Extending the jam

Colorful attendees, music jams and a splendid piece of sacred land around Lake Concow characterized the inaugural Sacred Movement Healing Arts and Music Festival this past weekend (June 27-29). Though the event was held at the same place and over the same customary weekend as the Wild Mountain Faire, the Sacred Movement Fest is something completely new. (Wild Mountain organizers say their previously annual event will return next summer at a new, yet-to-be-determined location.)

Sacred Movement is organized by the Konkow Partnership, a company of area artists and activists dedicated to preserving the campground and putting on events there. The event managed to retain the organic community vibe of its predecessor—an unusual move among larger festivals that tend to leave their humble beginnings in the dust as they bulk up in size and corporate sponsorships.

I joined the party on Saturday, finding the woods around the lake transformed into a comfortable, idyllic setting for the several hundred like-minded souls whose mission was to enjoy the sublime scene with their families and friends. Even a sourpuss neighbor who demanded that the fest turn off its amplified music a half hour early didn’t dampen the spirits of those gathered.

There, festival-goers enjoyed the rhythmic grooviness of many musical wizards offering melodic tunes that morphed into unscripted, genre-bending jams. A trio of festival-seasoned Bay Area performers—New Monsoon, Tracorum and High Beamz—were augmented this day by a bevy of vital local acts including Swamp Zen, Bogg, Wolf Thump and Lush Baby. Friday and Sunday also included some vibrant national touring acts, such as Jelly Bread, Delhi 2 Dublin and Indubious, as well as a strong turnout of Chico-area favorites including The Resonators, The Bumptet, Electric Canyon Convergence, Sofa King, Low Flying Birds, Dylan’s Dharma and The LoLos.

The festival was nicely laid out across the large campground, with eclectic and crafty vendors circling most of the main gathering areas, with separate sections for arts, food, a giant campfire circle, kids’ activities, the live construction of a giant cob oven, plus spur trails to “The Point,” and to the sweat house lodge. The central gathering and grooving spot, of course, was the clearing in front of the two large, fully rigged lake stages.

It was a thriving, laughing, hugging community, with fine foods being stirred up in the camps and by organic vendors, and constant music to sway along with. “Loving faces and sweet embraces at every turn,” observed festival-goer Jacia Kornwise.

Out on The Point—which is also lakeside but somewhat isolated from the main festival grounds—was the Rhizosphere stage, which hosted a beguiling buffet of DJ-delivered electronica and dance beats that were consumed by chilled-out onlookers and a whole host of artistic dancers. The area was inspired by the nutrient-rich region around plant roots to which the stage name refers, “where the roots of a plant make subtle contact with water and nutrients,” said local musician and producer Hap Hathaway, who helped organize the festival. “We feel there is a place like that between the artist on a stage and the people observing them.”

Much like its predecessor, Sacred Movement was as much about tradition, community spirit and pride as it was about music. And the festival family and crew, which numbered about 100, aim to recognize the area’s native inhabitants, the Konkow Valley band of Maidu.

“We work very hard to honor the original Maidu ways,” Hathaway said. “The organizers of the original Wild Mountain Faire decided to do something new with their event. We decided that the community had given too much support over the years for us not to continue the tradition of this show, at this place, on this weekend. So we came up with a new name and some new surprises.”

Festival musician Alli Battaglia praised the continuing of the tradition. “I am thankful to the Konkow Partnership for pulling together, preserving that land and keeping the festival alive,” she said. “They have worked hard and they really came through for us all.”