West Virginia is back at it again, hosting yet another great music festival! This time it is the 9th annual Camp Barefoot Music and Art Festival presented by Hoss’s Deli. It takes place from Thursday, August 20th through Saturday, August 22nd. Located in Bartow, WV, in beautiful Pocahontas County, the event is family-oriented, affordable, and for a good cause. A portion of the proceeds of Camp Barefoot go directly to the Humane Society of Pocahontas County. Stage sponsors are The Broadberry in Richmond, VA; Thee Camel in Richmond, VA; BSC Boro from Terra Alta, WV; and Heady Entertainment based in Herndon, VA. It’s the “Biggest Little Festival in America!”
Camp Barefoot has a main stage and three side stages featuring a wide, wide array of musical styles from top national to amazing regional bands. Headliners include: Big Gigantic, an instrumental livetronica duo from Colorado; two sets of The Greyboy All-Stars, a funk/jazz supergroup who will be performing for the only time in the east this summer; two sets of Dumpstaphunk (including a ’70s tribute set), a funky bass-driven band from the New Orleans jazz/funk tradition; Emancipator, a great electronic band based in Portland, OR; Kung Fu, riding high on the funk fusion wave; Twiddle, a quartet from Vermont whose incredible range has taken them to Bonnaroo and beyond; and TAUK, a NY four-piece blowing it up with heavy instrumental rock fusion. These headliners will be joined by top regional acts from around the country and will be playing on full-production stages complete with professional sound and light shows.
Did we mention there is a pre-party Wednesday for early arrivals? Yes, indeed!
Camp Barefoot 9 offers a variety of high quality arts, crafts and food vendors to complement the music. Vendor row lights up at night with handcrafted artisan products as well as delicious food from local and regional vendors. For the first time this year, there will be a Dunk Tank onsite where you can dunk some of your favorite musicians. All proceeds from the tank will go to benefit music education. Your children will like Camp Barefoot’s family-friendly environment, and they’ll love The Kids Zone, a safe, structured, and most of all fun area for children of all ages to play and enjoy activities.
In addition to the headliners, there is more music in OMG quantities. If you like singing “We want the funk,” be sure to check out The Nth Power, Orgone, Turkuaz, The Fritz, B Side Shuffle and doby. And this guide is just to help you out a bit , because none of these bands ever stays in its own box — they like hopping from genre to genre, and they do it with such ease!
The reggae/roots/ska element is strong with this festival. Proponents include Stick Figure, Giant Guerrilla Dub Squad, Spiritual Rez, Mighty Joshua & Zion #5, Buddha Council, Murphy’s Kids, Shawn Owen Music, Dub Architect, RastaMiles, Righteous Dub, Dale and the ZDubs, Treehouse!, The Movement, and The Dharma Initiative. Whew!
If it’s rock and soul you’re looking for, The Broadcast, the Dead 27s, Cara Kelly & The Tell Tale, and Sol Frequency will be part of your schedule.
Maybe you want some good old Appalachian rock/Americana. Fletcher’s Grove, Matt Jones and the Bobs, Jackass Flats, PGrass, Dr. Bacon and The Company Stores will take you home.
Jamtronica and electronica lovers are in for a host of treats with Imperial Blend, The Malah, Galaxy Dynamite!, The Floozies, The Reef, Turbo Suit, DELTAnine, and URTH.
One-man bands? Zach Deputy and That 1 Guy. Some sweet jazz and fusion? Second Self and Aquafuture.
If you’re singing “Just let me hear some of that Rock And Roll music,” there are quite a few groups who defy genre and play it all: Big Something, People’s Blues of Richmond, Moogatu, Major and the Monbacks, Cloyd the V, Big Daddy Love, Micah Foxx & The Hounds, and The Deems.
Artists at large for Camp Barefoot are: Brock Butler (Perpetual Groove), Bob Logaza (Tiny Boxes, Gongzilla), Caitlin Krisko (The Broadcast), and The Hornitz Horns.
On top of all that great music, there are several bands of special note. Moon Hooch is a must-see: two superb saxophone players and a drummer who will change forever the way you look at horns. The Hornitz are two gentlemen with saxophone and trombone, computers, beat boxes and more who will funk you into the ground. Deaf Scene is an exciting experimental trio that deserves a listen. And I doubt there is any reasonable way to describe M.H. & His Orchestra. If you skip them, you risk having ALL your friends yelling YOU MISSED IT!
See you in August! Get your tickets early!
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