Coming to the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park and Campground for many is like coming home. The 500+ acre park in Live Oak, Florida with it’s outdoor amphitheater, perfect for hammock hanging, and many music and art festivals have made it a perfect place for people to escape and become one with music and nature. The fifth annual edition of the AURA Music & Arts Festival was no exception.

The night of Thursday February 13th kicked off the music for the weekend with their first ever pre-party featuring three of the most talented bands in the Florida scene. The Heavy Pets, Greenhouse Lounge, and The Funky Nuggets. Friday night things really started to get going and although temperatures were low (for Florida), spirits were high. Papadosio, Zoogma, Conspirator and Kung Fu were amongst the most anticipated sets of the night, and although the members of Conspirator’s flight was cancelled due to even colder weather up north, the band really showed their love for AURA by making an appearance Saturday night instead. The members of Papadosio, regulars at AURA, seemed right at home performing at the Amphitheater stage amongst the Spanish moss, oak trees, and of course a truly psychedelic light show. The porch stage, located in a small field close to the Amphitheater hosted Zoogma who rocked the crowd with their eclectic fusion of electronic, rock, and hip hop elements. Kung Fu played the Music Hall, a smaller indoor area home to both a stage and a bar that gives one the strange feeling of being in a strange hybrid space reminiscent of both the backwoods country way of life and the cutting edge of musical exploration. With prized animal heads decorating the walls and colorful lasers and lights coming from the stage, the mixing of cultures is apparent here more than at any other spot at Suwannee.

Saturday dawned chilly and slightly damp but the sun soon washed everyone’s camping qualms away and festival goers spent the day lounging and doing yoga on the sun soaked fields. The Vibe Tent hosted a mix of music and mind and body workshops designed to expand ones horizons were also available for those interested. The day was also host to some of the most unique artists in the industry. The band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong were noticed first for their name and second for their awesome blend of rock, funk and electronic music. Dopapod was looked forward to by many, with a more energetic tempo they provided a lovely addition to Saturday’s lineup. Papadosio, used to being a double headliner at AURA, made another appearance and Lotus were the big closers of the night at the Amphitheater.

Sunday was also headlined by Lotus, and featured a much less busy lineup. With music ending that night at 9pm this was perfect for many of the campers who had begun to feel those day three festival aches and pains. It was also an opportune time to do some shopping. Top-tier live painters, an interactive arts village, a canned food drive holding free poster incentives, and the second annual charity disc golf tournament gave festival goers plenty with which to keep themselves occupied. Beautiful art and original clothing were abundantly available for purchase as well as options to become involved in a multitude of worthy causes such as the campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Florida.

Funky jams, awe-inspiring art, and fascinating people have become the staples of AURA Music & Arts Festival and this year’s turnout was nothing short of fantastic. If you’re looking for a way to escape the mundane commonalities of so many of the mainstream music festivals that have become so popular today, look no further than AURA. Here you can escape to a world where strange is beautiful and expanding your mind becomes one’s daily exercise.  

– Margaret Main

(cover photos courtesy of Philip Sunkel IV and AURA Music & Arts Festival)