The Tales of a Concert Junkie - Arroyo Seco Weekend | June 24 & 25
- Reanna Hilario
- Jun 27, 2017
- 9 min read
Hang loose because we're partying on an island in the sun...
When Goldenvoice first announced the Arroyo Seco Weekend Music Festival, I was ecstatic. The lineup was incredible and it was only minutes from where I'm from. I'm a huge fan of live music, so I knew I needed to get my hands on a pair of tickets.
When I looked at the prices, my then broke college self was upset I couldn't afford it. I spoke to my Promotions Coordinator and told her, "If I can't get tickets, I want to work the event. Let me work a hit for this. PLEASE." Eventually, months went by and I still didn't know if I was going to work the event or not. Finally, the schedules came out. I was working the event - but not the normal Jack hits you see on the street at concerts or food places. No. This time I was working the social media. To my little recently college grad heart, that was a big deal. I immediately started planning the weekend out - stressing over what to wear, who to see, what to document for the Jack Instagram, etc.
It was myself and Carla from AMP who were to work the Jack social media page. I had arrived at the venue first since Carla had an AMP work event to do prior to coming to the festival. There were several things I noticed when I first walked in. One, it was hot. So hot that I wanted to run back to my car and go home to where the cool A/C was. Two, I was attending my first big music festival. I love live music, but you’ll probably find me at a smaller, more intimate venue, not at an overwhelming large music festival. One of the best shows I've been to was when I saw The Moth & The Flame at The Constellation Room in Santa Ana. So coming to a music festival this big (by yourself for that matter), was extremely nerve wracking and overwhelming. There was so much to look at, so many different places to go. Three, although I was freaking out, the atmosphere was welcoming. The first band of the day was already doing sound check and I knew I was ready for the live music. Lastly, I was hungry.
I made my way towards the food at the greens area. I figured if I'm going to be spending an 8+ hour day at the music festival, in the HEAT, I'd have to fill up first. I'm going to be honest; I spent about twenty minutes walking back and forth down the row of food stands trying to figure out what I was going to eat. I ended up going across the bridges and scoping out the stages and other food booths before I made my way back to the main food stands area. There was a crazy amount of amazing food choices to pick from! I ended up picking the fried rice dish and cold brew mango green tea from Fat Dragon LA. 10/10 would recommend (not sponsored, I promise. The food was just THAT good).
I laugh when I think about this moment because as I was receiving my food order, it started raining. Yes, you read that right - raining. And not just any little drizzle. I mean large droplets of rain that almost made it difficult to see with my sunnies on. Of course my first priority was to save the food. The servers at the booth were so nice and got me a to go box so my food wouldn't get soaked. The rain only lasted for about five minutes, but with the heat, it was refreshing to get some rain.
I happily ate my food at one of the park benches and did my little social media thing and waited for Carla to get there. Once she did, we started to explore the rest of the venue. We passed by each of the stages, soaking in the live music. The first day was filled with a ton of groovy, funky artists. Walking around the area just left me with a feeling of utter happiness and joy. Carla and I were dancing along to the music as we made our way to the Sycamore stage. We were blessed enough to get media/press wristbands for the weekend, so we tried our luck to see what places we could get into. Carla and I put a cool face on and walked up to the VIP area, flashed our wristbands and walked right in. We giggled and shared a look of triumph on our faces as we walked into the VIP area. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. I never really found the need to get VIP tickets for anything, so it was all fun and games for me and Carla and that weekend.
Since we didn’t really know much about who was playing that day, Carla and I spent most of the afternoon soaking up the sun and enjoying the live music from the VIP section. I even ran into one of my music fraternity brother’s from college. It slipped my mind that he was attending that day, so it was nice to run into him and catch up. We talked about how stoked we were to see Alabama Shakes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – the two biggest artists of the first day.
We later met up with a few of our office coworkers. They got drinks and we took a bunch of festival vibe-y pictures. If you didn’t take a picture, did you even go to the festival?
After that, we grabbed a bite to eat and then made our way over to the Oaks stage to get ready for Alabama Shakes. Ever since I discovered them back in 2013, I’ve been a fan. Their music is groovy and vibe-y and Brittany Howard (lead singer) has a phenomenal voice and impeccable stage presence. Plus, she’s a killer guitar player. Talk about #goals. I’ve always been told that Alabama Shakes was just one of those bands you need to see perform live. I didn’t know what I expected, but I was blown away by their performance. They got so into their music and got the crowd up and moving. The once open standing area was filled like a pack of sardines.
I thought the venue couldn’t get more packed, but once Tom Petty took the stage, it was almost impossible to maneuver around. The audience went so far back it almost reached the Sycamore stage (which was at the complete opposite end of the park). Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were amazing live. I actually knew more songs of his than I thought. Carla was singing along to Free Fallin’ at the top of her lungs and I was swaying along to the beat. But all too soon, the last chord of the song was strung and the last note was sung and day one of Arroyo Seco Weekend was over. I went home that night with a smile on my face and an eager excitement to get back the next day.
