It is impossible to talk about the music festival scene with the Florida jam bands without fostering the spirit of Swanney Music Park in Florida. This is a forested area immersed in the lore and legends of northern Florida.
The 800-acre land plot hosts 20,000 festival attendees each October, when Suwannee Hulaween, the park’s largest annual festival, has returned with a vast array of art and music in five stages. With spider webs and Spanish moss that resemble the festive Halloween atmosphere, the festival has a gravity pull that revives its followers every year.
“It’s a really special site. You feel the energy and see how people are emotionally connected to it,” said Michael Berg, co-founder of the festival. “We are trying to create an environment that is an escape from the real world.”
November will be held during the camp festival. 2, fans can catch a set of jam bands that is obscure to the public’s eyes, but are loved within the community, including goose, pigeons playing ping pong, Palsel, Jorusso, almost dead, glass beams, and string cheese incidents. The acts of electronic music include the alter egos of Irrhenium, Zeds Dead, Sammy Virji, DJ Pee .wee and Anderson .Paak.
“It doesn’t matter if your gender, your age gap from another fan, your race, your sexual identity, or anything along those lines. We’re very inclusive,” Berg said. “There are multiple communities that exist under the Hula umbrella.”
Spirit of Suwannee Music Park is known for hosting other festivals, centered around Bluegrass and Rock Music, but Hulawen stands out with over 75 bands, a festival Halloween vibe and a genre blending lineup of immersive art.
The focus of art is Spirit Lake. Spirit Lake is a “living, breathing” experience at a lake show projected onto a 60-foot wide overwater screen.
“You’re not really looking at the water. You’re going to see the holographic art that floats in front of your face,” Berg said. “There are various areas with secret rooms where you can enter other places with other secret rooms. It’s like a psychedelic wonderland for adults.”
This year marks its 12th year, the festival brings back loyal fans every year from Orlando, Tampa, St. Pete, Jacksonville, South Florida, Atlanta and the Southeast. Some participants have long treks from far away to New York, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“It’s really a people’s annual pilgrimage and a holiday for the year,” Berg said. “We want people to feel, ‘Wow, I used my vacation wisely. I’m ready to leave a recharge and return to the real world.’ ”
As some members of the Hulawen community find it difficult to travel or return to the festival after years, new fans are also appearing to see what all the hype is.
“We’ve seen quite a bit of emotion from people who say it’s their first Hulaween this year,” Berg said. “We are in a transitional period as our community evolves into a new generation.”
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If you’re going
Suwannee Hulaween will have four days of music and art, October 30th and 11th. Live Oak’s 3076 95th drive. General admission passes start from $169 per day and up to $534.67 per day. GA+, VIP and glamping upgrades are available. More information: hulawen.com
