Resonance Music and Arts Festival
Oct 2-4, 2014, Frontier Ranch, Ohio
written by Rob Cathers
photos by Roger Gupta
Resonance Music and Arts Festival received much praise from artists and attendees alike, but Mike Healy’s (the drummer of Papadosio) acclaim stood out from the rest when he exclaimed it was “Amazing… the next ‘wire in Ohio.” As an attended, I could not agree more with that beautiful man and his equally beautiful sentiment.
Now some of you may not understand the weight this acclamation carries so, allow me to explain. “Wire” refers to the festival Rootwire which was held in Ohio for the past four years and was headlined and curated by Papadosio. It has since moved to West Virginia and is no longer curated by Papadosio, however Rootwire remains an awesome destination on the festival circuit. I twice attended the Ohio Rootwire and was mesmerized by the unbelievably talented acts, both musical and performance, the amount of visionary art and the life altering workshops. Essential Productions has captured that same beauty, those same indubitable feelings, that same incredible vibe that was present during my first Rootwire in the first, hopefully annual, Resonance Music and Arts Festival.
Resonance Music and Arts Festival was a three day fun filled soiree that kicked off Thursday afternoon at Frontier Ranch, located just a short drive outside of Columbus in Pataskala, Ohio. I had never heard of this venue, but its 160 acres are no stranger to Ohio natives who have attended ShamyBash and Hookahville, among other festivals and shows in years past. The grounds flaunted two main stages, one permanent stage to the left and one built for the weekend to the right. They were both beautifully adorned with psychedelic art, sculptures, and gorgeous floral shrine like plant life, not to mention some amazing lights and the crispest outdoor speakers I’ve ever heard. Between these stages, on a hill a tad removed was the visionary art gallery. Now if you’ve ever been to an arts festival you’ve encountered this before and they are all similarly set up; mind-expanding art inside a tented structure for protection. This held true at Resonance but what struck me as different was the recognition of the artists being showcased which I thought was brilliant. These up-and-coming lesser known artists were given a space to showcase their work, artists like Caite Deane, Ariel Esterline, Blake Bower and Chris Morphis to name just a few. Or maybe they’re just lesser known to me. Either way, I loved that I had not seen most of the art displayed at any other festival this summer. While I felt inspired journeying through these intoxicating colorscapes, the interactions were what really had me reeling throughout the weekend.
The workshops at Resonance were enlightening and flawlessly executed, just one more aspect that contributed to this new festival’s success. Many of the workshops covered the topics you’d expect – yoga, permaculture lectures, reiki, and meditation – however, never have I left a workshop feeling as invigorated and full of life as when I left laughter yoga with Patrick Welage. Some friends and I walked into the workshop barn thinking we’d all be in downward facing dog laughing our booties off but it was a much different experience. Patrick had the group of maybe 25 people sit in a circle and told us, with the greatest of belief, that 30 minutes from now we’d all be sitting in the same circle laughing uncontrollably for 10 minutes. The skeptic within me immediately thought “Yeah right!” He led us through some exercises that were basically walking up to the strangers in the group, making eye contact, and laughing in their faces; vocal warming and closing the gap of unfamiliarity between each of us. I’m not sure what switch this man hit but by the end we were sitting in a circle, facing each other and laughing until my cheeks hurt! Thinking about it now even brings about some chuckles. After all was said and done he gave us all a red cushy clown nose and sent us on our way, leading me upon the journey that was my favorite day of a festival to date.
In conversation with others, I heard a lot of praise for the workshops that I was unable to attend. A particular one that stuck with me was the Conscious Entrepreneurship workshop led by Anthony Thogmartin which a dear friend of mine attended. He went into it not knowing what would happen or what topics would be covered but figured a member of his favorite band would have some pretty gnarly things to say. Anthony began by asking the group if any of them were doing what they felt inspired to do, whether they were truly happy in their current job. The “yes” response was meager. From there he asked everyone to split into smaller subgroups based on what each individual truly wished they could be doing, whether it be healing and helping people, music production, event planning or even more traditional employment. These smaller groups were used to bring these like-minded individuals together to network and share their ideas on said topics. My friend connected with a bundle of people he wouldn’t have normally come in contact with and that communication left him feeling very inspired and ready to take on his life from a new angle.
Boy oh boy, I don’t even know how to begin describing the music. Numerous sit-ins from Chris Houser of The Werks, covers of Grateful Dead and Black Sabbath, the beautifully crisp playing of some of my favorite musicians – to say the tunes were “next-level” is a bit of an understatement. The line-up wasn’t typical of many festivals where each band played one set and called it a day. Instead, in order to highlight their musical prowess and maximize your chance of seeing them, most bands were given multiple sets throughout the weekend and at different time slots. So if you missed the Main squeeze on that Thursday night, have no fear!! You’ll still be able to catch them two other times. I personally was able to see every act that I was looking forward to seeing. My musical highlights would have to be ESKMO’s nighttime set where this man banged out samples on wooden blocks and milk crates; Friday night’s Papadosio set where the boys unveiled a new gargantuan video board and busted out a 23 minute “Magreenery” and a “Night Colors”; Nahko spreading uplifting energy throughout the whole crowd and covering “No Diggity”,”Road to Zion” and “Get Up, Stand Up”; and finally TAUK’s relentless onslaught of technical expertise. Talk about musicianship at its finest!
Amidst all of these breathtaking performances, the moment that stuck with me the most occurred during Twiddle’s second set. Their last two songs, “Hattie’s Jam” into “When It Rains It Pours”, were dedicated to a recently deceased member of the Twiddle Family, Lorne Blair. They asked the audience to lift our hands into the air in the shape of a triangle in remembrance of their friend while they delivered a heartwarming speech that brought the audience, myself and even the band members to tears. I didn’t quite understand the concept behind the triangle until a friend explained it the next day. It represented the peak, the peak of your happiness; the fact that we at this festival were having one of the best times of our lives, and that these moments should be taken full advantage of and wholly appreciated in the Here and Now. It’s a gloriously enriching idea and that has stayed with me well past the culmination of the festival, and I hope it remains an idea that I’ll cling to far after this article is said and done. Thank you Twiddle.
As you can see, I was immensely impressed with the inaugural Resonance Music and Arts Festival. Essential Productions definitely studied their predecessors and hit the nail on the head with this one. The undeniably excellent organization and equally incredible lineup had me feeling I was at a festival that had already been around the circuit for a few years. Congratulations to everyone involved, I can’t thank you enough. Cold, rainy ass October date or not, I’ll see y’all next year (with my new rubber boots in tow).
