SweetWater MudFest 2015
This year’s SweetWater 420 Fest was an overwhelming success.
Although the cost of that success was the greenery of Centennial Olympic Park in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. Luckily, grass can grow back! And there’s plenty of nice and freshly tilled earth to sod a new layer. On Friday, the rain pretty much didn’t let up all night. Since the event started later that day, it was already dark out before we could even notice much mud. The crowd was much more dense at the main stage that night for Beats Antique, Thievery Corporation, and Snoop Dogg. I didn’t venture around the venue much other than to the beer tent and back. It was immediately clear 420 Fest was a beer festival! Beer was so easy to buy with tents at all corners of the venue. There were also bars for liquor, wine, soda and water. At some festivals, I choose not to drink simply because lines at the few bars are so long. That definitely wasn’t a problem at Centennial last weekend! I never found myself feeling thirsty.
Upon arrival Saturday, I had flashbacks to Waka 2013. I shuttered at the sight of a sea of mud…which was pretty much the whole area in front of the main stage. Unlike Waka, there were things like lovely side walks, trees and wood-chipped areas throughout the venue to offer refuge from the mud. The day time on Saturday was a great opportunity to check out the rest of the venue. I discovered my favorite area of the whole fest, take a guess, the Not So Silent Disco stage! This stage was curated by Liquified, one of Atlanta’s primer EDM companies. Not only was this stage where I got my house music fix but it was also clear of all mud! It was a cool area with shaded, elevated seating around a cement floor level that had turf grass in the middle. Plus, there was a weird disco ball mannequin thing on top of the stage ushering us forth to dance!I did, however, brave the mud for my favorite wacky bass player! Primus was perfect! My group staked out a slipper side slope spot and had a great view of the main stage. As the sun went down, things got progressively more weird…as they always should at a Primus show or any festival for that matter. I truly appreciated that moment more than any other the whole weekend. Despite the spotty rain and overwhelming mud, everyone was thoroughly enjoying their time. It was a beautiful celebration of the spring, music, beer, food, culture and most importantly, friendship. The rain cleared for a little while. Everyone’s eyes were drawn up to the skyline. Centennial Olympic Park has a great view of a great city and was a perfect spot for the fest. Sunday was another day with mixed rain and even a little sunshine! People were more prepared for the mud, which was good because it didn’t go anywhere. The final day of the festival was met with the same awesome crowd, staff and artists. I love the third day of a festival. Everyone finally has a solid grasp on the lay of the land, they know where the best port-a-potties are, they’re ready to splurge on that funnel cake and poised to enjoy the final performances to the fullest! SweetWater 420 Fest ended with a bang! 311 fans flocked to the main stage all day. They grooved during Slightly Stoopid then raged while their favorite band closed up the event. I opted to check out one of my favorite female DJs, Anna Lunoe from Australia back at the Not So Silent Disco! It was great to introduce her body movin’ tunes to some friends. Oh, and it rained during her set…maybe my favorite moment of the fest…shoes off dancing in the rain on the turf to some bass-y house music!
It was a successful weekend! I’m excited to see what the brewery and its partners can pull off next year. I wish a speedy quick recovery to Centennial Olympic Park, it was a beautiful host.