I was exhausted the morning of the second day. I thought about all my friends who have been to three-day weekend festivals and I wondered how they survived it. I was already so tired after one day. Plus, how did they survive the heat? As someone who loves the colder weather, standing in the heat all day was torture. But I pushed through it because, hello, live music!
If you can believe me, day two of Arroyo Seco Weekend was even more fantastic than the first. The lineup was filled with artists I already knew, some I even knew too well. I made a joke on twitter that morning that I had to be running back and forth between stages just to make sure I didn’t miss any of the sets of the bands/artists I wanted to see that day. I had it all planned out – start with The Mowgli’s at The Oaks stage, run over to the Sycamore stage to see The Revivalists, run back to Oaks to see Fitz & The Tantrums, head back to Sycamore to catch Andrew Bird, run over to Oaks to make sure I don’t miss Weezer, make one last trip to Sycamore stage to see The Shins, and then finally end up back at The Oaks stage to finish off the night with Mumford & Sons. What I didn’t realize was that running in the heat was going to dehydrate me and exhaust me to the point that I didn’t care to walk anymore and that once you got good standing area, you didn’t want to give it up.
The second day went the same as the first day, just with more artists to see. Carla and I started our day at The Oaks stage to see The Mowgli’s. Believe me when I say, I ADORE these guys. I’ve seen them so many times before. They’re just happy good vibe-y people with fun and inspirational music. I danced my little heart out and sang the words to every song and just had a great time.
We had some time to kill before The Revivalists were to take the stage, so Carla and I decided to take a trip for some early dinner. While I grubbed on poke and Carla snacked on dairy-free ice cream, we waited for the Revivalists to take the stage. I had loved them before, especially their hit song, Wish I Knew You. But seeing them live made me love them even more. They’re so talented. Even if it was nearly 102 degrees out, they still captivated a whole audience. They’re from New Orleans and their music captures the pure essence of the live music you would hear if you were walking the streets. The Revivalists perform soulful rock tunes that get you up on your feet, dancing and swaying to the beat. When their set finished, I knew that I had to see them perform live again.
Once they finished, Carla and I made our way back to The Oaks stage and danced and clapped our hands to Fitz and The Tantrums. Once there, we made the tough decision to just stay where we were in order to not lose the spots we were standing in. We were in the VIP section and had an unblocked view and breathing room to see the performances and we did not want to give that up. So we took turns saving the spot for each other. I took a trip to the bathroom – which by the way, in the VIP section, the bathrooms are fancy trailers with A/C. I didn’t even know these types of porta-potties existed. On my way to the bathroom, I ran into Colin Dieden, one of the lead singers of The Mowgli’s. I saw him walking towards me and but couldn’t believe it was him. The only thing that came out of my mouth was his name which came out as more of a question. Colin stopped when he saw me, said hi and gave me a hug. He was so sweet and so kind. I tried not to freak out too much, so I just had a small conversation with him and told him how much I appreciate the band and their music. It was such a surreal moment.
After that, I just had a giant smile on my face. Carla and I rocked out to Weezer and sung along to each song at the top of our lungs. Weezer is such a cool band. Holy heck, it is crazy how fun they are in concert. They just commanded everyone’s attention. They rocked out on stage and played all their hits. Everyone around me was having a blast.
When Mumford and Sons came on, I wasn’t emotionally ready. The sun had set my then and the stars were twinkling high above us. It was the perfect moment – live music under the stars. The vibe was set and Mumford and Sons were to take the stage at any moment. I’ve loved their music ever since my high school best friend, Maegan, showed me who they were. I soon became obsessed with the Babel album. I listened to it on repeat for months. I’ve dreamt of seeing them live and the day finally came. The band walked onto the stage, fog machines blowing behind them; the ambiance and lighting all set. The first guitar chord was strummed and the spotlight shined on Marcus Mumford. My heart was racing and he started to sing. I didn’t want their set to end. I hugged myself and admirably watched them perform as I quietly sang along to each song. I was captivated by their musicianship and the importance each instrument had in the song. My little music nerd heart was enjoying every moment of the show. When they came back for their encore songs, I almost cried. There are just those artists or certain songs that move you and I Will Wait was one of those songs. Their set finally ended and I walked towards my car with ease and happiness in my heart.
Arroyo Seco Weekend was an absolute grand affair. I was excited I got to be a part of something so new and amazing. As a concert junkie, seeing each of the different artists perform was such a privilege and a blessing. Always support bands and their music. Music spreads love and happiness and brings people together. I was so honored to spend my weekend documenting such a great event. I do hope that this becomes an annual event because you bet you’ll see me at the next one. Maybe by then I’d have figured out a way to beat the heat.
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