FARM ENTERTAINMENT IN CONJUNCTION WITH UPSTATE PRODUCTIONS LLC
ANNOUNCES MUSICAL LINEUP FOR FARM MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL: A THREE
DAY CAMPING EVENT HELD AT RICKEYFARM, VERNON, NJ, JULY 24TH – 27TH
2014.
FarmFest will return to RickeyFarm this July at 442 Start Route 94, Vernon, NJ 07462.
This years FarmFest will feature a wide variety of artists and genres over three days including,
live painting, inspirational speakers, and workshops. Appalachian Jamwich spoke with founder and organizer Patrick Ryan about how the festival started and what makes the event unique.
How did you get the idea to start Farm Fest?
I came up with the idea for Farm Fest because I grew up on a 278 acre farm. Me and a couple of our friends really wanted to throw an all day music event. So we got some ideas together and told a bunch of friends, and it just started out as this little party. After its first year it started growing. We had like 600 kids come out in the pouring rain just packed into this tent! It was great. It started growing from there. Me and my friend Troy started this business and started to get serious, we picked it up a notch, and his dad helped us get it kick started off the ground. It became a lot bigger last year, and then this year we reached out and started networking. We started going to a lot of events and conferences to help us in these festival networks and reach out there. Things started blooming after that, we found an investor, we got the project off the ground and it started building height and momentum.
What does the name FARM Fest mean to you?
We were so inspired by last year, and we came up with an acronym for “FARM” that’s “Future of Artistic and Revolutionary Minds” while we were all sitting together and jamming around a camp fire.
What can patrons enjoy at your festival besides the music?
We were inspired by Jerry and the idea getting people together in a space on a plot of land and how that really became something special. We wanted to encourage that. A lot of the music artists that we started tapping into are these Burning Man type musicians; this transformational festival theme started really captivating a lot of us. So we wanted to make it not just about the music, but also the art, by having workshops there and live art, but also appreciating the space as it is, it’s a farm. That’s where we got the idea that it’s about pushing the limits but at the same time being minimalistic. The transformational music scene kind of teaches that. People are starting to expand their reasons for going to a festival for not just the music, but also the culture behind it. That’s why we wanted to incorporate as much into it as possible. We have poetry readings, a kid’s section with a Lego box and sandbox, zen gardens, motivational speakers, glass blowers, workshops that teach about permaculture, yoga, guided meditation. We wanted to be a very open community. We’re also going to have a fresh produce stand at festival selling local produce. We’re going to have a lot of food vendors as well and healthy options for everyone. Shady Grove and Vegetarian Oasis will be there, so good food will be an aspect of the festival.
What did you consider when building your lineup?
Random Rab and Papadosio, they stand by those ideas of community and transformation. We wanted to have artists pushing for new limits. Like, Cosby Sweater is amazing having that clarinet synth that they have. That guy is so talented and the idea so innovative. And Papadosio’s whole vibe with their music is very powerful, not only to also include that Random rab is an amazing composer, the way that his music is performed is like painting a picture. It’s like he’s performing his music as an art and not just playing it. It’s beautiful. I love live electronic and jam music, I feel like it stands for everything that the originals like Widespread Panic and of course the Grateful Dead did.
What was your introduction in the jam and live-tronica scene?
My first music festival was Camp Bisco 3 years ago and that was where I got my first experience in the edge of electronic music. But my introduction to the jam scene was about two years ago when I went to my first Jibberjazz event. After going to that, and Stir-Fry, and all those local jam scene events, I was kind of shocked that there was all that going on! I was originally inspired by electronic music, and I had heard about the Grateful Dead and slowly started realizing that there were all these great festivals going on around here with this Grateful Dead theme. I need to go to Lockn’ this year because I feel like I have to pay my respects and see Bob Weir and Ratdog and Phil and Friends. They’ve just inspired this whole scene so much and inspired me in the past three or four years. I’m craving it now.
It doesn’t even have to be about one type of music, the one thing that’s beautiful about a festival is that it has all the different aspects of what you might need during the event. You can have jam and reggae music during the day, that’s the time that people want to hear that and lay back and relax while they listen to the music. Then as you go into the night time you can go into so many different directions. I feel like electronic music lives in the night, so you have this nice flow of the different types of music from day to night. Even if you just have some music that’s more dance-y in the evening.
I totally agree with you that electronic music is great at late night hours, that’s what I want to be hearing at three in the morning.
Absolutely, the lights and everything…at night you can show the lights and it’s beautiful. They flow together, this flow of technology and music is a whole experience. There’s some jam music that absolutely kills it in the evening, and that’s why I like the live and jam-tronica music, there’s nothing that could replace a live performance.
Who would you say is currently your favorite band?
The bands that are out there right now? I really like Twiddle and Papadosio, also Consider the Source. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong as well. EOTO is amazing, they are just an incredible performance. They’re truly live electronic, just going with it. Sometimes they’ll have a little transition where they move over and are out of sync for just a second until they feel each other and bring it back, I feel like that is really cool because it’s the true essence of live performance.
What is something unique going on at your festival that you are excited about?
We’re going to have this 150 foot lotus flower over top of the dance floor of the whole main stage. We’re incorporating live art and really trying to push that aspect. We’ll have a lot of live glass blowing and meditative workshops. It will be an experience where everyone can get involved. We’re having people build and create themselves, lots of activities and workshops to captivate and make a peaceful environment for kids and adults.
How much do Kid’s tickets cost for Farm Fest?
Kid’s Prices will be half price under the age of 12. There will be kid’s activities like puppet shows and arts and crafts and things to keep everyone smiling.
Who are some visual artists that you are bringing out?
Right now we have Adam Psybe, Christina Mazzulla, kaliptus ohm, Steve Shorts, Ellie Miller, Jessica Jones, Nick Nowak. We’re also talking right now with John Ohio, who is the coordinator of Alex Grey’s Church of Cosm. We’re going to talk to them about having their own section at the festival teaching workshops. We’re trying to have a Church of Cosm presence there. We’ll have a lot of live painters and some art workshops as well. We’ll also have a fire troupe and will be accepting submissions for that where we pick people to come out and perform as well as teach a fire workshop.
How much are tickets currently?
They are at $90 right now, but they will be $135 at the gate. We will be selling Saturday-only ticket as well. You can find more information on farmmusicfestival.com or you can look on our Facebook page.
