Written by: Katie Clayton

This year will mark the 5th annual Wild Woods Music and Arts Festival! For the last five years music lovers have been gathering at Page Farm in Croyden, New Hampshire for some of the jammiest music that the Northeast has to offer. Previous years have brought acts like Twiddle, Ott, and Papadosio, while a number of bands such as Kung Fu and LESPECIAL have consistently come back year after year to join in all the fun, jams, and overall good vibes that Wild Woods continues to provide. Lotus and the  Emancipator Ensemble are this years headliners, two acts that are both sure to be one for the books!  Wild Woods will be held from August 10th to 11th and tickets are capping out at 2000 so if you haven’t done so, now is the time to head over and grab your tickets at www.wildwoodsfest.com. The festival organizer, Ryan DuBois, was able to answer a few questions of ours about the festival and what it entails.

How are things shaping up on Page farm this year?

– Things are shaping up very nicely on Page Farm this year.  It is such a beautiful property and the landowners are always making improvements to the campgrounds and the infrastructure.  This year the art gallery pavilion will be fully complete, along with more spacious campground areas, and more parking for attendees.  A lot of camping areas that were somewhat swampy and wet have been drained and leveled, which has made things more spacious for everyone.

You’ve really created quite a community through Wild Woods, with both patrons and artists continuing to come back year after year. Obviously that is every productions goal one way or another, but Wild Woods almost feels like going back to camp as a kid. How do you think you’ve been able to really hone in and attain that kind of vibe within the last 5 years?

– I like to attend a lot of these types of events myself, so I think my experiences have allowed me to create an environment that is positive and filled with art and energy.  I try and make the setting how I’d like things at an ideal festival.  Working with companies such as The Reliquarium, Brainwave Laser and FX, and Because of the Lotus, we’ve been able to go above and beyond with stage designs and production compared to most festivals in the Northeast.  Because we put so much into the stage productions and art side of things, I think it really creates a unique vibe that isn’t easy to obtain many other places.  The little things matter too, like clean porta-potties and a unique variety of food and craft vendors.

What made you decide to hold the festival for only 2 days this year instead of 3?

– We found that a lot of attendees had to leave for the Sunday night of the festival (which was the 3rd night).  Cutting the last day also allowed us to put more money into the music lineup, and host acts such as Lotus and Emancipator Ensemble.

Besides the obvious Lotus/Emancipator ensemble are there any other special sets that people should look out for this year?

–Pink Talking Fish.  These guys have been on fire and are huge especially in the Northeast.  Tons of sellout shows and they fuse the music of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish together so well.  Always a fun dance party and they’re playing a late night set this year starting at midnight.

Very excited for Octave Cat this year as well, which features Jesse Miller of Lotus, Eli Winderman of Dopapod, and Charlie Patierno.  I have yet to see them live but they have been building lots of hype for themselves in the Northeast especially with Dopapod not touring this year.  Look out for some of our Sermon Takeover artists as well like Chee. who is traveling all the way from South Africa.  Mr. Bill was a huge hit last year and he will be doing two sets this year, one original and one B2B set with Frequent.

The turnout for people participating in workshops was awesome last year! What kind of workshops can people expect this year?

– We have a few different types of workshops this year.  We will be hosting 2-3 yoga workshops per day, including one with Hayley Jane performing an acoustic set in the background, and a CBD infused yoga session sponsored by Ropana CBD.   Other types of workshops include Resin Art Projections with our headlining artist TJ Spurge, where he will be explaining his artistic processes. We also have an acoustic songwriting class, and an acrylic pouring class.