Suwannee Hulaween 2022: The Weekend In Photos [Gallery]

Suwannee Hulaween returned over the weekend for a spooktacular 2022 celebration at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. The Halloween music festival hosted by The String Cheese Incident brought nearly 100 artists to Live Oak, FL from Thursday through Sunday.

Festivalgoers eased into the long holiday weekend on Thursday with a relaxed schedule that featured jam favorites Twiddle and The Disco Biscuits on the beloved Amphitheater stage. Though SCI did not perform on the first night, jubilant keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth did stage a set with his solo band in the afternoon sun and sat in with Twiddle on “Every Soul”.

The Main Squeeze emerged as early contenders for best costume, with the band dressing as characters from South Park including frontman Corey Frye as Chef and keyboardist Ben “Smiley” Silverstein as Jesus. Meanwhile, Wakaan Festival staged a day-long takeover at Spirit Lake, bringing electronic favorites Liquid Stranger, Tripp St., and more to the haunted lakefront stage.

The Meadow stage officially opened on Friday (Fisher was the only act to play there on Thursday) and would eventually host a two-set performance from The String Cheese Incident, who played in advance of headliners Portugal. The Man. The day presented a reliably diverse lineup for Hulaween, from rising bassist Karina Rykman and alt-country star Margo Price to French producer CloZee and London dance-pop duo Franc Moody, and many more. The jams came out at night, as Eggy staged a late-night set at the Campground stage before Circles Around The Sun capped off the evening by playing into the wee hours at Spirit Lake.

The midway point of Hulaween 2022 brought a fully loaded lineup to Suwannee, with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway setting the bluegrass mood on The Meadow ahead of SCI’s theatrical three-set performance. The band’s Halloween Shebang saw the group dress as Beetlejuice for an undead dance party, loading the set with spooky covers like Talking Heads‘ “Psycho Killer”, “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show, Oingo Boingo‘s “Dead Man’s Party”, and more.

Throughout the Park, an array of styles filled the swamp with rising neo-R&B sibling duo Lawrence setting the stage for funk powerhouse Lettuce at The Hallows. Electronic roots duo Dirtwire got things going on The Amphitheater stage, which would ultimately close with STS9, while a Femme House takeover was underway at Spirit Lake. The Campground stage was stacked all day with rising talent including The Snozzberries, Tand, Sexbruise?, and finally Neighbor. Leftover Salmon were the last men standing, closing out Spirit Lake after wrestling control from Femme House.

On Sunday, The String Cheese Incident acted as a gracious host, taking The Meadow stage in the early afternoon to say goodbye to its guests. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead ultimately closed out the Meadow stage, ending its set with a fitting cover of Warren Zevon‘s “Werewolves of London”, a Halloween tradition for the Grateful Dead. JRAD was tapped to fill in for Black Pumas after the duo canceled all of their remaining tour dates back in August.

Funk fans at The Hallows got a double dose of Cory Wong with a solo set from the guitarist ahead of a performance from the Vulfpeck offshoot the Fearless Flyers. A Desert Hearts takeover kept Spirit Lake moving for much of the day, before a potent pairing of Butcher Brown and Nigel Hall (Lettuce) closed the lake for the season. Finally, it was rising New Jersey jam quintet Dogs In A Pile who had the last word by staging the final performance of the weekend over at the Campground.

Check out some image galleries from Suwannee Hulaween 2022 courtesy of photographers Tara Gracer, Aaron Bradley, Jay Strausser, Josh Skolnik, Yvonne Gougelet, and Patrick Huges.