Special to Bravo!
MASONTOWN, West Va. — July, 2008: The energy from the stage poured out into the sunkissed crowd, palpable as a pulse.
Half-way up the hill, children played and danced, joyous and uninhibited.
In the middle of it all, a matronly-looking woman shaded by a beach umbrella painted ornate designs on a girl’s face.
That’s just a glimpse from the Mountaintop.
And it’s only two more weeks until it’s All Good again.
Now in its 13th year, the All Good Music Festival — the mid-Atlantic’s largest annual live music and camping event, featuring an all-star, virtually non-stop lineup of living jam legends — is July 9 through 12 at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, West Va.
This year's performers include Ben Harper and RELENTLESS7, Bob Weir & RatDog, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, Les Claypool, Yonder Mountain String Band, Dark Star Orchestra, Sound Tribe Sector 9 and more ... really. A lot more.
SPIN Magazine has hailed it as one of the year’s most standout summer festivals. JamBase.com called it a pilgrimage that “mends heads, saves souls and wipes out worries.”
And according to the All Good’s founder and producer, Tim Walter, it’s a celebration of community spirit, the transcendent apogee of the summer.
That “warm feeling is really what we go after,” Walther said recently. “We have all good intentions, and we invite all good vibes.”
And with about 20,000 people responding in kind, that atmosphere is simply undeniable and, moreover, completely irresistible.
For anyone who’s a first-time All Good-goer, Walther suggests “they really try to leave their stresses and worries behind, and come out to have the best time of their summer.”
It’s hard not to.
Festival-goers are able to check out over 30 bands in one centrally-located concert area with — get this — not one overlapping set. The All Good is also all-ages, with family-friendly camping and kids' areas as well as a VIP section, drum circles, foods and microbrews, crafts and interactive arts workshops.
Continuing its tradition of promoting philanthropy and community support, the All Good is again partnering with and benefiting various nonprofits. For the first time this year, it’s launching the new Grassroots Stage in the campground area, offering interactive experiences, environmental presentations and even more live music from regional rising stars.
What’s more, the All Good is matching, dollar for dollar, all donations from fans at the Grassroots Stage programs to benefit Headcount, Rock the Earth, the Rex Foundation and Conscious Alliance.
“Music has been a part of living forever ... (and has always been a way) for people to become aware of issues,” said Walther, and the All Good can be “a time when the individual has a chance to look deep inside themselves and really do something positive for the world.”
You can go
The 13th annual All Good Music Festival — featuring over 30 bands with more than 40 hours of live music, camping, philanthropy and more — is July 9 to 12 at the scenic Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, West Va.
Here’s a guide to the grooves:
July 9 (for early arrivals) — Lotus, Keller Williams, Boombox and SeepeopleS
July 10 — moe., Bassnectar, Bob Weir & RatDog, The New Mastersounds, Les Claypool, Todd Snider, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, That 1 Guy, Galactic, Jackie Greene, Big Nazo and Hill Country Revue
July 11 — Umphrey’s McGee, SOJA, Ben Harper & RELENTLESS7, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, STS9, Lake Trout, Yonder Mountain String Band, Assembly of Dust, Buckethead, Jeff Austin and Brendan Bayliss, Steve Kimock Crazy Engine, Big Nazo, The Bridge, Cornmeal and Fear Nuttin’ Band
July 12 — Dark Star Orchestra, BK3 featuring Bill Kreutzmann, Tea Leaf Green, Rex Jam, Donna the Buffalo and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave
For tickets, directions, performer bios, festival details and more information, visit www.allgoodfestival.com on the Web.
