Billi Jo Hart
Staff Writer
Sonic Bloom Music Festival will be taking place this year at Hummingbird Ranch in Spanish Peaks Country, Colorado from June 18-21. This four-day event will host music, live art and installations, interactive workshops and live performances for attendees.
This event is familiar with location changes, having a total of six different spots that can claim a part of hosting the festival over the 10 years Sonic Bloom has taken place. Sonic Bloom promoters strive to learn and improve the event every year, which was the driving factor for the location change again this year from South Park, Colorado to Spanish Peaks.
The new location boasts a beautiful view nestled between the Rocky Mountains and the plains, complete with a creek running throughout. The move also brings the event to a lower altitude than at South Park, which reached around 10,000 feet up, making the weather a bit more manageable and nights camping out a little warmer than the higher elevation provided.
“There are challenges every time you change the site, it’s not ideal in terms of the amount of work it takes to put the site together, but this site is so much better and I think it’s really worth the move,” Sonic Bloom Founder Jamie Janover said.
With so many festivals out there, it’s hard to stand out and give people a reason to choose it over another. Janover explained that the intimacy of this festival was a large part in making this festival such a special experience. The stacked line-up with many larger and well-known names coupled with a smaller attendance size gives this festival an edge among the much more massive festivals.
Sonic Bloom’s tagline, “the unified field,” also promotes the unique philosophy the event was built upon and hopes to translate for those attending. Janover believes strongly in the Unified Field Theory, stating that every part of the universe is interconnected. The festival strives to spotlight this idea by bringing together all different forms of human expression in a collected setting.
“When you have a bunch of people in the same place at the same time, all there creatively, you get a sense of resonance and connection, that’s heightened compared to everyday life,” Janover explained. “It becomes a container so everyone can come and collaborate across all levels of experience, in the same place, over the summer solstice weekend, unify the field of creative expression.”
Parkland alumnus Russ Davis commented that the effort Sonic Bloom put into making attendees feel like an important part of the event is what has brought him back since his first time attending in 2013.
“I’ve gone to Summer Camp (Music Festival) since 2009, so that’s like my home, but Bloom is another that I would say is a personal favorite,” Davis remarked. “I feel like I get something out of it, like something I can hold with me and bring back home and do something here because of it…plus it’s a fun time and I love traveling to Colorado.”
The lineup for Sonic Bloom is filled with artist favorites like STS9, Shpongle and Emancipator, giving music lovers a variety of acts to enjoy.
The music, while being a huge part of the festival, is only part of what is offered. Attendees will also be able to take part in a wide variety of workshops.
Michael Graft, a Colorado local that practices rock balancing, will be there teaching people about the practice and therapeutic effects rock balancing brings. Other workshops will include lessons from Android Jones, a visual artist that recently performed with Tipper at Red Rocks, and also from founder Janover, who will be speaking about the Unified Field Theory.
Live art performances will also take place throughout featuring belly dance, poi, hula hooping and fire spinning among others.
This festival also plans to team up with Conscious Alliance, the same group that partners up with Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Ill. There will be a food drive, and attendees that bring in at least 20 non-perishable food items will be given a poster for 2015, designed in collaboration by STS9’s resident painters J Garcia and Kris D.
2015 marks Sonic Blooms 10 year anniversary, and in celebration the festival will roll out an even larger second stage and bigger and better stage productions and sound. Janover said he was also excited for the two sets of STS9, who plan to utilize their entire lighting rig, bringing what Janover claims will be the best light show Sonic Bloom has ever had to mark the occasion.
Those wanting to learn more about the festival can check out their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sonicbloom, or follow their Twitter at https://twitter.com/sonic_bloom.
If you’d like to attend the event, follow the link at https://twitter.com/sonic_bloom to get your ticket today. Be sure to let us know you’re attending so we can find out about your experience at the festival.
