Recap & Photos | Suwannee Hulaween 2014 | Live Oak

Suwannee Hulaween :: 10.31 -11.2.14 :: Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park :: Live Oak, FL

Read Matt’s recap of the festival after the gallery.

The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is unlike any other music festival site in the nation. Its rare natural beauty, nestled along the banks of the Suwannee River and surrounded by Spanish Moss-covered trees, makes for a spectacular backdrop to enjoy a weekend of music and camping in the Northern Florida woods. Combine that beauty with an infrastructure of production, services and amenities on-site, along with the general intimacy of the grounds and the unwavering hospitality and friendliness of everyone involved, and Suwannee rightfully stakes its claim as one of the best places to see a music festival anywhere, period.

Over Halloween weekend, Silver Wrapper and Purple Hat Productions combined forces to host The String Cheese Incident’s second annual Suwannee Hulaween festival at this pristine location, and succeeded in delivering a magical and unforgettable experience for those in attendance.

With a stellar and varied lineup that included seven (yes, that’s SEVEN) sets from SCI, along with headlining performances from Thievery Corporation, Big Gigantic and EOTO, there was something for everyone at Hulaween, spread out over four days and three stages (plus the silent disco). The musicians were clearly enjoying the experience themselves and didn’t disappoint, delivering on highly-anticipated sets from Shpongle, Keller Williams & Friends, Dean Ween Group, Greensky Bluegrass and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.

Of course, the main event for the weekend was three Halloween sets from The String Cheese Incident, who once again brought the visual fireworks to go along with their carefully curated afterlife-themed set (read all about it HERE). In addition, festival producers stepped up their game a notch at the other-worldly Spirit Lake, where intricate light projections, fire-shooting sculptures, interactive installations and performance artists transported visitors into a fantasy land beyond their wildest imaginations.

But as with most festivals, it’s the people coming together who create the real magic, and Hulaween was no exception. Costumes and revelry were everywhere to be found throughout the weekend, and performances from Nahko & Medicine For The People, the Soul Rebels, Conspirator, Ghost Owl and the Heavy Pets helped to foster the positive vibes of the weekend. Spirits remained high even as the weather dipped to unexpected overnight lows on Saturday and Sunday. Nighttime sets from Beats Antique, The New Deal, Future Rock, Kung Fu and Van Ghost helped to keep everyone dancing, warm and happy through the near-freezing temperatures.

Overall, the elements came together perfectly for the 2014 installment of Suwannee Hulaween. After two magical weekends in Live Oak, we hope the event returns in 2015 so we can watch this festival continue to grow and blossom at its awe-inspiring location.

JamBase | Down By The River
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