The Gang goes to Waynestock, 2021

As you all know, festivals, concerts and musical events have halted since the coronavirus pandemic over a year ago.

But some people (including myself) have had enough of this nonsense. The Waynestock music festival, hidden in the woods of the New River Gorge Area in West Virginia, has been going on for over 25 years now. They decided to have the festival this year with zero restrictions.

This is a tremendous relief to all. Aspiring musicians have been struggling without playing any shows, and people who love live music have been deprived and long for its return. Waynestock is everyone’s saving grace.

Last year, a few members of The Roof played a small acoustic set at Waynestock as they were passing through the area. From that performance, they managed to secure the headlining gig at the festival for this year! Naturally, some friends and I signed up to help support them.

Wingin' It

It was my first time going to Waynestock, so I had no idea what to expect. Upon arrival, we found “campsites” in the woods (slightly flat patches of ground where trees haven’t started growing yet) along a gravel road that ended in a cul-de-sac. We set up our tents and hammocks and got comfy.

We got settled, listened to a couple bands play that Friday night, and drank some beer provided by the local brewery.

Saturday morning, we decided to go to the “Pirate’s Cove”, a “blue hole” a few minutes down the road. Apparently, it’s a pretty popular spot to go to!

This place was beautiful! The water was refreshing, the sun was hot, and the people were happy. I thought “what could be better than this?” as I laid on the rocks, feeling the sun energize my body.

There were several cliffs to jump into the water from, which a few people (including me) utilized to its fullest extent. There were also huge rocks to climb up, which we scaled several times.

After we had our fill at the lake, we headed back to wind down (before getting rowdy again later.)

After all, tonight is when The Roof comes on.

The Main Event

This was the first big event that my friends in The Roof were headlining, and we were there to support them in the front row.

They came on around 11:30 PM, but not without some difficulty. As they started playing, they experienced a few power outages on a few instruments. Everything was running off a couple generators; we were in the middle of the woods after all. But the crowd was patient, and they were playing great.

As The Roof got about halfway through their set, the power went out again, except this time all the lights and equipment were off. We thought it was just another outage, but then we saw the band start packing up their stuff. Everyone was wondering “What’s going on? Are they done playing already?”

As it turns out, the owner of the property pulled the plug on us! Everyone was frustrated and annoyed. Wayne, the founder of the festival, declared that next year he will be going to the competing campground next year, and with double the crowd!

Acoustics Around the Fire

The Roof didn’t even perform half of their songs, but that didn’t stop them. After some time they gathered a crowd around the campfire and played some songs on acoustic guitars for everyone.

Although it wasn’t as great as listening to them jam out in full gear, it was better than nothing. The whole campsite was singing along to the songs they knew, and it was very wholesome.

Overall the festival was a great time. One camper there was giving out free albums, where I snagged a Beach Boys Christmas Album (thank you vinylheadz.com)! Camping in the middle of the woods was a nice getaway (as always). Spending time with friends is fun, especially when I can help them out in their musical aspirations.

Needless to say, I’m excited to go next year. Only a short time until Waynestock 2022!

Previous
Previous

Ocean Isle Beach, 2021

Next
Next

The Gang Goes to Seven Springs, 2021