After being long time fans of Summer Camp Music Festival, we were so excited to see it return under the new brand Solshine Reverie. Although we were a little uncertain what to expect with the new name, we knew the festival would deliver the same feeling of togetherness as it had in years past. The lineup provided a good mix of festival favorites like Umphrey McGee’s, while bringing in new genres of music including house phenom John Summit.
Upon arrival, we could feel that same Summer Camp energy that we love. The festival had a smaller footprint this year, with just three stages total. This made it much easier to get around, and created less set conflicts. The new stage setups also helped with sound bleed, with there being almost none, and giving what are traditionally smaller stages larger production and space. Although the rain delayed our arrival on day one due to severe weather warnings, we were able to quickly set up camp and go enjoy the music.
As the rain cleared up on day one, we got to see John Summit headline the fist night. Having seen many sets from him over the years, I think this is a personal favorite. Leaving the set at the end of night one everyone in the crowd seemed to agree. The way he mixed a lot of different genres, throwing in some bass and dnb at the end, showed how much he understood the Solshine crowd. People were talking about the set all weekend, even the typical jam/bass heads who may not have been a fan of him before this weekend.
Day two started for us with Jason Leech’s solo set at the new Campfire Stage. He played an amazing live set with tons of originals and bass music remixes to popular songs. He was definitely our favorite set from the second day. Jason also played a B2B set with PHYPHR to close out the VIP tent on night three. This set was so magical, we hope this duo gets together more! Check out our interview with Jason below.
Day three brought two of our favorite acts from the weekend, Night Tales and LP Giobbi (Dead House Set). Night Tales played an incredible live performance that had the entire crowd singing along. Although this style of house isn’t always typical for Solshine, it really brought back the energy after a stormy morning and less than ideal weather. LP Giobbi played right after and had the perfect blend of jam and house, which fits the Solshine vibe perfectly. Saturday definitely brought in the fun factor with these two sets.
Beyond the typical music programming, Solshine had a lot to offer throughout the weekend. We got to explore all of the pop up events such as educational sessions at the vibe tent, and kickball with the OG Scamp Camp Counselors. Everything pulled the festival together to be a complete experience.
We also loved checking out the renegade parties put on by various groups. After the festival music stopped, everyone else kept going. No matter where you walked in the Illumination Woods there was an art installation to see or a party to jam out to. We walked through the woods a lot and found a new thing to appreciate each time.
There are a few things we would like to see next year, like additional porta-potties (especially in/near the woods), and more water stations. But, overall the weekend was filled with great music, and an even better community.
We are so excited to see what the future holds for Solshine Reverie: Music & Arts Festival, and we can’t wait to return next year!
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