

As a festival that forms a parallel importance for the music roster as it does the artistic elements, Oregon Eclipse did it right by giving the opportunity to Papadosio to essentially open up the Eclipse stage on Saturday. Papadosio, improvisational musicians at its core, has created a name for themselves out the commercial scene or traditional methods and found their niche among the like-minded jam / festival community. Within this world, similarly to Oregon Eclipse’s mantra, they find the importance to bridge the gap between the music and art world combining visual art into their sets, like their past Red Rocks Amphitheatre performance with the legendary psychedelic artists Alex and Allyson Grey. (Their art also appearing at the MOVA Immersive Art Environment at the festival.)



This love for incorporating art wasn’t lost at this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon and festival in Oregon. Not only did the artists play an uplifting two-hour set on the main stage, they also were inspired by the Furtherrr Art Installation, a large scale collaborative painting living along the water in an “outdoor studio”. Papadosio’s Manager, Jake Ottmann, gave us an inside look into one of the band’s greater purposes…

“To me the Furtherrr Art Installation represents what Papadosio is all about, bringing as many creators to one place as possible and encouraging them to create together. The world would be a better place if we all created together, and we try and encourage that as much as possible.”

In that vein, Anthony incorporated his side live electronic project titled EarthCry into the Oregon Eclipse offerings with two sets by the Furtherrr art area. Inspired by the fact that not all music can be made under a band, and as an artist experimenting with making more generative music with a modular synthesizer, Anthony has been fitting his live electronic sets along the Papadosio journey sharing his talents and love for music and art both as a band and individually. This multiple instrumental involvement just echoes the group’s passion for what they do and the beautiful scene it blossoms in and is appreciated in.

After days of performing and roaming the festival grounds discovering the hidden elements that await around each corner, it was time for the band to follow their hearts to go separate ways to experience the solar eclipse in the best way for themselves – either with loved ones back home or among their new loved community at the festival.

Monday morning came in a gentle wave from Sunday night. Energy was high. The grounds were buzzing. The moment we all been waiting for was finally among us. Festivalgoers and artists alike, made their way to the top of the festival grounds to the Solar Temple for the best vantage point to see the eclipse. At 10 AM, the air got colder, and our day became late evening as the solar eclipse phenomenon dazzled before our eyes.

“It was crazy,” Anthony describes, “mainly because everyone had a different reaction to the exact same thing. Some people cried, other people prayed, some people meditated, apparently, some people had sex, some smoked DMT, some found it necessary to scream at the top of their lungs, some howled like wolves, etc. It was such an incredible opportunity to get an awesome field recording, but alas, I left my recorder back at the camp.”

Recorder or not, nothing could have captured what we all felt and witnessed that morning. As the solar eclipse changed us from day into night back into a brand new day, we were all left to ask ourselves, ‘What new intentions should I be setting? What purpose do I have now with this fresh start?’. Billy reflected from the band’s perspective, “I think our goals haven’t changed much from the beginning. It’s always been to spread music, good vibes, and messages that we hold dear to everyone willing to experience it. We’ll keep on doing it as long as people are willing to listen and take what they want from it. Hopefully, it finds them well.”

Some good things shouldn’t change… even during a paradigm shift.

Check out Papadosio on their fall Shapeshiftour with Phutureprimitive.

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Thank you, team!

Anthony Thogmartin – guitar, keys, vocals

Billy Brouse – keys, vocals

Mike Healy – drums

Rob McConnell – bass, vocals

Sam Brouse – keys, vocals

Jake Ottmann – Manager

Kristen Wallis – Manager Assistant

SET LIST

1. Paradigm Shift

2. Advocate of Change

3. How Not To Float

4. Method of Control

5. Cue

6. Geoglyph

7. All I knew

8. Improbability Blotter

9. The Bionic Man Meets His Past

Photos © Brittany NO FOMO. All Rights Reserved.