring It on the Bus who hosts Open Mic Nights there every Wednesday (and other places as well). Ian noted right away that Bring It on the Bus had an event coming up called Camp and Jam, which was a weekend music festival at a local camp ground, J-19 Adventure Park. (These links are all to their Facebook pages, by the way.) I recognized a name or two on the list of performers, and I had driven by J-19 plenty of times and always kinda wondered what it was. We were going to find out, because Ian got a weekend pass to the festival for our family.
Next, we decided to visit Hive & Vine for Open Mic Night and see what it was like. We had baby Betsy with us, so before bringing her inside, I ran in to ask if it’d be ok to do so. One of the owners was tending bar, and he said it was fine as long as she wasn’t going to be drinking. I jokingly gave him a sad, dejected look and said something like, “Oh, guess not then.” We both laughed, and I went back to the car to get Ian and Betsy. So we go inside together, and let me tell you. This place. I don’t know what it is, but I love it so much. It’s small and cozy, and the atmosphere is just right. We immediately recognized quite a few friends and acquaintances alike. I ordered a Prosecco and we found some comfy chairs fairly close to the stage area. There was a band playing already as we settled in. Betsy pretty much immediately started grooving, bouncing and clapping along with the music, and we could tell she enjoyed the fun color-changing lights as well. So we stayed probably an hour or so, visiting with friends, meeting new people (Betsy always attracts admirers) and taking in the music. When we left, we knew we’d be back and that we definitely wanted to be part of this scene.
So we became regular Wednesday patrons. And as Camp & Jam drew nearer, Bring It on the Bus posted that they still had room for a few sponsor spots to be listed on the new t-shirt, and Ian had me message them so Harmonic Horizon could be one of them. This began a correspondence and friendship with Lori, the heart and soul of the organization. Lori is an absolute gem of a human being, the kind of person you like instantly upon meeting. Not long after we set up our sponsorship, she comes up to me at Hive & Vine with a small gift bag containing a tiny Bring It on the Bus shirt in Betsy’s size! So you know what our little girl showed up wearing the very next week. In fact, it was a tiny bit chilly outside that evening, so I paired it with her little denim jacket, and the cuteness was almost too much.
As Camp & Jam approached, we decided to not actually camp at J-19 because we live so close to it, and doing so with a baby might be a rather stressful experience all around. My elder daughter Miranda was rather disappointed with this, but she got over it quickly once we got there. It started at 5:00 pm on Friday, and we didn’t get there until probably around 6:30 or so because we wanted to have dinner at home first. This meant we missed the first act, Justin, who is a friend of ours, but we managed to catch both the Shetlands and Evan Williams and the Chasers. (Any artist that I do not include a Facebook link for, it’s because they may or may not have a personal account, but not an artist page.) Now while Miranda was kinda disappointed about not camping, I was not, because I am not a fan of roughing it. The campground is a definitely a roughing it kind of place, and while it is absolutely beautiful with the huge rolling hills, trails, and Talking Rock Creek running alongside it, I myself do not do well without indoor plumbing. Miranda, however, couldn’t wait to go explore everything, so I told her to go ahead. She was already making plans to bring boots and better exploring gear when we came back the next day.
So anyway, we threw down a few blankets and Ian’s camping chair, and I sat down on the blankets with Betsy. She immediately started bouncing and grooving along with the Shetlands, and I finally relaxed after all the stress of actually getting us all there. While I may not enjoy actual camping, being in nature is wonderful. Connecting to the Earth and being surrounded by its beauty is medicine that we all need to partake of more often. I began to feel a peace and even bliss that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Then add music to the mix? Yes, please! Music is my lifeblood. Introverted as I am, the one type of crowd that energizes rather than drains me is a concert. Even things I normally dislike suddenly seem appealing when I’m surrounded by music. For example, I normally hate the smell of both cigarette smoke and beer, but put me in a concert and those things both smell wonderful to me. So sitting on the ground at J-19, feeling the vibrations of the Earth and the music around me, my soul felt awake and alive.
The Shetlands were wonderful, as always. I’ve had a few chances to chat with Jane and Billy at Open Mic Night, where they’re one of my favorite acts to watch, and I think they’re awesome. Since we were just settling in, I didn’t take any direct video of their set, but you can hear them playing Honky Tonk Women in the background of this fun little short of me and my girls grooving and being silly.
This video is also on my YouTube channel, but apparently YouTube and Substack weren’t getting along when I tried to embed it here (or maybe just not getting along with me.)
After the Shetlands came Evan Williams and the Chasers, whom we’d never seen live before. A few minutes before their set got started, some of their people went through the crowd handing out stickers for the band, which I thought was a cool idea (mine’s now on my laptop). They do Southern rock, with some covers (of course) and their own original songs as well. They have a new song out on Spotify called Drinkin' Machine if you would like to check it out. Let me tell you, they were the perfect choice for closing out the first day of the festival. They put on a great show, and the vibe was absolutely perfect. The sun set, the stage lights came up, and these guys brought it. Here’s a short video from their performance.
