Forecastle Festival 2018 Recap and Review

As the lights dim and the crowd disperses, it becomes real that I just had one of the best weekends of my life. It’s not often that were able to know when we’re living in the “good ol’ times,” but this moment was the essence of that. A sad realization came over me as I realized it was going to be another year before I could experience this place again. Forecastle Festival came to an exciting close last Sunday as Arcade Fire lit up the Mast Stage with limitless energy, enthusiasm and love. As the band left the stage and the attendees made their way out the gates, the exiting masses sang the chorus of “Wake Up” together.

“Ohhhhhh, ohhhhh, ohhhhhhhhh, ohhh ohh ohhh, ohhh, ohh, ohh, ohh, ohh!” echoed with glory through the soon-to-be-empty Riverside Park.

Frisson at its finest. This was one of the many moments in which I was covered with goosebumps.

You know that feeling when everything is just right? The music, the people, the environment — it all just makes sense. You know that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be at the time. My experience at Forecastle was filled with magical moments like this:

Something as simple as watching friends who haven’t seen each other in a while finally being together again.

Or when a couple lies together with their eyes closed in the soft grass, simultaneously mouthing the lyrics to a song that plays in the distance.

Maybe it was when you saw two strangers decide to share a dance. That energizing flash that happens when the artist takes the stage and the crowd erupts. The simple jokes and conversations shared with friends. Maybe it happens when you realized you were sharing a special moment with tens of thousands of other people. It’s not too often that are able to get together as mankind and share our love for something in such a pure way. I’ve been to a lot of music festivals over the past ten years. Trust me, there’s really something special about Forecastle and the people who attend it.

What Makes a Great Music Festival?

There are no concerns when at a music festival like this. The stress, the worry and the insanity that are outside the gates doesn’t exist. All that matters is the now and sharing that single moment with those around you. There is no place I would have rather been last weekend than Forecastle Festival.

There’s such a huge variety of music to be heard, experiences to be had and people to share them with, from your teenagers who ride the rail all day waiting for T-Pain to come out and blow their minds to the baby boomers who sang along to “Tennessee Whiskey” with the millennials. We share these memories and moments with strangers, and through this we become friends. There was something here for everybody this year; I can’t wait for 2019.

Enjoy some photos from Forecastle Festival 2018!