MASONTOWN, W.Va. -- Music festivals are an odd, strange place. Make it organic based and throw in a slew of self-proclaimed new wave hippies, and things become even more strange.
The festival scene, particularly those rooted in jam bands like the All Good Music Festival, throws back to a time when the music flowed freely and so did the good times. A time that I almost completely missed being born in the late '80s. A time lost in the transition from the '70s to the '80s, but a time that a few people are trying to bring back.
The All Good Music Festival 2008 is a three day festival of music and art that featured artists up and coming as well as artists who have already reached their prime.
People from across the nation came to Masontown, W.Va., to camp out in the hills on the weekend of July 11 and enjoy good music with friends.
The weather could not have been more cooperative, though a few may have wished for a more frequent breeze to blow through tents that barely had time to cool overnight.
The first band that really rocked the festival was the Avett Brothers, a hip folk group that spent some time earlier this year in Huntington at the V Club. They were some of the freshest faces at the festival, but the crowd really got into their show.
Stage veterans, Gov't Mule took to the stage later that night and oozed blues rock from the stage. The band was created in 1994 as a side project for the Allman Brothers Band and they used all the blues chops developed in the Allman Brothers and spiced it up with a more modern, clean blues sound.
The small community that is built temporarily in Masontown's Marvin's Mountaintop makes it hard to not discover new friends and temporary neighbors. The neighbors beside me were older gentlemen who seemed to care little about the music.
I was wrong in my assumption because I soon discovered that these men had traveled all the way from South Carolina just to watch Phil Lesh, a former Grateful Dead member. They did not even bother to see any of the other bands -- "not genuine enough," they claimed.
The men talked about how these festivals allowed them to relive the '60s and enjoy festivals and music the way that it should be.
The music was as the name of the festival suggests. All good. Not one band was late or seemed to care about anything other than playing their hearts out to thousands of spectators dancing and playing on the wide open field in front of the stage.
Traveling shops and food vendors lined the entrance between the campground and concert area and socializing and laughter seemed to dominate the grounds even before the music began.
The campsite is one of the best features of the multiple day festivals. The camping area is filled with the smell of grills cooking early morning breakfasts and the sounds of acoustic guitars playing miniature openings for the day of music to come.
The festival was organized into three stages. One was set up away from the rest of the concert area and designed to allow bands to play who could not make the main stage.
The other two stages were set up beside each other, which allowed one band to come after another, with the spectator only having to turn their head to see the next act.
The music of All Good Music Festival 2008 was as relentless and constant as the fun and sun. The music festival experience is truly the highlight of many people's summers and All Good is one of the last large festivals without a heap of commercialism.
The All Good Music Festival is held each July at Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown, less than a half an hour from Morgantown. For more information about the All Good Festival, go to the Web site www.allgoodfestival.com.
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