Camp Keewanee Greenfield, MA Wormtown festival
The weather was warm and everyone was in such a great mood for the early admission night of the Wormtown festival in Greenfield, MA. I got there and was able to zip through and make it to our customary position behind the vending booths near the bonfire. I was able to greet all of my friends and settle in for the appetizer of this music festival, Thursday night Early Worm!
This night is mostly for people to come in, get situated, grab their camping space, and get warmed up for a full weekend of music.
In the Wormtown cabin Mystic Dead got things going with two full sets of Goold Ol’ Grateful Dead. I’ve known about this tribute based out of Connecticut for some time now. The band is good, tight, with solid jams. The vocals remind me of 80s to 90s Jerry, with a nice timbre and mature texture. It was a perfect way to start things off for the festival.
The first set that I truly focused on was Terrafunk in the Keewanee cabin. The band is solid and funky, featuring the vocal stylings of Nicole Henley. The cabin was packed and echoed Henley’s exclamation “We’re So Fucking Happy to be Here!”
The band mixes covers and originals, but the covers tend to have their own take instead of directly mimicking the original. The cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams for instance had a tasty trombone solo and a slinky funkiness that may be the defining vibe for this band.
Kami Lahoski was a presence in the band lending both backing vocals and saxophone. Lahoski would be omnipresent at Wormtown performing with a handful of bands across nearly all of the stages throughout the weekend. Other covers included a great take on Phish’s Ocelot vastly different from the original, I Put a Spell on You the Screamin Jay Hawkins standard, and a great take on the Dead’s classic Loose Lucy.
Up next in the Keewanee cabin was New England funky captain of guitar madness, Peter Prince and Moonboot Lover. I have been catching Peter and MBL for over two decades and it is awesome to see him back and better than ever after several years off of the scene. His stature in Worm World was cemented when Mr Worm himself came down and danced onstage with the band. These two have done shows together dating back to when Wormtown Trading presented shows at Tammany Hall in Worcester in the early 2000s.
Peter threw down a sweaty set filled with funky guitar solos and forward facing emotion, twisting and plying the audience into his mad world. One rip roaring song after another, lifting the Worms onto his back and flying them personally into the stratosphere, only to drop them from the heavens back to Camp Keewanee. If you weren’t ready, that was on you, because Peter was ready to rage and his trio delivered.
Future Joy took the final set of the night, and previewed the particular vibe of this festival. Like several other bands on the weekend, Future Joy brings a mixture of EDM DJ culture with a live band. Joy is an apt word in the band’s title as they are looking to have a great time and spread it to the audience.
What a perfect way to get things started for Wormtown. Three more days of music after this? One can hardly believe our good fortune!
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