Nestled somewhere in the cow fields of Okeechobee, Florida, Sunshine Grove came alive this weekend with lasers and bass. After a one year hiatus, Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival returned bigger and better than ever with Insomniac Productions now at the helm.
Droves of wooks started descending upon this poor, unsuspecting cowtown Thursday evening and left in waves throughout Monday, causing serious traffic jams on the mostly two-laned roads of the community.
Instead of a traditional pre-party, Thursday’s festivities were included with the price of the ticket, making Okeechobee IV a four day nonstop spunion shakedown. Despite its new ownership, Okeechobee retained the classic vibe and ambiance that made it such a successful festival in the first place. After Live Nation botched its first Bonnaroo, it was a relief to everyone that Okeechobee remained so artful and eclectic.
With a diverse lineup spanning many genres, music fans of nearly every persuasion had something to vibe to. Despite this variety, electronic music proved a mainstay at the festival, with a majority of the smaller stages being reserved for DJs (the massive and incredibly well produced Here Tent also hosted DJ Sets). Of all the new additions this year, moving the Here Stage out of the Grove, into a tent, and placing it on the side of ChobeeWobee Villiage was one of the most welcomed. While the roof of the tent wasn’t video mapped like many assumed it would be, I can easily see that level of production arriving to Insomniac events in the near future.
Thursday’s notable acts included Rüfüs Du Sol, Ivy Lab, and Huxley Anne (with the latter of the two doing a b2b set later in the night at Incendia.) Yheti played the beach stage, Aquachobee, that night, but seemed somewhat lackluster compared to some of his previous sets—especially when compared to his brother Toadface’s set that same night at Incendia down the beach. Despite this, Yheti more than made up for his Aquachobee set during a 2two-hour secret sunrise set that he performed in the RV lot, taking us from Saturday night into Sunday morning.
With so many talented artists roaming the grounds, secret sets are the name of the game at Okeechobee. Many of the electronic artists performing both Friday and Saturday night did secret sets throughout the weekend in addition to their main set times. Incendia, a stage made from tessellated metal triangles and industrial flamethrowers, became a revolving door of sorts for DJs to hop on the boards at night for seemingly endless b2b sessions. Artists who performed special secondary sets included Kll Smth (stylized, “KLL SMTH”), Mystic Grizzly, Kaskade, and G-Space to name a few. While the production at the bigger stages is always fun to watch, there’s something so relieving about seeing your favorite artist in a more pure and intimate setting.
Friday night was Assnectar night, and he was meh as usual. The most memorable part of this set was when Space X shot off a rocket nearby that was visible throughout the whole crowd. While Bassnectar and Big Gigantic were the main events Friday, the acts that really surprised me were smaller artists like Baynk and Soul Clap. Maybe it was because there was more room to move, but both of the aforementioned artists had their entire crowds dancing wild with large smiles.
Saturdays at Okee really are for the wooks, and the day’s lineup was probably the heaviest schedule for those interested in wonky, psychedelic bass music. While there were some incredible acts throughout the day at the Be Stage, Now Stage, and Incendia, one could not be blamed for spending most of their day jam packed inside the Here Tent. With a lineup featuring Levitation Jones, Zía (stylized, “ZÍA”), Mersiv, Lsdream (stylized, “LSDREAM”), G Jones, and Tipper all one after the other, the only reason to leave was either to use the bathroom or catch some breath at the significantly less crowded main stages. While I was still disappointed in G Jones from last year’s Bonnaroo, his set Saturday was one of the better of the night. This combined with Tipper’s journey set and an absolutely insane set from Zía made for a fun and loopy Saturday before the main stages closed and wooks stumbled either to Incendia or Jungle 51 (Okeechobee’s garden for house music) until the sun rose. As if I needed any more reason to stay at the Here Tent for most of the day, Vampire Weekend played two sets on the Be Stage Saturday night. I did, however, venture to the Be Stage for Sublime With Rome, and its classic reggae-rock served as a much needed pallet cleanser from all the bleeps and bloops over at the Here Tent.
While Coronavirus fears seemed to be a running joke throughout the weekend, the thick clouds of dirt being kicked up on walkways and at stages gave pretty much everyone wook flu by Sunday, complete with black snot the color of night. As is typical with most larger festivals, music ended much earlier Sunday night than any other night, which is always heartbreaking but understandable. Wooks are bad drivers even with sleep.
Charlesthefirst threw a nasty set at 5:30p.m. Sunday afternoon; it was a lot of fun, but felt weird for the timing and day of the week, like drinking a beer with Tuesday’s breakfast. The last few times I had seen Griz before Sunday, I felt like the sets were bland and far too similar to each other; not sloppy just boring. Something about this set reminded me of old Griz, bouncing between bass, house, and funk, a welcome return to style for this multifaceted musician.
Closing out the main stage on Sunday night was the rustic, finger-plucked stylings of Mumford and Sons, illuminating The Grove with a near tangible glow of positivity. I’ve never had to leave a set because it was too chill, but the smooth mandolin music nearly put me to sleep after a long weekend when there were still acts to see at Jungle 51 and Incendia later that night.
Somewhere around 3 a.m., after the last of the small stages had ended and the final bags of wine had been slapped dry, patrons wandered back to their camps and dozed off for the night, only to pack up in the morning and get ready to do it all again next year.
On a side note: Phone theft was incredibly present this year, both from people’s hands and tents. If you’re planning on attending a festival this year, locking your valuables in your trunk and hiding your keys is always a wise idea. Four acquaintances of mine had their phones stolen from their hands while filming sets and even more had theirs stolen from holes cut in the side of their tent while they slept. If you are a diehard fan who just needs to film your favorite artists’ set, a wrist strap for your phone is a great alternative as well.
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This article appears in Mar 5-12, 2020.
