The Day Celebration

Homegrown Festival Gives Back to the Community

originally published May 7, 2008

What started as a vision shared by three friends and fellow UGA graduates has since matured into a sizable music event with a genuine homegrown heart. “Music is a moving, positive force that moves people in a positive direction,” says The Day Celebration coordinator Stan Harrison.

The festival was designed to be open to music enthusiasts while being accommodating for the whole family, as children 12 and under are admitted for free. In order to ensure an experience that is both safe and convenient, the grounds will include secure parking, a pre-designated family camping area, general and RV camping, an interactive “Kids Zone,” as well as 24-hour security.

The festivities will take place May 8–10 on the scenic hills of the 80-acre Triple-B farm in Buckhead, GA, approximately 30 minutes from Athens.

With an aversion towards the impersonal nature of overgrown corporate festivals, event organizers were inspired by the seminal music events of the ‘60s and ‘70s, where audience participation played just as much of a role in the overall festival experience as the performances themselves. In full entrepreneurial spirit, Harrison, along with co-founders Dave Hood and Jamie Miller (both musicians themselves), felt the need to create an intimate festival experience while giving back to the community. The response was immediate. "Not only was there a need," Harrison says, "but people were reaching out for it.” It wasn't long before Alvin Lee of The Lee Boys phoned Harrison requesting to be a part of the event. "Alvin called me up saying, 'We want to be part of this… What’s it going to take?'" Of course Harrison was happy to have The Lee Boys on board. The steel-guitar jam band with gospel roots has graced the stage of numerous prestigious events, including an opening slot at the Georgia Theatre supporting four-time Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi. They'll even be at Bonnaroo later this summer after headlining The Day Celebration mainstage May 9.

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Modeled after Idaho’s Jerry Fest and similar in musical scope to the Northeast’s annual Gathering of the Vibes festival (also a camp-out event that advocates environmental and social issues), The Day Celebration will showcase a variety of genres including bluegrass, funk, soul, R&B, jam, folk, rock and reggae. In addition to The Lee Boys, headliners at this year’s celebration will include Blueground Undergrass, Col. Bruce & the Quark Alliance, and Athens’ own DubConcious among the festival’s more than 20 performing artists. Positioned to be the next among Athens’ historic music lineage, DubConcious will headline the event armed with a non-violent militia of guest performers in what promises to be a landmark performance for the group. And don’t expect the music to end there; the inviting atmosphere of the festival will be sure to encourage spontaneous all-star collaborations and after-hours "campfire" jams. For the younger crowd, the "Kid’s Zone" will host a series of kids-only jam sessions in addition to arts and crafts, face painting and special performances by the festival’s visiting artists.

With approximately 1,200 people in attendance during the original festival in 2006 (which featured performances by Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic, Bobby Lee Rogers and Jeff Sipe, among others), festival organizers anticipate 2,000 concertgoers at this year’s Day Celebration if weather conditions are favorable. With all net proceeds being shared evenly between several charitable causes, Harrison is especially enthusiastic about meeting the expected turnout.

"It would make my year - and the same could be said for everyone else involved - if we could achieve a little something,” Harrison says. “Our mission is to give back to the community, and that’s the truth.”

It was in response to the growing needs of the community that Harrison, Hood, and Miller unanimously decided that a non-profit organization would be the most effective means for channeling their future endeavors of charitable outreach. Thus, the event organizers created the Fare Thee Well Foundation, a non-profit group that "fuses [their] pride for regional community with [their] love of the arts."

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When The Day Celebration launched in 2006, proceeds benefitted the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children. Now an ever-expanding hub for philanthropic activity, four additional charitable organizations are recognized under the auspices of the Fare Thee Well Foundation. “This year’s festival is a whole different animal in comparison to what we’ve done in the past,” says Harrison. In fact, when DubConcious was approached by Juxtapoz Magazine to perform at its “Veni Vidi Vici” issue release party in San Francisco, it was ultimately the charitable aspect of The Day Celebration that tipped the group’s decision in favor of headlining the festival instead of the party, vocalist/guitarist Adrian Zelski tells Flagpole.

Proceeds from this year's event will benefit the following charities: The Georgia Coalition to End Homelessness, committed to funding solutions surrounding homelessness since 1955; The Georgia Wildlife Foundation, concerned with the ecological effects of rampant and unfettered development; The Dogwood Alliance, a non-profit that advocates sustainable forestry in order to ensure Georgia’s rich biodiversity; and The Humane Society of Morgan County, a volunteer-driven organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals through education and legislative support, in addition to providing temporary housing and medical treatment for rescued and adopted pets. All participating organizations sponsored by the foundation emphasize advocacy and education as a vehicle for change and intend to raise awareness through their presence at the festival.

Throughout the three days of non-stop music, food, fun and charity, the festival’s organizers and participating artists hope to spread a message which is far greater than the sum of its parts: rejoicing through the healing power of music. “The Lee Boys have a message,” says Alvin Lee, “to touch people through our music. If we can touch one person, then we’ve done our part.” Harrison agrees, “Isn’t that what music is all about?”

Ryan Monahan

WHAT: The Day Celebration
WHERE: Triple-B Farm in Buckhead, GA
WHEN: Thursday, May 8–Saturday, May 10
HOW MUCH: $75 (weekend), $45–$50 (single day)

Thursday, May 8, 2008

• 6:30 p.m. Brian Burgess
• 7:00 p.m. Rebecca Jean Smith & Johnny Evans
• 7:35 p.m. Funkle Fatback
• 8:15 p.m. Sound Punch!
• 8:50 p.m. The Planet Riders
• 9:25 p.m. ToyTV
• 10:00 p.m. The Dappled Grays

Friday, May 9, 2008

• 12:00 noon Boldermonkey
• 12:45 p.m. Electric Codpiece
• 1:45 p.m. Soulhound
• 3:00 p.m. Big City Sunrise
• 4:30 p.m. Laura Reed & Deep Pocket
• 6:15 p.m. Donna Hopkins Band
• 8:00 p.m. The Lee Boys
• 10:00 p.m. Blueground Undergrass
• Special Late Acoustic: The Ramblers playing Dead’s Reckoning

Saturday, May 10, 2008

• 11:00 a.m. Stop Drop & Roll
• 1:00 p.m. The Squirrelheads
• 2:45 p.m. Ralph Roddenbery Band
• 4:30 p.m. Deep Blue Sun
• 6:15 p.m. Speakeasy
• 8:00 p.m. Col. Bruce & the Quark Alliance
• 10:00 p.m. DubConscious
• Special Late "Family Jam"

For last minute changes and announcements visit www.thedaycelebration.com.