MOON RIVER MUSIC FESTIVAL : 06.07.2014
i guess i sort of thought coming back after the festival weekend would feel more like ...relief? we had monday to recover, and "summer fridays" (half day fridays) start on friday (tomorrow), so a three and a half day work week? what will we even do with ourselves now that the festival is over?
all the things on your "hold off until after the festival" list, is what. because that was a thing i apparently forgot about.
but, the festival!
it's been a dream of drew's for a long time to throw a music festival in his hometown of memphis because, hometown pride and all that, as seen in
. saturday felt a little bit like magic, watching that dream come true.
we pulled it off, you guys! but not without the help of so many people–drew, his family, my bosses, our interns, my coworkers, sponsors, vendors, volunteers, friends, fans, anyone who bought tickets, anyone who told their friends about it. "it takes a village," my boss kept saying. it was never something we could've done by ourselves, and it was so incredible to watch it come together, thanks to the help of our village.
// friday night, we had a VIP party for sponsors and the few who purchased the "neighbor" VIP ticket package. dinner, drinks, and an acoustic set by drew + ellie.
// my view from the merch tent. it was still early in the day when i took this, but it was the moment i looked up and noticed.
look at all those people
.
i work on albums and tours and never really see the other side of it. the fans who hear the music for the first time or sing along to their favorite songs at shows. but on this day, i got to see how everything came together. i got to see the bands on stage and all the faces in the crowd. i got to hear the music and see who sang (and danced) along. i got to talk to some of them as they bought things to remember the day. it was incredible to experience all that hard work paying off.
// the forecast was not showing pretty things for saturday, and by friday, the percentages for rain (all day) and afternoon thunderstorms were pretty high. fortunately, no one really knows what they're talking about when it comes to the weather and we had a gloriously hot and sunny day, followed by a sunset to match the lights in the shell.
// this was a real thing that happened. two songs into drew's set (the last of the night), that thunderstorm came rolling in. we paused, let it pass, and kept going. it was only about a thirty minute delay, which was amazing, considering.
// drew ended the night by singing his version of "moon river" and we lit lanterns and released them into the sky. talk about
magical
.
// BONUS. our eggs the next morning were so lovingly prepared by the one and only, EL.