Every year in June, twenty thousand hippies get together in beautiful Hunter, New York. We are here to celebrate life and friendship, escape reality and listen to good tunes. When the last weeks of May come around, I start to get antsy because I know I’ll be back at the mountain in no time. Plans start to get thought up, departure times get set, cars get packed and finally we are on our way back. Mountain Jam was my inaugural festival, it introduced me to the wonderful liberation that makes a music festival so great. Not a year has past that hasn’t been an achievement of indulgence and enjoyment. What originally drew me in was the Allman Brothers Band, what kept me coming back were the people and the atmosphere. Through all the rainstorms and soaked boots, through all the wet clothes and saturated tents Mountain Jam still prevails as my number one festival. This year had the best weather to date! A bit of a drizzle on Thursday while arriving and setting up but from then on out between 70-80 degrees with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. It could not have been better.

This years camp was by far the most outstanding we’ve had. Two ten by ten shade tents, accompanied by a half dozen trippy tapestries and art pieces. Our whole crew was more than generous with food and drink enabling us to be set for the weekend without a worry. Everyone was comfortable with his or her own chair, a portable picnic table, a grill and enough beer to last 10 people the weekend.

The first act that we wanted to see didn’t perform until 8pm. So by this time we are nice and liquored up and ready to get down! Dark Star Orchestra hits the stage and we’re getting into the groove. The set wasn’t chock full of fan favorites but nonetheless they were rocking. If you close your eyes at a DSO show the Grateful Dead is actually playing. They sound that good, almost identical. Jeff Mattson plays guitar and sings just like Jerry and if the wind and lights hit him right, he looks like him too. After DSO was Umphrey’s McGee. If you are a jam band fan you like Umphrey’s, killer musicianship all around. They feed off the energy of the crowd, like any good band does, but these guys are masters at it. Interpolating “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC and “Xxplosive” by Dr. Dre, it turned into a real party. Warren Haynes came out for a song and rocked everyone’s faces off as per usual. Everyone on the mountain that night was dancing until their legs were numb. One particular highlight was towards the end of their set when they played “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine. It was hard not to go wild. Go see Umphrey’s when they come around!

With night one behind us, filled with unforgettable jams, we were ready for Friday. The first act our group chose to see together was Reignwolf. This dude, this band dismantles rock shows. Based out of Seattle they are taking the scene by storm. Straight up, in your face rock and fucking roll. The front man Jordan Cook is category 5 tornado on beeline for a treehouse. It’s hard to keep your eyes off him, a frontman rock and roll hasn’t seen since the 70’s. His soul and passion becomes palpable while preforming live. The band plays with an unrelenting force that goes unmatched in music today.

If we didn’t get our Grateful Dead fix the first night, we were ready for the real thing Friday. Bob Weir and Ratdog headlined the main stage. First set highlights were “West L.A. Fadeaway” and “Deal,” but the second set is where they really turned up a notch. They opened with “Playin in the Band > Dark Star” with Warren, then closed the set with a stellar “Terrapin > Standing on the Moon > Sugar Magnolia.” I do have one complaint, something I have to get off my chest about all the Dead acts that come to Mountain Jam. Not one has played “Fire on the Mountain!” I don’t get it. I’m expecting it every year and I’m repeatedly let down. There are fire dancers all over the slope, there are a bunch of hippies in the crowd, you are playing a concert on a goddamn mountain and none of you play “Fire on the Mountain?” I’ll keep hoping for next year.

That night we were in for an eccentric thrill when Beats Antique hit the stage. This experimental-world fusion-electronic group is a performance you don’t want to miss. It’s truly a mesmerizing and unusual show. David Satori the bandleader plays an array of instruments; fiddle, guitar, trumpet, synth, and drums, just to name a few. Tommy Chappel accompanies him on drums and his lustrous wife Zoe as belly dancer. Zoe adds this wonderful dance performance aspect to the live show unlike any you’ve seen before. Her moves are enthralling and to a point hypnotizing. There is a part of the show when she mimics the moves of a snake and depending what substances you have coursing through your veins, momentarily becomes one.

