Have you heard?

The bird is the word!

But it’s December, wasn’t Dirtybird Campout two months ago?

I know, I know, I’m late to the party. It’s now two months later and I’m still feeling the afterglow of a party thrown by the man, the legend, Claude Vonstroke aka Barclay Crenshaw aka Papa Bird this past October. Have you ever attended a summer camp when you were younger? Have you ever been to a Do Lab music festival? Well, combine those together and you get Dirtybird Campout! This was the second year of Dirtybird Campout and from what I was told, it’s popularity has grown tremendously.

Getting to Oak Canyon Park was a breeze considering I live about 30 minutes away. I met up with a group of my friends in a shopping lot just before the main road to the venue. This was probably the easiest drive into an event that I’ve experienced. Since we were there when the gates opened, we got a pretty good camping spot. One thing I would recommend to future campers would be to bring a broom to sweep away rocks and broken glass. If you don’t have enough padding to sleep on or an air mattress, this can be an issue! After setting up our lovely abode, we headed to the main grounds to join a team. Upon signing up, you are assigned to a team: red, green, orange, or purple. Team purple, represent! Teams were randomly assigned as well so you couldn’t just sign up with your friends. This also got you out of your comfort zone and forced you to make new friends! Yay, friends! Once you’re on a team, there are many activities to participate in such as sack relays, water balloon toss, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, and tug of war. These tournaments got heated with energy! It was almost as if everyone let go of their ego, and let their inner child shine. What I absolutely loved seeing was Camp Counselor Claude himself in the middle of all the action. There was even a moment where he was doing yoga with everyone! Go Claude! One of the things I admire about Dirtybird is how involved they are with their community. They were apart for every single activity and performance. From everything that I’ve seen and heard, they seem like very humble people who are doing this for the love of the music and culture, and that’s something I respect 110%.

Photo by: Watchara

If the physical activities aren’t really your thing, there are plenty of arts & crafts to indulge in! From painting, drawing, screen printing, tie-dye, knot tying, and face & body art. There’s something for everyone’s creative side.

Check out the games and activities schedule here.

It’s time to get weird! With only one main stage during the day, you never had to worry about missing your favorite artist due to simultaneous sets. At first, I didn’t know there was only one stage. I was planning to visit each artist for about thirty minutes before heading to the next. Doh! There were some amazing sets! Each one unique in its own way. Shiba San, Claude Vonstroke, Reggie Watts (and the red head), Will Clarke, and my favorite, Justin Jay (& Friends) to name a few. Things usually ended around midnight, but have no fear, the party doesn’t stop! The late night music stage goes on til the sun comes up, so you can shake your tail feather all night long.

Check out this music schedule here.

There’s also late night bingo and karaoke! I stopped by to play a couple rounds of bingo and I had so much fun! It was a 70’s disco theme, which meant funky jams and groovy girls on roller skates!

The Saturday Stand Up Comedy Night at the Bunk House Stage was something that I’m glad I went to. Kevin Shea was the host, providing his own comedy in between sets and getting licked by a human cat (you had to be there). He introduced the talented line-up: Matt Lieb, Brent Weinbach, Marlena Rodriguez, Dustin Ybarra, and Andrew Santino. One of the most memorable and shocking moments that I’ve been apart of was Andrew Santino calling people up to have sex behind him on stage. The stage was set up as a camp cabin with several bunk beds. For a moment, I really thought it was going to happen, but according to Santino, “It’s too early and people aren’t fucked up enough yet.” I was kind of hoping someone would do it because that would mark off as the most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced at a music festival.

Photo by: Juliana Bernstein

There’s something for everyone at Dirtybird Campout. There were moments where I had to stop and just absorb everything that was happening around me. Here I am with thousands of other people who are just like me. You are free to be your weird self here, and you’re surrounded by other weird people too. I’ve felt nothing but genuine happiness and love during the event. I saw people either by themselves or in clusters dancing, smiling, laughing, and enjoying the moment. They were alive, and so was I.

I felt like I was home.

I’ll see all you birds next year!