Heard It Here First

As the year comes to a close and we’re in prime holiday season, there’s a familiar feeling in the air. Around this time of the year, we get together with those closest to us to celebrate and reflect on the year that was. That family feeling that one feels during the holiday season is precisely what was felt at Autumn Revival in early November.

Three groups — Good Productions (Baltimore, MD), Rhythm City Collective (Richmond, VA), and Kouch Kollective (Charlotte, NC) — came together with the same mission in mind: to bring people together through an intentionally-curated event in which quality and experience are put above all else. Not only did they deliver on that promise, but every little detail was so well thought out that made for an incredible music and camping gathering.

Let’s recap some of the top highlights from this intimate Fall experience:

Unbelievable Audio/Visual Lineup

We were truly spoiled at Autumn Revival with outrageously good sets from some of the best beat-makers in the game. Starting on Friday, we started on the Pavilion stage with some excellent sets from artists like Air Castles, Scratch The Surface, and Nobeats before moving over to The Barn Mainstage for the night. Before the sets in The Barn kicked off, we were treated to our first installment of the sunset fire performances via the Kinetic Spinners.

The Barn Mainstage got going and WOW. We were quickly immersed into an intimate world of bass music and love. The four-hour stretch of crawdad sniper into Mantra Sounds into Inspect3r into Alejo was truly nuts, accompanied by some of the best rising stars in pixel pushing like Focal Points, UTAW, and Sacramental Studios. That could have been the conclusion of Day One, but Autumn Revival kept the music going all night with two masterclass 90-minute sets from Goopsteppa and Josh Teed. We experienced some incredible music, a lot of reconnecting with old friends, and even a PROPOSAL in the middle of the dance floor!

Day Two kicked off at The Pavilion stage with mimosas and two energy-packed sets from Ramblur and Raychill Sound as part of “Rise & Grind”, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Additional sets at The Pavilion from artists like Subarashi and Dhanajaya b2b Shreztah kept the energy going throughout the afternoon and into Day Two’s evening sessions. Shoutout to the VJ’s at The Pavilion as well, names like Ralph Jawn, Amoebaa, and Frontier Visuals were adding incredible visual components to these sets all weekend.

After the second installment of sunset fire performances, Night Two kicked off with some more insanity. Actual Garbage and Yum.Yum had The Barn rocking from the start. Later on, we then got one of the best Keota sets I’ve ever seen, packed with new IDs, VIPs, and fan-favorites from their 2022 No Hands album. This led into a beautiful 75-minute Tiedye Ky set and a monster 90-minute set from Esseks. Closing out The Barn, we were treated to a rare poetry set from DiCe MaN, which was a great comedown after his earlier set packed full of bangers.

The curation at Autumn Revival was top notch. There was a fantastic mix of both nationally-recognized artists as well as some of the top local names from each of the three festival organizer’s main hubs.

An Emphasis on Workshops & Activities

Autumn Revival was WAY more than just a music and camping festival. The emphasis that the organizers put on workshops for this event was greater here than at any other smaller camping festival I’ve attended. Oftentimes at other festivals, I would wake up at my campsite, grab some food and then hang out at the campsite until the music I wanted to see started up again. At Autumn Revival, there was so much to do outside of just listening to some fantastic sets.

You truly felt like you were at camp again. There were workshops where you could up-level your Kendama skills, learn about fire safety and Narcan training, or even discuss poetry with DiCe MaN. For the aspiring producers that attended Autumn Revival, Sol Good and Keota did a 90-minute bass music theory production workshop in The Barn, where anyone could learn new tips and tricks about sound design, arrangement, starting new ideas, and more. You could also learn about the ins and outs of wire wrapping, flow, tie-dying and more during the day. At night, Autumn Revival provided spaces for Movie Night as well as the ever-so-popular Frick Frack Black Jack table, where attendees could unwind for a bit if they needed a break from the music.

Whether you were looking to do something in particular or discover something completely new, Autumn Revival had you covered. One of the festival’s four pillars was “learning”, and there was plenty of that to go around.

Overall Experience

For the size of this festival (just under 500 attendees), Autumn Revival packed A TON into two days. The location at Camp Ramblewood was a perfect setting for this event. The combination of walkability and accessibility was excellent. Whether you were in one of the several cabins or camping out in the fields, you could tell that everyone who attended that festival felt connected in some way. Big shoutout to running water all weekend – it was very refreshing to have access to real toilets and showers, and many of the attendees I talked to throughout the weekend agreed.

Once the music concluded each night, people still wanted to be together in some capacity. Both nights saw many flock down to the lake during the late hours of the night, where there was a giant bonfire to keep everyone warm and recap the experiences people had. I also need to give a special shoutout to Cabin 4, where on Night Two, many attendees poured into this cabin where decks were set up. This turned into a mini festival within the festival, where anyone with a USB (both artists on the lineup and attendees) could plug in and keep the vibes going after the music at The Barn had concluded. This was an awesome cherry on top for a magical weekend.

If you’re looking for an action-packed festival where you get amazing music, tons of activities, and a feeling of belonging, I can’t recommend Autumn Revival enough. These organizers showed what is possible when different communities come together for the people and put on a spectacular event. They definitely set a standard that I hope more small event organizers adopt in 2024 and beyond, given that the costs of putting on a festival will likely continue to be very high.

Did you attend Autumn Revival? Let us know what you thought of this intimate, Fall gathering in the comments below or on our social media!

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