My Saturday started with a healthy dose of Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. I have to admit, I really enjoyed his set. He did his famous single, “Welcome to Jamrock” along with his collaboration with Nas, “Patience” taking the liberty of filling in for Nas’s verse. He also did a lot of reggae and dub, which are both great genres to listen to when you have nice buzz going, it’s 75 degrees out with the sun high in the sky. He played a bunch of his dad’s classic tunes like “Could You Be Loved” and “Sun is Shining.” How can you not enjoy? All in all I thought it was rather enjoyable.

After Damian was the ever so talented duo the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The pairing of Derek Truck’s masterful control of his six string and Susan Tedeschi’s powerfully graceful voice makes them an unparalleled act to see. Then comes Mountain Jam’s house band, Gov’t Mule. These guys have the crowd in the palm of their hands the second they come on stage. Warren Haynes is the man of the hour, the man of the weekend I should say. If we were talking martial arts Warren is Bruce Lee, if we were talking football he’s Jerry Rice, if he was a movie director he’d be Stanely Kubrick, if he was a baseball player Babe Ruth. You get the picture. This time around was no different. Some of the focal points of the night were “St. Stephen” by the Dead, “Breakdown” by Tom Petty, “Since I Been Loving You” by Led Zeppelin and “Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus and Chaka Khan. The crowd shocker was Radiohead’s “Creep,” I’ve heard plenty of versions of this song but nothing like this. There was something ethereal like the original, yet edgy and in your face like Warren’s playing is known to do. Some more crowd favorites were “Sugaree” by the Dead and “Soulshine.” At this point in the show, it really can’t get much better but yet again Mule delivers ten-fold and plays a 3 Doors songs encore. “People are Strange,” “Five to One” and “Break on Through.” Seriously, un-fucking-real.

If Gov’t Mule melting our faces wasn’t enough the late night act would complete the process. Pretty Lights was the only true electronic act of the weekend and was highly anticipated. For me he was in the top 3 performances at Mountain Jam. It was so against the usual, it was almost a breathe of fresh air. I believe it was the first time there was dubstep on the mountain. Pretty Lights came out like he was in Pamplona running with the bulls. If you weren’t moving you had to be unconscious. He totally played to the hippie vibe ripping remix’s of Pink Floyd’s “Time,” “Midnight Rider” by the Allmans, a Led Zeppelin mash up and “Fly Like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band. It was truly brilliant and quite impressive. Hunter Mountain got its first dose of some real bass music. Not only was the music super enthralling but his stage set up and light rig was captivating. Two rigs on either side of him accompanied by sets of lasers, in front of his DJ booth was another 10 light rigs and then all behind him were pillar of lights and lasers, almost overwhelming but alluringly just right.

Finally the last day has come around. It’s quite bittersweet, on one hand I am seeing the Allman Brothers Band for my 16th time and on the other it’s the last day of Mountain Jam. It really was an amazing show. The Allmans always deliver no matter where they are playing. This set was full of killer jams and momentous crowd pleasers, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Don’t Want You Know More,” ‘Trouble No More” and “Whipping Post” to name a few. My last time ever seeing them with Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes on guitar was at Mountain Jam. Not many people can say that. It’s like seeing Jerry Rice and Joe Montana in their hay day. It was quite the emotional journey. I’ve been to too many Allmans shows with a wide arrange of people. They never fail to entertain, whether it’s Gregg Allman belting lyrics or smashing those keys or Warren Haynes melting faces with a guitar solo. They will continue to be an inspiration to jam bands all over the country. You’ll never stop hearing their songs on the radio; “Jessica” and “Midnight Rider” will be forever be played on rock stations. I just feel fortunate to be one of the lucky ones to seem them live as many times as I did. It is truly the end of an era and a monumental way to end 2014’s 10 Anniversary Mountain Jam.