The Homie Collective Campout Delivers Another Sublime Jam-Packed Weekend

It’s been over a week, and I’m still reeling in the glow of the absolute gem of a weekend I had at The Homie Collective Campout. The festival relocated from Maine to the beautiful Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, MA, and despite some on-and-off rain showers throughout the weekend, I had a wonderful weekend.

The festival was impressively well put together, from easy access in and out, to water and electrical stations throughout the campgrounds, to bathrooms on site, and to the provided headphones by Psylent Disco and Secret Sounds Events at both the Blazy Bass Stage and The Rave Cave.

In addition to a monumental lineup of local and national acts, each night featured a costumed theme with a winner chosen after the main stage headliner and several exciting and instructive workshops to choose from in between sets that included flow classes, pole dancing, shibari, reiki, and even aerial silks! I also can’t forget to mention the cannabis cup hosted by the festival, which included dozens of vendors, or the famous Frick Frack Blackjack, which is always entertaining whether you’re just observing or playing a hand!

Thursday

The weekend kicked off with an impressive pre-party lineup stacked with talent. I was blown away by the sound clarity at the main stage and the heart-thumping level of bass at the Blazy Bass Stage provided by Funktion One. The three stages were all relatively close, making catching sets easy, but I was astounded at the festival’s ability to maintain zero sound bleed between the stages. You wouldn’t even have known there was another stage just a couple minutes walk away! Some of my favorite sets of the day have to go to Yung Abner, Father Figure, Smokestax, and Balkan Bump‘s funk-fueled headlining performance! Balkan Bump delivered a literal jaw-dropping set accompanied by his trumpet, throwing down one of my most memorable performances of 2023.

Friday

As Friday rolled in, and more attendees started setting up camp, the energy at the stages expanded tenfold. There was a remarkable mix of jam and bass spread out throughout the day. I made sure to check out some acts I’ve wanted to see for quite some time, The Hot Chocheys and The Trichomes, both setting me up for a jam-packed day filled with exuberant dancing. I was excited to see Boston-based duo Drunken Doja Monkey added to the lineup. Consisting of Lespecial’s bassist Luke Bemand, and drummer Rory Dolan, these two are no rookies when it comes to infusing jam and bass music. Lespecial has roots deep in both scenes and loves to bewilder fans with the occasional transition during sets.

Following Drunken Doja Monkey’s performance was a HIHF favorite, Josh Teed. The young producer filled the air with vibey sound waves as he took the stage with his violin, playing some of his popular hits and releases off his newly released collaborative EP, Obsidian, with ST4RFOX, who also performed over the weekend! Josh’s eccentric style brought a pleasant diversion to the lineup with his outside-the-box artistry and production.

One of my biggest schedule conflicts over the weekend was between Moon Hooch and Chmura. Both have been on repeat for years, but thankfully the stages were close by, and catching some of each was no problem. I started at Moon Hooch, catching the first half before heading to Blazy Bass Stage for some bass therapy at Chmura. Moon Hooch is always an experience, to say the least. The horn and drums trio never fails to astound when it comes to their ability to throw an astronomical production. The main stage stands next to the designated fire performers area, resulting in quite an unforgettable experience. Heading over to Chmura, you can’t help but notice the vast amount of flow toys waving through the crowd as he throws down a colossal set of ambient and deep dub teeming with low-end bass. HIs set took the sea of fans on a voyage through a cosmically lush soundscape that was positively alluring.

Saturday

My Saturday began with some incredible stage takeovers beginning with the Soundz Organic takeover at the Blazy Bass Stage featuring COSMAL, Recwav, and Kuhlin before heading over to the Rave Cave to check out the Sunset Sets takeover with Gingerlo, Who:Is, and FlowTTiGlio. This entire day was a non-stop dance party with Zoo Logic, Liquid L, Izzi, and Mantra Sounds, then into an electrifying set by ST4RFOX. I soon made my way over to the Space Jam Stage for my first Snakes & Stars set featuring Michael Travis of EOTO and The String Cheese Incident and David Byrne of Brazilian Girls. Quickly becoming one of my favorite sets of the weekend, the sprightly duo brought a sublime stage presence and energy that had the crowd moving and grooving as more and more fans flocked to the stage. Their set featured a plethora of raw electronica jams provided by Travis’ experimental synths and Byrne’s nonstop flow rocking out on the drums. Briskly making my way back to the Blazy Bass Stage, I found my way to the front for a spot in front of the Funktion One rig to be bathed in thick waves of bass provided by Zebbler Encanti Experience. Curating easily one of the most memorable ZEE sets I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing, he touched on almost every style of EDM leaving nothing out. Often jumping in between genres, it was a mind-blowing experience hearing a king of experimental bass dropping everything from DnB to organic bass music to house.

I had to leave ZEE a bit early to catch some of Papadosio at the Space Jam Stage. This five-piece band has been dominating the jam scene since 2006. Incorporating a mix of prog rock with jamtronica, their performance drew a massive crowd and was quite the spectacle as fire performers lit up the crowd next to the main stage. I found myself making my way to see Yheti at the Blazy Bass Stage, to be greeted by a crowd filled to the brim with led flow toys and the stankiest of bass faces. Migrating back to my spot in front of the Funktions, Yheti had that sound rig humming properly. I was excited to hear many of my favorite tunes including several new tracks off his recent album Everything New Was Old. Afterward, I explored the Circus Psilo for a secret midnight set by Jason Leech. Delivering an eclectic boiler room-style performance in front of a crowd of maybe a hundred people surrounded by psychedelic artwork and a group of Frick Frack Blackjack players, this was undoubtedly a highlight of the weekend. This was my first time seeing the young performer and he brought all the vibes and kept the energy positively electric!

Sunday

Sunday, I decided to take it easy after a long, fun-filled Saturday. As I was sitting at camp, I could hear the sounds of one of the most anomalous acts of the weekend. I soon found myself gravitating to the Space Jam Stage to discover You Bred Raptors?. This three-piece ensemble from New York dominated the main stage with undoubtedly one of the most passionate and magnetic performances I’ve witnessed this year. Consisting of an eight-string bass player, a cellist, and a drummer, this act is the real deal. The trio knocked it out of the park with a set comprised of original songs and well-crafted covers. Some of my other favorite acts of the day have to go to crawdad sniper and VibeSquaD. These two artists brought an unparalleled level of exploratory bass-heavy goodness that sounded immaculate on the diabolical Funktion rig.

Jason Leech into Gravitrax X BITSKY was two hours of groovy, funky jams. Jason Leech’s energy was indescribable; everything he did, and every track he played, he interacted with the crowd and made sure to keep the hype at a level 100. It made the experience that much more exuberant seeing the smile on his face and his abundance of dance moves as he performed for a packed crowd. Gravitrax X BITSKY followed Jason’s set, matching his energy completely. They wasted no time in bringing the vitality and spiritedness to keep the crowd thriving.

On the Space Jam Stage was HIHF favorite and guest of our Good Listeners Podcast, Sunsquabi, throwing down one of the most vibrant and high-spirited sets I’ve ever seen in my seven years of following them. The synchronicity between each member was truly stunning, and they undeniably brought their A-game. Their set went to the next level as they surprised fans with a guest appearance when Jason Leech took the stage to join them in a funk-fueled, jam-heavy performance. Sunsquabi finished strong as they closed out the main stage to a sea of fans.