It’s hard to find the kind of escape from reality presented by the annual Suwannee Hulaween music and arts festival.
With the 800-acre Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park as its backdrop, the four-day Halloween weekend event removes all the trappings of “normal” society: the towering buildings, the sprawling suburbs, the traffic jams and chain restaurants.
Instead, festival attendees are transported to a place where music and art have their own little world to thrive in the woods. It’s a space where “Happy Hulaween” is a common greeting, where people are free to dress how they want, kick their shoes off and dance to jam bands, DJs and bluegrass artists alike.
After hearing about this festival from enough friends who raved about it, I decided to finally check it out for the festival’s 12th year with a few friends, one of whom has now attended seven Hulaween festivals.
We quickly discovered that even with four days, it was hard to do and see everything. From Spirit Lake with myriad art installations to a schedule packed with more than 80 acts on five stages, here’s a taste of how my first Hulaween went.
CloZee and LSDREAM come together to form LDZEE at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Nov. 1. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
The Music
When friends asked who I was most excited about seeing at Hulaween, I could pick out a few acts I was familiar with, but mostly said I was going for the vibe. I was also curious to see another set from DJ Illenium, who closed out EDC Orlando last year, a special DJ set from singer and rapper Anderson .Paak, two sets from jam band Goose and headliner The String Cheese Incident.
Like any good jam band, “The Cheese” has somewhat of a cult following and is known for their unique sound influenced by bluegrass, rock, country, jazz and electronic music. With more than 30 years of experience playing as a band together, they captivated the crowd with six sets of soaring guitar solos, driving keyboards, energetic percussion and high-caliber production, which was especially true during their final set of the weekend.
The String Cheese Incident performs at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Oct. 31. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
A special themed Halloween performance on Saturday night transported the audience to “Club Transylvania” for a set that featured all covers, including the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” and Rob Zombie’s “Dragula.” The performance was enhanced by an aerialist wearing a disco ball costume, powerful female vocalists and choreographed dancers clad in red.
In the more contemporary jam scene, Goose delivered a funky and skillful performance to close out the festival on Sunday night. Each song would begin with a few verses and a chorus or two before launching into a full-fledged jam that built to a crescendo before ultimately coming back to the main form. The pacing was just right and, even on day four, the crowd still danced for nearly three hours.
Electronic music producer Illenium performs a headlining set at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Oct. 31. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Pacing was also key in many of the DJ sets, including Illenium, who seemed to know exactly when to enthrall the crowd with a bassy drop and pyrotechnic bursts over the stage before bringing people back down to earth to catch their breath.
Another pleasant surprise was discovering LSZEE, a collaboration between producers CloZee and LSDREAM. Bassy electronic and dubstep music with tribal percussion had the crowd wiggling and wobbling throughout the entire set. Other highlights from the weekend’s EDM lineup included Mersiv, Tape B and Zeds Dead.
Unfortunately, the DJ Pee .Wee set by Anderson .Paak was at the same time, meaning we only got to catch about 15 minutes of old-school hip hop and disco songs mashed up with more modern music, accompanied by a trumpet player.
Anderson .Paak performs as DJ Pee .Wee at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Nov. 1. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
The Disco Biscuits, SunSquabi, Moe. and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead were all welcome discoveries in the jam band lineup. Dogs In A Pile deserves a special shoutout for being one of my favorite sets of the weekend. Even though they played in the wee hours of Saturday night, they brought an immense amount of energy and presence, moving the crowd to dance through lengthy jams that spanned genres and styles. An honorable mention goes to Pigeon’s Playing Ping Pong, which also ranked among my favorite jam band sets of the weekend.
Moe. performs a nighttime jam band set at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Oct. 30. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
My only regret is that I didn’t see more of the bluegrass acts on the lineup, such as Molly Tuttle and Shadowgrass. We did, however, catch a dynamic set from The Infamous Stringdusters with Sierra Hull. The band even brought out String Cheese Incident guitarist Bill Nershi for a song, just one of many welcome surprises throughout the weekend.
A witch figure is enhanced with projection mapping at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Nov. 2. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
The Art
More than just a music festival, Hulaween does a great job of immersing attendees in art through installations scattered around Spirit Lake.
All of the installations, many of which feature projection mapping and interactive capabilities, were themed “The Radiant Veil,” examining the “dance of light and shadow.” All told, the area was created with the combined talents of more than 40 artists.
In one area called Incendia, fire spinners and performers appeared on a stage next to domes that shot fire out of the top. Another side stage featured shadow puppet shows adjacent to a tall witch sculpture that took on new shapes when illuminated with a projector.
A nightly light show is one of the focal points of the Spirit Lake area at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Nov. 2. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Other installations featured gems that lit up with the sounds of a keyboard, a mural maze and a space for aerial performers.
The lake show is one of the biggest focal points of the Spirit Lake area. At times, projection mapping over a misty water screen made “The Oracle” appear and answer people’s questions. Other time slots featured a light and laser show set to music with different themes.
One of the best parts about Spirit Lake is the number of nooks and crannies available to explore. While the House of Lost appears as a “gothic gathering space” for bands, DJs and performing arts, it also has a speakeasy room off to the side. An adjacent area with a secret connecting path featured large “bird houses” with interior spaces for sitting and projection mapping on the outside.
Fans of EDM music were also enthralled by the “Off Limits” stage, which featured a circular area with speakers and pyrotechnics on all sides. Every drop had lights gyrating wildly and fire bursting over the crowd, a welcome amenity during such a cold weekend.
Cookie Monster is one costume seen at the 12th annual Hulaween music, art and camping festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak on Oct. 30. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)
Festival Pro Tips
Camp with a group. Any festival is better with friends, especially ones who can show up early and secure a great camping site.
Bring a bandana or pashmina scarf. The dust kicked up by thousands of attendees makes the festival a place ripe for sinus infections.
Explore the vendors. Mom and pop shops and independent artists travel to festivals to sell clothing, jewelry and other festival accessories, not to mention plenty of excellent eats from food vendors.
Hydrate. Drinking water helps with marathon days and nights of music that can last 12 hours or more from start to finish.
Explore the venue. The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is a site steeped in lore and legend, with abundant oak trees dripping with Spanish moss and riverfront access.
Do your homework, but embrace surprises. It’s good to have ideas in mind for bands to see, but be prepared to deviate from the plan anytime the beat moves you to another stage.
Take the time to interact. A vast majority of festival-goers are respectful and friendly. Get to know your neighbors in camp or in the pit.
Document the moments, but live in them too. It’s a delicate balance between taking photos and videos and savoring the memories in real time.
Wear a costume! It is Halloween weekend, after all. But don’t forget to pack comfortable shoes and layers. It can be chilly.
Know where your spot is. “Totems” help locate groups in the audience. It’s worth remembering waypoints for walking back to camp.
Closing Thoughts
After attending my first Hulaween, I can see why devotees hold the festival in such high regard. While the lineup typically attracts a healthy mix of jam band enthusiasts of all ages and younger EDM fans, it’s the overall atmosphere, the venue, the people and art that also keep fans coming back for more.
At the festival, we encountered people from as far away as Colorado, Wisconsin and even Brazil. The event and the venue have a gravitational pull that can’t quite be defined; it’s the kind of thing that you have to experience for yourself.
“It’s something you start planning for the minute you leave,” said Tony Brier, a member of our camp, noting the event is some people’s main vacation for the year. “It says something about how magical this is that we spend all this money just to do this.”
Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com. Stay up to date with our latest travel, arts and events coverage by subscribing to our newsletters at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.
