Field Trip Festival 2010 by Alex White
Located on the Fox River less than an hour south of the Wisconsin/Illinois border, The Field Trip Festival is happening on August 27th & 28th, 2010. Held in South Elgin, IL, the beautiful 25 acre Vasa Park is also the site of Mr. Blotto's Blottopia Festival, and offers scenic camping with two outdoor stages featuring over 20 bands.
Festival promoter Douglas Hagman created the festival to commemorate the anniversary of the legendary Field Trip Festival in Veneta, Oregon on August 27, 1972. "We wanted to pay tribute to the musical and cultural impact of the Grateful Dead," says Hagman. "That's why we not only have musicians performing who have played on stage with the Grateful Dead, we've also hand-picked all our artists and vendors, requiring that they themselves created the work they are selling/trading and that, they use local materials to create their artwork, whenever possible."
An avid Grateful Dead fan for many years, Hagman is a musician himself, and through his dedication to the message of The Grateful Dead's music and the creation of his own, he earned the honor of playing with former Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick. "My band Terrapin Flyer was asked to play a cable access show with him in Madison. After performing together that weekend, we exchanged numbers and booked tours together." The fun didn't stop there. Hagman went on to befriend Tom Constanten, who met Phil Lesh in Berkeley in the '60's and performed with the Grateful Dead for the albums "Anthem of the Sun", "Aoxomoxoa," and "Live Dead."
When Welnick passed away in 2006, Constanten and Terrapin Flyer embarked on a tour which paid tribute to the late keyboardist. "Through performing several tours with Tom and other notable artists, we also got to book tours with Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, as well as Stevie Wonder's right-hand man, Bob Bralove."
Constanten also formed an experimental keyboard duo with Bob Bralove. Bralove was there performing with the Dead from 1987 - 1995, but you never saw him. He performed midi and keyboard segments behind the curtain of the back of the stage during drums and space segments. "The proverbial man behind the curtain, Bralove was designing and playing many of the strange and wonderful noises during these segments," says Hagman.
Constanten and Bralove have a new band, Dose Hermanos, that will perform on Saturday, and the duo will perform on keyboards for Terrapin Flyer's headlining slot on Saturday night. Representing the Midwest for the Friday Night headlining slot is Chicago jam staple, Mr. Blotto.
"One of the concepts we wanted to incorporate into the festival was the vast scope of influence that the Grateful Dead's music has had on a wide variety of music," says Hagman. "That's why we've booked everything from Roots Rock to Experimental Jazz to Dance Music to Conscious Hip-Hop and beyond. The influence of the Grateful Dead on all musical genres is infinite."
Lastly, Hagman explains that one of the most important concepts of Field Trip Festival is affordably priced tickets. At only $25 for a weekend pass, which includes camping, Field Trip makes their mark in sharp contrast to larger corporate festivals where tickets prices have recently soared.
"[We took into account] the fair ticketing practices of the Grateful Dead. We priced our festival affordably as a way to recall the days when you could see a Grateful Dead concert for an affordable price and be assured a quality musical experience." Showcasing a plethora of national and regional artists, The Field Trip Festival promises to be one of the most unique and intimate festivals of the summer.
Keeping the tradition of The Grateful Dead alive, Field Trip is a shining example of why the Midwest has become a hot bed of regional talent mixed with a great balance of national touring artists, and a very beautiful place to experience a summer festival.
Festival promoter Douglas Hagman created the festival to commemorate the anniversary of the legendary Field Trip Festival in Veneta, Oregon on August 27, 1972. "We wanted to pay tribute to the musical and cultural impact of the Grateful Dead," says Hagman. "That's why we not only have musicians performing who have played on stage with the Grateful Dead, we've also hand-picked all our artists and vendors, requiring that they themselves created the work they are selling/trading and that, they use local materials to create their artwork, whenever possible."
An avid Grateful Dead fan for many years, Hagman is a musician himself, and through his dedication to the message of The Grateful Dead's music and the creation of his own, he earned the honor of playing with former Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick. "My band Terrapin Flyer was asked to play a cable access show with him in Madison. After performing together that weekend, we exchanged numbers and booked tours together." The fun didn't stop there. Hagman went on to befriend Tom Constanten, who met Phil Lesh in Berkeley in the '60's and performed with the Grateful Dead for the albums "Anthem of the Sun", "Aoxomoxoa," and "Live Dead."
When Welnick passed away in 2006, Constanten and Terrapin Flyer embarked on a tour which paid tribute to the late keyboardist. "Through performing several tours with Tom and other notable artists, we also got to book tours with Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, as well as Stevie Wonder's right-hand man, Bob Bralove."
Constanten also formed an experimental keyboard duo with Bob Bralove. Bralove was there performing with the Dead from 1987 - 1995, but you never saw him. He performed midi and keyboard segments behind the curtain of the back of the stage during drums and space segments. "The proverbial man behind the curtain, Bralove was designing and playing many of the strange and wonderful noises during these segments," says Hagman.
Constanten and Bralove have a new band, Dose Hermanos, that will perform on Saturday, and the duo will perform on keyboards for Terrapin Flyer's headlining slot on Saturday night. Representing the Midwest for the Friday Night headlining slot is Chicago jam staple, Mr. Blotto.
"One of the concepts we wanted to incorporate into the festival was the vast scope of influence that the Grateful Dead's music has had on a wide variety of music," says Hagman. "That's why we've booked everything from Roots Rock to Experimental Jazz to Dance Music to Conscious Hip-Hop and beyond. The influence of the Grateful Dead on all musical genres is infinite."
Lastly, Hagman explains that one of the most important concepts of Field Trip Festival is affordably priced tickets. At only $25 for a weekend pass, which includes camping, Field Trip makes their mark in sharp contrast to larger corporate festivals where tickets prices have recently soared.
"[We took into account] the fair ticketing practices of the Grateful Dead. We priced our festival affordably as a way to recall the days when you could see a Grateful Dead concert for an affordable price and be assured a quality musical experience." Showcasing a plethora of national and regional artists, The Field Trip Festival promises to be one of the most unique and intimate festivals of the summer.
Keeping the tradition of The Grateful Dead alive, Field Trip is a shining example of why the Midwest has become a hot bed of regional talent mixed with a great balance of national touring artists, and a very beautiful place to experience a summer festival.
