The annual East Wind ‘August’ music fest fell on August 32nd this year, you may know it as September 1st, which was the most convenient date for East Winders and invited bands alike. The weeks and final days leading up to this event are always filled with excitement and bustle. The music studio is more active than ever with all the various acts practicing and small groups hanging out listening. This year the stage was set up in the hay barn. The morning of the party is definitely the busiest with the party planners running around making sure everything will be ready for a good show.

The day before the fest, all the extra hay bales were set up in a semi circle and covered with a clean tarp to add seating and define the space. Benches, kegs, musical equipment, a generator, and lights were all brought down the hill. The soundboard, lights, and decorations were all setup before showtime. This year flowed exceptionally smoothly, with no technical delays or otherwise from act to act. The weather was hot with some occasional cloud cover.

With ample time during the ‘Open Mic’ everyone, no matter their experience level, gets an opportunity to perform. This year’s performers were numerous and quite remarkable. I cut together a short video that samples some of the acts (it is incredibly hard to cut eight hours of performances down to five minutes) and you can view it here:

There was a salsa competition with five East Winders as contestants and everyone interested voting on their favorite. Just after that, a full dinner service with chicken, beef, nachos, guacamole, rice, and numerous vegetable dishes.

All in all, a very successful event with lots of new friends. My picture taking started to decline as the sun went down, but new member Chris kept the video camera rolling and captured all the musical acts. Thanks Chris! I am still processing all the film (cleaning up the audio, etc.) and more of it may end up on YouTube, if there is interest.

Post and pictures by Sumner