Suwanne Hulaween has proven once again it is the place to be for Halloween. Held at beautiful Spirit of Suwanne Music Park in sunny Live Oak, Florida, this gathering brought together some of the best in live music, stage production, and festival art today. By combining a Halloween themed venue setup and artists of numerous genres such as EDM, jam, reggae, rock and rap, Hulaween had something for every music lover and festival junkie’s taste. This year’s Hulaween was full of so many unforgettable and lasting memories it’s hard to choose but here are some of our top moments from the weekend!
1. THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT SPREADS SOME DEAD LOVE ON ALL HALLOWS’ EVE
If you know The String Cheese Incident, you know they perform some of the best covers around. In Suwanne Hulaween tradition, this year they did the same with a mind-blowing and heart-stirring show on Halloween night. Included in the performance were awesome versions of Turn On Your Love Light made famous by The Grateful Dead, Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin and I Think I’m In Love by Beck. Also on the setlist were What I Got by Sublime, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free by Sting and the show was finished off with a crowd harmonized All You Need Is Love by The Beatles. The String Cheese Incident played 7 sets over the weekend and are one of the main organizers of Hulaween. Festival-goers have this band to thank for playing a major hand in formulating the thriving music festival scene we see across the country today.
2. BASSNECTAR PERFORMS AT HIS FIRST HULAWEEN AND PREMIERS NEW COLLABORATION WITH DIGITAL ETHOS
Californian EDM master, Bassnectar made his first-ever appearance at Suwanne Hulaween and threw down an intense arrangement for all bass lovers. The Spirit of Suwanne was rattling like never before with a massive crowd full of loyal Bassheads when he premiered his new track with emerging New Jersey producer, Digital Ethos. The collab is titled Slather and is a must listen! Check out the video we captured of it below
LISTEN – Slather – Bassnectar and Digital Ethos collab at Hulaween
3. EXPLORING SPIRIT LAKE AND THE ART INSTALLATIONS
Day Trip To The Lake of Spirits
Spirit Lake is a gorgeous body of water situated close to the center of Spirit of Suwanne Music Park. The surrounding bank and forest of the lake was a mystical world of experimental art and even had a few of Hula’s main music stages inside. When the sun set the woods came alive with creations and creatures alike. From psychedelic projections above the lake itself to massive accessible art installations, to interactive fire domes, Spirit Lake alone made Hulaween worth attending. I lost myself exploring the woods and found some awesome friends along the way.
4. HALLOWEEN COSTUMES AND THE PEOPLE WEARING THEM
Aside from Hulaween having stellar music and art, the fact it is a Halloween themed event conjures up one of the craziest and colorful crowds of any music festival I’ve attended. Everywhere I looked there were creative costumes filled with smiling people enjoying themselves in the open and welcoming environment at Suwanne. On top of being attractive to the eye, Hula attracts a great crowd, one of the kindest I have been lucky enough to be a part of. The accumulation of everything makes this festival just too good to miss
5. GRIZ BRINGS THE SAX TO THE PARTY
Griz brought his saxophone and fervent show to the Sunday crowd at Hulaween to breathe a breath of funky energy to help us get through the final night of the festival. He closed out the main stage in the Meadow and even ventured down to interact with fans on the front rail. His visual presentation flashed a variety of socially and politically relevant material that delivered an overall positive message of unity and love. His show even had people going crazy dancing on the Hula sign as blood poured down it. For sure one of my favorite sightings and pictures I took of the festival.
6. SWIMMING THROUGH SPIDER WEBS WITH SPACE JESUS
Space Jesus was one of my favorite electronic artists of the weekend. Headbangers on the rail and spider webs spinning throughout the crowd made navigating about the masses a fun and interesting task. His stage antics and ridiculous expressions were a highlight as well. A perfect Sunday sunset performance to kick off the closing evening of the fest. This guy knows how to have a good time!
7. JETPACK PERFORMANCES ON SPIRIT LAKE WITH HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTIONS
Without a doubt, the hydro jet pack show that I witnessed Sunday night on Spirit Lake was one of the most jaw-dropping things I saw all weekend. While performer Brandon Landis flipped and shot around the lake, Hermetic Productions beautifully projected holographic images on the water from the jet and misters. Creating the illusion of fire and even human-like figures to appear and seem to interact with Brandon. Bringing to mind such fictional characters as Iron Man and Dr. Octopus from Spiderman. A truly one of a kind spectacle!
8. RL GRIME GETS DIRTY
Los Angeles DJ, RL Grime brought the heat to Hulaween! One of the heaviest sets of the weekend with visuals to match! Lightning and flames on the screens with smoke canons shooting from the front. Grime goes hard.
Hats off and applause to everyone who helped make Suwanne Hulaween far and away one of the best festivals of 2017. The music, the art, and the people all combined for an experience I’ll never forget. Thanks for the memories!
Check out our full photo album from the festival
Author : Bradford Watkins
Editor: Dom