If you're looking for a festival to keep your eye on for 2016, make sure to let this review sink in. Northern Nights Music Festival in Piercy, California (at Cooks Valley Campground) delivered in a big way this year and we're grateful to share our experience.
For music fans, this was the perfect combination of acoustic performances with heavy bass music, riveting hip-hop, and just the right amount of classic swing and coffee house medicine. More on the performances below. This event, however, was not just about the music. This is truly a place for nature-loving, open-minded folks to come together and have a great weekend of positive energy.
After some great renovations this year, campers were allowed to take advantage of “the Grove” yet again, an area under the Redwood trees that included a sanctuary dedicated to late night music and daily yoga classes. We participated in both. It wasn't that difficult to find a spot to camp, either. There were plenty of open spots by the end of the week within the confines of the Grove's edges.
We were able to camp close to the main stage but no location could disappoint – or cause more of a “commute” to any stage or fun activities. Boutique shopping and great food were situated in a sliver conveniently in between all of the action. The river itself was the place to be during the daytime if you could pace yourself – with a beautiful, clean lake that was filled with friendly fest-goers with large floats and inviting attitudes. Great music flowed from the River stage and a nearby Octopus garden – where local DJ's managed to catch our eye as well. Northern California hip-hop merged with electronic instrumentals with flying colors in many cases. Make sure to check out some of the mixes from the lesser-known artists that attended on their Soundcloud page.
The total crowd reached about 5,000 but that number would have seemed impossible to determine based on your place in the crowd at times. Sometimes, your surroundings felt incredibly intimate while during a mega set, they could seem monstrous. The main stage filled up quickly every day, impressively enough, filling up the quickest on Sunday. We had the pleasure of catching an incredible performance from Monophonics, who set the stage for an incredible day of music (yes, Sunday was our personal favorite lineup).
Co-founders Andrew Blap & Peter Huson wanted people from different walks of life to come here “to relax, showcase their talents, pick up a new skill, and discover music they never knew existed…” not to mention dancing on the Eel River. It's easy to call this a transformative festival because all of these things were within your fingertips. The crowd also made this a great environment to grow and socialize.
Friday featured some great sets including CRNKN on the river and a closing set from the Polish Ambassador on the main stage. Late night performances were relaxing and beautiful in the grove Friday night as well (more dance style acts played there during Saturday and Sunday). There was even comedy if you came at the right time. Rüfüs Du Sol impressed on Saturday, followed by a live set from Shlomo on the main stage and some hip-hop followed. Sunday really won us over in the music department, however.
Monophonics delivered a soulful, psychedelic rock set to open up the main stage on Sunday. The river stages closed with some massive artists like Dirtybird youngster Justin Jay and Lane 8. The vibes just kept coming in bunches on the main stage, however. The night closed with insane performances by Sweater Beats and Slow Magic. The silent disco area nearby drew a tremendous amount of love as well with AO Beats starting off the action at midnight and a funky, uptempo set from Labrat that received rave reviews.
Sets in the grove ranged from electro swing to house on Saturday and Sunday, making it the ideal place to take a pit stop and enjoy the visuals that played off the Redwood trees. Somehow we attended the 9:15 A.M. yoga meditation/class with Marissa after staying up all night. It's pretty cool to open your eyes after a good workout and see a group of large birds circling in between Redwood trees.
Make sure to mark this one in your calendar for next year. Those three days will fly by quickly but you won't regret the opportunity to take in some of California's greatest natural resources while enjoying the cream of the crop in all genres of music. There's plenty to offer and we get the hype. Check out Northern Nights on their website here. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well.
Check out the full photo gallery from their Facebook page here.
Here's a picture of the River from “The Festival Guy” on Instagram.
