Bobolink Music Festival

It must have been downright tough to find a party-going hippie in Chico last weekend. A little over an hour up Highway 70 towards Quincy, Belden Town was hosting the 4th annual Bobolink Music Festival; four days of camping and music, catering to those who prefer their rock with a healthy side of jam.

What begun with a few Chico bands in the woods a couple of years back has grown into a legit miniature hippie fest, with national headliners rounding out the roster of smaller, west coast circuit newcomers. Boasting two outside stages with pro sound and lighting, one stage situated inside the town’s bar/restaurant/biker hangout, plenty of space for camping, enough porta-potties and a fair showing of vendors, Bobolink has matured nicely. The entirety of Belden Town, located on the banks of the Feather River, had been rented out for Bobolink, and its closed road (open only to fire trucks, park and rec vehicles and festival patrons and workers) provided plenty of seclusion to do pretty much whatever you wanted, be it hiking, dancing or otherwise indulging in the heady festival atmosphere.



Another of Bobolink’s developments was its musical diversity. Though funky grooves still set the tone for the weekend, this year’s lineup was not limited to strictly dirt-twirling jams. While the skies opened up Friday night, a hip-hop set from The Grouch and Eli of the Living Legends crew drew heads out of their busses and tents with quick-spit couplets and conscious flows. The JJ Cady Trio played several sets of bluegrass and country-folk, and Gamelan X added an even more special spice, performing the bell and percussion-based Indonesian gamelan music. Though their predominantly pale skin may have hinted otherwise, the knowingly named Albino! pounded through two sets of authentic sounding Afrobeat — a mixture of American funk, jazz and West African rhythms. DJs also rocked long sets of electro, spinning dub-step, deep bass, house and more. But as one would imagine, there was plenty of grooving jazz and funky jam rock, the highlight easily being On The One, a San Diegan funk-heavy jazz/soul quartet composed of former members of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and Giant People. They killed it twice over, ending their second set by adding an organic instrumental layer over Daft Punk’s “Harder Better Faster Stronger.”

The weekend weather was a bit cold and rainy for this time of year, catching more than a few campers ill-prepared (myself included), but this did little to impede the good times. Bobolink is nothing less than the perfect warm-up for the summer festival season ahead.  

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