We Danced in the Rain

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” Confucius sure did know what he was talking about when it came to the joy most people receive through the gift of music. And I say gift deliberately. Producing, singing, writing, performing music is a true gift for those lucky enough to possess it. And while I wouldn't classify myself as a musicophilic, I did want to include a musical sampling adventure in my 30 Before 30 challenge. While I have attended a concert or two outside, I had not attended a show hopping, multi-day festival in its entirety.

With the parameters of no camping (you all know how I feel about camping), within easy driving distance of Chattanooga and a lineup that included at least a few bands I knew of, Sloss Music & Arts Festival in Birmingham won.

SlossFest is a two-day festival that featured what I would classify as popular but non-mainstream artists - alternative if you will but I don't think that genre classification is totally accurate. Pros and cons of SlossFest, Birmingham is a fun city and the former Sloss Furnace Company site offers a truly unique backdrop. There were additional fun things on site other than music to do including old school iron pouring demonstrations.

The layout of the area with three main stages, one being in an old shed area cleverly named the Shed stage, was thoughtfully designed and made for easy transition from show to show. The food at the event was mostly from local vendors which was great to get a taste of Birmingham. And most importantly, I had heard horror stories of hour long lines at music festivals to use a porta potty. Thankfully, even during the busiest of times, I didn't even wait 5 minutes.

The biggest con for SlossFest was the heat! With 90+ temperatures, it was HOT, but we had prepared for it. There were lots of water stations available along with shaded spots when you needed a break. But I never made it to the Eno Hammock Park :( Another potential con for someone else might be the lineup. This is my style of music; I enjoyed it. But you're not going to find huge mainstream acts at Sloss. The other con was personal; I just felt OLD. Maybe this should have been on a 25 Before 25 list as I was at least 5-7 years older than the average attendee. And to every 21 year old in high waisted mom jorts and fanny packs, you will regret that fashion choice one day. Why are fanny packs a thing???? The last time I saw so many fanny packs in one spot was on my kindergarten field trip to the Knoxville Zoo in 1991.

So other than feeling like a grandma at times, did I enjoy it? Absolutely! The Joy Formidable, Grouplove and Death Cab for Cutie put on great shows that were exactly as I expected. Shovels and Rope, a husband and wife duo, were incredible, and I am so bummed I missed them when they were recently in Chattanooga. We caught the tale end of the Sylvan Esso concert, but they sounded awesome and sold out of all their merchandise shortly after their show. My two stand outs were Fitz and the Tantrums and The Flaming Lips. Fitz and the Tantrums just put on a great show; high energy, got the crowd super involved and just had great songs. The Flaming Lips were just wild. They had lots of great props, really engaged the crowd and did a fantastic David Bowie tribute with Space Oddity. It was the last show we attended at SlossFest, and it really capped off the event well. And everything is better when you have great friends with you like our friends Alex and Jessie who drove from Augusta, GA to enjoy it with us.

This pretty much sums it up.

Will you catch me at Bonnaroo in 2017? Dancing like a hippie at Coachella? Probably not. I think I'll stick to more low key festival productions. But we did get to dance like a bunch of hippies in the rain during a 30 minute rain shower on Sunday.