Last weekend marked the first day of summer, and the official start to the 2014 festival season. Of course, most music fans know that the true start to festy season began back in May during Memorial Day Weekend, and this year there were some top contenders to choose from: Sasquatch, Movement, Summer Camp, to name a few. But we here at TBA opted out of the more epic events to get down to our Western Mass roots. Instead of packing up an RV and trekking across the country, we grabbed a backpack and one-person tent and headed to the hills of Greenfield, MA, for Strange Creek Campout.

Founded in 2003, Strange Creek Campout is known for its strong familial vibe, amazing local music, and safe and respectful attendees. As its popularity has grown immensely over the last 11 years, so has the festy family, and this year’s attendance was so great that folks spilled out from the shaded forest into the open field for overflow camping. (Besides the spiders, the field was actually pretty awesome.) Aside from three quick downpours – one on each day of the festival – the weather was perfect, and the weekend was capped off by nuptials between festival founder Mark Blanchette and his lovely wife Debbie. Check below for the weekend’s musical highlights, including performances by Consider the Source, Turkuaz, The Alchemystics and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.

Consider the Source – Closer to Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cR7NBXNbCk

The Alchemystics – Thinking ‘Bout You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74nDao7OSjs

Turkuaz – Coast to Coast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QOmnn9du_Q

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – Live it Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISovCyiemg