Written by Sam Stratton.
With Sonic Bloom coming up June 20-23, 2019, in Spanish Peaks Country, Colorado, it can be easy to let the excitement of the festival itself distract you from remembering who’s on the line up. And that can happen for a number of reasons; you’ll be seeing old friends, making new ones, or just be presented with certain level of production value that you just don’t come across too often in day to day life. Few things can compete with being witness to an incredible music show on stage, but that doesn’t mean Sonic Bloom doesn’t have anything you can’t personally apply yourself to. Here are 3 installations occurring at Sonic Bloom that you can take part in between sets this year .
Frick Frack Blackjack
What kind of traveler are you when attending festivals? Do you have a backpack with all the essentials in it, filled with knick knacks and presents to boot? Or are you a minimalist? Dust in the wind who doesn’t even bother carrying their phone. Depending on where you fall on that spectrum will determined how equipped you are to take a seat at the Frick Frack Blackjack table. Headed by Dealer Marvelous Marvin, the only thing you can’t ante up with at his table is cash itself. Yes, while this dealer will be trying to come out on top of his gambles, it won’t be with money or poker chips. Insteads items like jewellery, trinkets, and the belt you bought on the way there, specifically for the festival, are among the items to be risked in pursuit of rare, strange and all around unconventional prizes.
The Soundscape VR
Soundscape VR will be providing Inception-like experiences, allowing patrons who stumble into the exotic world of Sonic Bloom to go one level deeper in psychedelic immersion with audio-reactive virtual reality technology. Claimed to be top of the line, this installation offers the attendee a fair amount of individual input compared to anything else in the venue. Users will be given the opportunity to create third dimensional art, customize a VR avatar, and even pick out music to influence the fluid and moving themes of the virtual world. This isn’t a world that can only be seen by one pair of eyes at a time however; dance, create, admire, and experience this virtual world with other attendees also absorbed into the installation if you choose too. Jumping into a round of Soundscape VR will give you a glimpse into the new ideas of how we enjoy music and the events we attach to them. Some might even end up thinking the 360 degree art permeating the walls of the virtual world best even classic front-facing light shows from a stage.
Amanda Sage, visionary art teacher at Sonic Bloom Academy.
The Sonic Bloom Academy
While many festivals try to cultivate something beyond a community of music with ideas such as pop up workshops, rarely does it feel like we’re able to take away anything more than a quick anecdote, or a clever tip from whatever hour long event we attended. Advice will always be what we make of it, but with so much going on at your average music festival, it can be hard to fully breath in what’s being offered without being the least bit distracted by other festivities.
SBA offers an opportunity to take a focus on a 3 day long intensive learning course concentrated in Visionary Art, Ableton Live, or Permaculture. Occurring the days preceding the festival, each course is aimed to give you a real, lasting knowledge of whichever subject you signed up for in a community learning setting. Meals are provided along with the separate ticket cost of the academy, giving people a chance to get to know each other during the day.
Those who participate in in the Sonic Bloom Academy also receive the perks of car camping and having first dibs on camping spots throughout the festival, assuming they plan on sticking around for both events. SBA’s model could end up being the balance to learning and celebration some festivals and members of the scene have been searching for, giving some a way to constructively approach something they’ve been curious about.
Get your tickets for Sonic Bloom now.
