The Purple Pig Festival, a quietly publicized festival hidden away in the Finger Lakes, proved a force to be reckoned with over the last weekend in September. Under the full Harvest Moon, traffic lined the corn fields in Naples, NY, waiting for the opportunity to see what Odd Fellowes Farm had to offer for the second annual Festival. Set up with multiple stages, vending, food, and a fire pit, all within close proximity it gave the Purple Pig an intimate feeling right away. Benches provided perches for the main stage, and the barn stage was decorated aptly with flying pigs.
Western NY ruled the night with Randle and the Late Night Scandals, AudioInflux, Axis Armada, and The Prickers. A truly local band based out of Naples NY, The Prickers brought with them a robust following, their own line of lovingly made screen printed merchandise, and unique mix of sounds. The multi-talented musicians melded bluegrass, rock, and even punk into their set, setting the stage for a weekend full of variety and energy.
Late night favorites Jimkata took to the main stage while fire twirlers worked in time with the tempo of the Jamtronic quartet. While they were a new band to many in attendance, they quickly gained respect as the set wore on, ripping through their ever growing repertoire. Saturday brought rain, and lots of it. The main stage closed and tents set up over the already muddy grounds gave limited respite from the rain. Making the best out of a difficult situation, the schedule of the day went out the window, and bands and volunteers alike pitched in to keep the show going.
The Campbell Brothers, an unlikely crowd favorite, stole the show on Saturday and while it continued to rain, spirits were lifted, and bodies danced to the African-American gospel band. Out of Rush, NY they have offering their version of worship to concertgoers nationwide. Joining them on the keyboard was another Naples native, Aaron Lipp. Known for their high energy and unstoppable grooves, the band brought the crowd to a roaring frenzy as they closed out the set. The diversity of the music was fully realized as Saturday night rolled in, from Gospel to the classic Americana-indie rock bluegrass sounds of The Horse Flies, back to the Jamtronica funk beats of Roots Collider.
What a great weekend in the Finger Lakes at the Purple Pig Music Festival. Saturday’s marathon of music concluded with a smoking Giant Panda set that just about blew the roof off the barn. A slow Sunday morning start was to be expected after the late night rager. Yet once the music started, the energy kicked back into gear, providing an exclamation point on an already incredible weekend, one that brought with it major challenges, from the small size, the cool weather, and the rain and subsequent mud. But this little festival thrived and overcame the worst possible festival troubles, and were determined as the saying goes, to be “Happier than Pigs in Shit.”
moe. came straight out of the gate at full speed with fan favorite “Happy Hour Hero”. The first set was a short one, but offered excellent takes on “Sensory Deprivation Bank” and “Akimbo” as well as some voice box fun from Chuck Garvey. During setbreak, fans enjoyed music from buskers, beer from Rochester based breweries Rohrbachs and Genesee, and several food trucks filled with tasty treats.
Second set began while the sun was going down, allowing fans a glimpse at moe.’s top tier light show. Also offered was plenty of shreddy guitar interplay between guitarists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier. Highlights included a fiery “Wicked Awesome”, the always epic “Brent Black” and a top-speed encore combo of “Spine Of A Dog->Meat”.
Haewa was up next. Fronted by Berkelee educated ax wizard Collin Jones, with a rock solid rhythm section of Ben Chilbert (Bass) and Riley Dichairo (Drums); the band has been blanketing the local area with shows and have been rewarded justly with a noticeable degree of improved tightness in their complex compositions. The trio has no fear of experimentation and while this can sometimes cause a train wreck, more often then not, it works beautifully. The group powered through their itinerary of originals with reckless improvisational abandon, much to the glee of the packed house. Mid-set, the already salivating audience was rewarded with a sit-in from the aforementioned Rob Compa, and watching these two guitar wizards play off each other was an excellent ending to a jamtastic experience. Although next time Rob, please turn it up to 11.