We went home that night tired but excited and content. While I very much wanted some rest, I was really looking forward to the next day of Camp & Jam. Here’s a few photos of us on Day One.
On Saturday things were supposed to get started around noon, but we took our time getting it together (as we do) and ate lunch first, so I think we got there in time to catch a little bit of Mountain City Mavericks, and we also got to see the Concept of Creatures, and most of the set by Hannah Murphy. Then we went home for a little while to chill and eat dinner before we headed back to the campground around dusk, just in time to catch most of Southbound Train. What a day! Miranda took boots this time so she could both climb better and wade in the creek, so she spent plenty of time doing this. Unrelated to the music, but an amazing phenomenon nonetheless, were the butterflies. Fun fact: the actual word for a grouping of butterflies is a kaleidoscope, and such a kaleidoscope could often be seen swarming and dancing around the creek during the weekend, and it was something magical. I didn’t really take a lot of pictures Saturday because I just wanted to be present and enjoy it all in real life rather than through my phone screen, but here’s a few I did snap.
Mountain City Mavericks had a great set. They are always fun to watch, as it’s clear how much fun they’re having. They cover any and everything from the Allman Brothers to Prince, and I’ve always really liked their rendition of Little Red Corvette. The Concept of Creatures were up next, playing a few covers (even some Nirvana!) but mostly original songs, which are all worth a listen. Savannah and James make a great duo, and I love the energy they brought to the festival. To hear more from them, I recommend a podcast episode where they’re featured by The Georgia Songbirds. While I did not get any pictures or video of Hannah Murphy (sorry, Hannah!) she was quite lovely. She opened with a Fleetwood Mac cover that I thought sounded better than the original. She did a lot of her own originals, even some she wrote as a teenager! I really enjoyed her set. Toward the end of it, we headed out for home so we could relax, regroup, and have dinner. It was already after dark when we arrived back at the campground, and WOW was the place hopping! Southbound Train was up and I’ve gotta say, this was a party. Practically every kid there was wrapped in glowstick necklaces and bracelets and dancing up on the front of the stage. The band just rolled with it. These guys are definitely seasoned musicians who know how to jam. Most of their set was Southern rock covers, and they did them all justice, for real. You know that whole trope where a band’s playing and people in the crowd shout out requesting Freebird? Well that happened, of course, and Southbound Train did probably the best Freebird cover I can remember hearing. While I didn’t get that on video, I did get a snippet of them doing a different Skynyrd tune, Simple Man:
We didn’t stay for the after party following Southbound’s set, since we do have a young child to put to bed. But we all went home feeling tired, happy, and content.
Sunday was the last day of the festival, of course. Things kicked off around noon, but we didn’t get there until later than that because that’s just who we are. We managed to catch Chris Dowling and Vivian, followed by Shandelle Parks. The sun was out and it was pleasantly warm, so we soaked it in. Betsy, as usual, started rocking out immediately, and I got a cute video of her and Miranda being adorable during Chris and Vivian’s set. You can hear them doing No Doubt’s Spiderwebs in the background. I always enjoy their song choices, which are all over the map, much like my own musical tastes.
We had to get up and find some shade a few times, as the sun was beating down and we hadn’t thought to bring an umbrella. At one point, Betsy started to get really sleepy, so we took Ian’s camp chair and put her underneath it. One of the J-19 staffers saw this and offered one of their umbrellas, so we attached it to our chair somehow and Betsy fell asleep underneath it pretty much immediately. This was during Shandelle’s set, and I really liked her. With a great voice and great taste, she started out with the Black Keys’ Little Black Submarines, and that won me over right away. She also did Tom Petty’s Mary Jane’s Last Dance and Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You. Here’s a video clip of Little Black Submarines:
We didn’t stay too much longer than that, but we did get to visit with people, enjoy some great music, and bask in the sunshine. I wish we could have seen more of the artists (some of them I’ve still yet to catch) and then I’d tell you about them, too. I will say you should definitely follow Bring It on the Bus on Facebook and/or Instagram, as Lori regularly posts amazing content from all of her “bus kids,” as she affectionately calls them. Every single one of these acts made it into this festival for good reason, and even if I haven’t convinced you to check them out, maybe you’ll decide to get more involved in your own local music scene. And go spend some time outside. Here’s a few photos from the last day of the festival:
Camp and Jam was absolutely wonderful, an experience I didn’t know I needed. I’m so impressed with and grateful for all the hard work that Lori and Bring It on the Bus put in to create this incredible event. And I bet next year will be even better! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it, and if so, why not like, share and subscribe? I write somewhat regularly here on The Producer, and also on my own Substack, the Upside Downs, about raising baby Betsy as naturally as possible. Thank you for reading!