Carpe Noctem Festival Review
Oct. 17-19, 2014, Elysburg, PA
written by Cliff Tyler
photos by Alligator’s Attic Media
If you’re going to throw an outdoor music event in mid October you better be bringing the heat because Mother Nature sure won’t be helping out! Grateful Acres Productions did just that with their Carpe Noctem Festival held at Mossy Oak Campgrounds in Elysburg, PA, October 17-19. The fires were toasty and the music was hot. A great crowd packed the venue for a weekend of fun.
Mossy Oak Camp ground is a quaint little place far off the beaten path in rural PA. Completely wooded, it has nice gravel trails, more than a dozen RV spots with hook-ups, a nice permanent stage and plenty of shaded hilltop camping. The ground is surrounded by steep down hill drop offs and has that top of the mountain breeze to prove it. There were some nice vendors selling clothes, jewelry, hoops, festival accessories and delicious food. Yoga and massage options were also available and fire performers lit up the night.
Pennsylvania has a great “small festival” scene, offering some type of event almost every weekend as the seasons allow. A few places even move it inside for the winter! Most of the bands that performed at Carpe Noctem get plenty of work in that market. If you are not local to the area you might not recognize some of the names on the bill but the music never disappoints. Bands like Dr. Slothclaw, Steal Your Face, UZO, The Plums, Boris Garcia, and Mixing Numbers With Sounds stood out on an already talented lineup. Full Moon Vagrant, Banjaw, and a great variety of other incredible bands also turned in great sets. Sprinter Cat rocked a sick late night as usual and the Backwoods Experiment rocked the campfire till the wee hours of the morning.
The music and the vista views were enough to brave the weather for sure. There was plenty of wood both brought and gathered to keep everybody warm. The unique batch of festivarians that gathered to celebrate the night was perhaps the best part of it all. Seasoned veterans, festy kids and families all rejoiced and enjoyed there time together on the hill. The phamily vibe was thick and everybody was really genuinely fun and kept everything nice and clean. What a great way to end festival season.
After a nice summer packed to the brim with live music, traveling, Del-ebrating in the sun and occasionally working, it has all come to an end. The warm days fade into cold nights and we pack ourselves into our warm clothes and anticipate reading festival flyers for next year. Check out Grateful Acres productions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grateful-Acres-Productions/134192570083013. They have already posted some dates for next season so mark you calendars and don’t miss out on what will prove to be some of the most fun smaller events of the year.
