Catskill Chill has just wrapped up another successful year, and the festival’s final summer at Camp Minglewood. From top-notch musical sets and collaborations, to a truly unique community vibe, it was another festival for the books.

We’ve rounded up some of our weekend favorites to bring you the 2015 Catskill Chill Festival Awards!

Bustout of the Year: Hayley Jane and the Primates

The underdog packing the most star power was undoubtedly Hayley Jane. This rising star has just got the “IT” factor. Her deeply soulful pipes and vocal range topped off with a mesmerizing stage presence blew absolutely everyone away. Aside from a killer Saturday evening appearance with her band, Hayley made the rounds throughout the fest, sitting in on an intimate VIP superjam featuring Rob Chafin (The Werks), Mihali Savoulidis (Twiddle), Todd Stoops (RAQ), and Chuck Jones (Dopapod), tackling the “I Am The Walrus” with The Primate Fiasco, as well as the late night Stratosphere All-Stars set for a spectacular and fun cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” Seriously, keep your eye on this one.

[Photo by Chad Anderson]

MVP of the Weekend: Mike Greenfield

Not only did he actually attend summer camp at the Catskill Chill site, and play every Catskill Chill since its inception, but the talented drummer made the rounds this year with FIVE different bands. Friday night saw Greenfield play a jamtronica lover’s dream set with his band Lotus. Saturday he appeared with the ChillFam All-Stars’ Herbie Hancock Tribute, and later with Steve Molitz (Particle), David Murphy, and Marcus Rezak (Digital Tape Machine) as the Stratosphere All-Stars for a phenomenal set. Sunday he wrapped up with a daytime VIP set with Tom Hamilton and Aron Magner’s “Acoustic Again,” followed by a headlining evening slot with Electron. Does this guy ever sleep?

[Photo by Andrew Scott Blackstein]

Best Time Warp: Dopaquaz (Turkuaz/Dopapod) Plays Studio 54

Arguably the best overall set of the festival, the Dopaquaz Studio 54 set transported us back to the 70s with all of the hits, from Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” to Rick James’ “Give it to Me Baby” to Chic’s “Le Freak”. The main stage of Catskill Chill was turned into a massive disco dance party, complete with a disco ball and strobe lights. The 14 total members of Dopapod and Turkuaz came together seamlessly and tackled each song in perfect form, and the two female vocalists (Shira Elias and Sami Garett of Turkuaz) even seemed as though they should have been born in that era. It was an all-around well executed set that had the whole festival buzzing.

[Video by Dan Purdom]

Runner Up: Shwikus Plays The 80s

The joining of Fikus and Shwizz to tackle 80s classics was an absolute hit. Attendees had a blast getting down to old school tunes like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome To The Jungle”, plus a tease of Europe’s “The Final Countdown”. The Catskill Chill veterans and friends are a natural fit together and always bring a high-energy set.

Best Funk Set: Lettuce

The boys are back in town. Having played the festival nearly every year, you can tell they feel comfortable and at home at Camp Minglewood, where they brought a powerful and raging set to the main stage on Friday night. Joined by Eric Krasno throughout the set and Nigel Hall towards the end for the newer upbeat track “Sounds Like a Party To Me” followed by a set closer of the classic “Do It Like You Do”, Lettuce got attendees pumped and ready for the weekend with blood flowing and spirits high.

[Photo by Andrew Scott Blackstein]

Best Cover Set: Twiddle Plays Grateful Dead

The Vermont jam/reggae band has blown up tremendously in the last year and triumphantly made their return to the Chill for two sets. The Saturday late night Twiddle set was certainly fire and one for the books, but what really stood out was the band’s Grateful Dead tribute set. The band, featuring a guest appearance from Tim Palmieri (Kung Fu), tackled covers of Dead classics with ease, like a crushing rendition of “Fire On The Mountain”. Todd Stoops and Chris Houser (The Werks) got in on the action for a cover of “The Music Never Stopped” to complete the top-notch set.

 

Best Surprise Collaboration: The Werks With Members Of Twiddle

The Werks brought a vibrant set to the B Stage on Saturday evening. Complete with a cover of Deodato’s “2001”, it was the perfect lead-in to set the mood for a long night ahead. Towards the end of the set, The Werks were joined by most members of Twiddle for an explosive rendition of “G-Funk”, which they aptly renamed “G-Twerk”. The two bands will hit the road together for their joint Twerk Tour beginning in October.

Best Electronic Act: Break Science

As always, Break Science brought a fiery set of hip-hop/funk-fueled electronic beats for a proper Friday late night rager. Adam Deitch (Lettuce) and Borahm Lee never fail to get a crowd going, and this night was no exception. Featuring sit-ins from the Shady Horns (Ryan Zoidis and Eric Benny Bloom) and rappers CX and Coachy Real, Break Science threw down hard from start to finish with a seriously raging set.

[Photo by Andrew Blackstein]

Hardest Shredder: Marcus Rezak (with the Stratosphere All-Stars)

The up and coming guitarist from Digital Tape Machine and the Stratosphere All-Stars took a band of seasoned veterans (Steve Molitz of Particle, David Murphy of STS9, Mike Greenfield of Lotus, and a guest appearance from Rob Compa of Dopapod) to a whole ‘nother level during their fire Saturday late night set. From seriously crushing improvisational parts to creating one-of-a-kind livetronica versions of classics like David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, the Stratosphere All-Stars are one of the freshest new bands to emerge on the scene this year, and Marcus has established himself as one of the foremost guitarists in the jam/electronic sphere.

[Photo by Chad Anderson]

Best Food: Dave’s Mini Donuts

As always, Dave’s Mini Donuts next to the B Stage served up delicious chai lattes, fresh egg sandwiches, gourmet treats and delicious FREE donut samples! Run by a husband-wife team, Dave’s Mini Donuts has popup locations all over. If you spot these guys at a festival, don’t skip over it.

[Cover Photo by Patrick Hughes]