Four years ago, my husband and I took in the sights and sounds of the inaugural Bear Creek Music & Arts Festival, a quaint but high-quality North Florida fest held at Spirit of Suwannee Music Park and boasting a bounty of musical high points, not to mention plenty of non-musical diversions. The fest has gotten bigger and better in its fourth year and features returnees along with some fresh new faces. Want to get out of town for the weekend, and enjoy camping, live music, and the promise of unidentified but guaranteed good times? Then Bear Creek should be on your radar. Here’s why.
1. The Music
If you’re driving more than three hours and settling in for a few days of camping, the music you’ve come to see had better be good. Luckily, the lineup for the 2010 event is drive-worthy with more than 70 performers spread out over six stages, including the park's stunning natural outdoor amphitheatre and a vintage music hall. Among this year’s musical highlights are moe., Umphrey’s McGee, The New Deal, Maceo Parker Band, DJ Logic, Bonobo, and the Everyone Orchestra, an always-changing project headed by conductor Matt Butler and encompassing different musicians in every incarnation. Some bands play multiple times; others, like “Artists at Large” Pee Wee Ellis and Jennifer Hartswick, hang around and take part in spontaneous jam sessions or sit-ins, jumping in wherever and whenever throughout the weekend. [Photo above by Brad Kuntz from the 2009 event, courtesy of the Bear Creek website.]
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2010.