The Catskill Chill Festival: A Preview

Words by Josh Raskin

In the fall, people from all over the world head to the Catskill Mountains to gaze at the lovely foliage and relax in nature. This September they will be flocking to the Catskills once again, but this time, it’s for nature and something equally as important: live music.

The second edition of the Catskill Chill Music Festival will take place Friday, September 9th, until Monday, September 11th, at Camp Minglewood and it promises to be an epic weekend of music and good times. Camp Minglewood is an ideal festival site with lush nature surrounding the site. Sleeping options range from camping in a tent to RVs to renting a cabin. Weekend camping tickets are only $105 advance. Single-day tickets range from $50-$70. Camp opens 9:00 AM Friday and will remain open for campers until Monday at 3:00 PM. Music begins Friday at 2:30 PM and ends on Monday at 3:00 AM. You can purchase tickets here:

www.catskillchill.tickets.musictoday.com

There is an amazing variety of music at this year’s festival that offers something for music lovers of all kinds. An awesome lineup of DJs is booked. Be ready to groove to the funkified beats of Nutritious, or if you like your beats a bit more psychedelic, go check out DJ Logic for a nice face melt. DJ Kras will also be spinning his unique blend of beats. Speaking of face melting, Conspirator (a project featuring Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of the Disco Biscuits) promises to melt your face off. Perpetual Groove also brings its unique blend of psychedelic groove dance rhythms to Camp Minglewood. Also the widely anticipated Umphrey's McGee will be tearing it down and headlining the festival.

The spirit of The Grateful Dead will be a major part of this festival with two of Garcia’s musical partners, Melvin Seals and Bill Kreutzman, on hand. 7 Walkers will be bringing the spirit of The Grateful Dead and New Orleans together with their unique blend of Grateful Funk featuring Bill Kreutzman on drums, the legendary George Porter on bass and Papa Mali on guitar. Melvin Seals, Jerry’s long time keyboard player, will bring the timeless JGB to the festival to keep all the cats under the stars happy. Also bringing the funk to the Catskills that weekend will be Big Sam and his Funky Nation, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstafunk, The Pimps of Joytime, and Sister Sparrow

and the Dirty Birds. Big Sam is a New Orleans favorite, a massive hulk of a man who makes a trombone look tiny in his hands and sound oh so sweet. Dumpstafunk is the funk project of Ivan Neville which brings a heavy double bass version of mind blowing funk to the table. The Pimps of Joytime are a Brooklyn band bringing some of NYC’s best danceable funk to the mountains. Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds will be bringing their own brand of sultry funk to the table for all to enjoy.

For those into wild and crazy late night beats, you are in for a treat watching Adam Deitch and Break Science. Also, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Wyllys and the New York Hustler Ensemble will have the dance floor thumping into the morning hours. John Brown’s Body and Zach Deputy will bring their own unique versions of modified blues and reggae to the Chill for people to chill to. All of these bands and so many more for one glorious weekend in the Catskill Mountains at Camp Minglewood… it’s a rager not to be missed!

I can’t wait to get to camp to see all of my friends. See you there!

www.catskillchill.com

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