The fourth annual Roots Rock Revival ended last week, and was, without a doubt, the best yet. What started as a Music Masters Camp thrown by Allman Brothers members Butch Trucks and Oteil Burbridge in conjunction with The North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson has since grown to an extended family of southern-grown rockers. Tucked away in Big Indian, New York, up high in the Catskill Mountains, is a little place we call “camp” – and those who have attended know better than to ever miss another year again.

This year’s camp featured instructors and musical guests Col. Bruce Hampton, Roosevelt Collier, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, DJ Logic, and members of Butch Trucks’ Freight Train Band Berry Duane Oakley Jr., Bruce Katz, Vaylor Trucks, and Heather Gillis. While these folks held the stage down night-by-night, campers were also invited to participate and play – making dreams come true across the board. 

With the Allman Brothers Band at the core of the week-long camp – complete with workshops, master classes, and river jams – this year’s Roots Rock Revival drew particularly interesting moments. With classes starting in the morning and lasting until dinnertime, campers (who ranged between 7 and 70 years old) were treated to an array of multi-level classes that had appeal for both musicians and fans alike. 

Between “Jam Etiquette 101” with Cody and Oteil, “The World According to Butch Trucks: An Open Forum and Discussion,” lessons about improvisation, slide guitar, and fingerpickin’ Q&As with Luther Dickinson, and “Listening- Developing Heightened Awareness with Oteil”, there was also “History of the Blues” with Bruce Katz, and an “All Things ABB” presentation by longtime manager Bert Hollman. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the week was the “Basically Freightened” Oteil-led interview with the Godfather of Jam himself, Col. Bruce Hampton, where we learned all about the twists and turns of being part of the Aquarium Rescue Unit.

[“You gotta have your pegs turned straight if you wanna play with Col. Bruce Hampton.]

While a schedule is in place to guide the days, the best parts about Roots Rock Revival are the unplanned moments. Sharing three meals a day with your idols and having the ability to ask them anything on the spot is a truly remarkable experience; their levels of engagement are unparalleled to any “beyond backstage” experience. But it is when these intimate moments extend into late-night jams with Luther by the river, impromptu vocal harmony groups with Oteil in the rain, 2AM “Boogie On Reggae Woman” jams with Butch, or poker matches with Col. Bruce Hampton by the fire-pit that truly resonate in having a profound impact on a very small group of people. Roots Rock Revival is exactly as its name describes. As Col. Bruce repeatedly mentioned throughout the week, “A revival is coming, and it’s coming very soon in our lifetime.” 

Butch shared the same sentiment, writing in a recap Facebook post that this year’s camp reached “the level of the spiritual. I swear if that group could have had another week or two we would have evolved into the next step of human development. Maybe even simply turned into spirits roaming the world emitting music perfectly.”

Five days surrounded by like-minded individuals makes for a lifetime of lessons. Beyond just the instructors were the incredible people, vibe, and energy sourced from Full Moon Resort. Here’s an example of a late-night jam, conspired of friends old and new, down by the Esopus Creek:

For more information about the camp, visit their website. The 2017 edition has been confirmed, and is promised to bring even more excitement than previous years. Rooms fill up extremely quickly, though there is plenty of space to camp.

[All photos courtesy of Michael Bloom Photography & Sean Grinstead]