Festivals can be a sketchy affair for all parties involved. The appeal of a festival is to escape reality for however short a time. To be culture shocked out of the shell of the everyday grind and at the 1sta annual Dexfest the appeal was mutual for both festival goer as well as promoter.

Held on 7 acres outside of Dandrige TN, Dexfest promised to be the close friends, great music, and great atmosphere escape that we all hoped for. What Dex and company wished to achieve was set in their mind from the jump and though experience in getting there was in short supply, hospitality and good vibes were overflowing. We were greeted as we arrived on day one by Doug Palmer who proceeded to show us the camp grounds that were play host to Dexfest. The main stage located at the west of the Sherwin Oaks Campgrounds was backdropped with an explosion of color and various stands that would turn into the honeycomb light displays. The second stage was still blanketed under the yet to be raised tent at the east of the campgrounds. A few of the early arriving attendees had bedded down in their tents and campers lining the front of the camp grounds as Dex and his crew continued to prepare until the early morning. We finished setting up our camp as the sun began to rise above the trees. With the first act scheduled to perform at noon we all retired to our tents to rest up for the first day of Dexfest.

All photos take by Charles Tremblay.

Canago
To the unsuspecting eye Canago would appear to be another Jam Band making the rounds, but upon closer listening pop influence can be found at the depths of their chord progression and pacing. Each of the five pieces of Canago blend together to the point that if one of them were to leave the band would have to break up from the lack of reliance that it seems this band has built on one another.

Discordian Society
Mixing samples over live instrumentation Discordian Society brought the best of both worlds to the 2nd stage @ Dexfest. Deep bass lines and swirling synths built up to over the top choruses as each song faded into the next on an extended set that neither artist nor concert goer seemed anxious to see end. Though Discordian Society kept their set inline with the House Music theme of the festival, from the sound of their set this band has the potential to take any of many artistic avenues.

Dex vs. Juice
Seeing as tit was his birthday as well as his fest Dex pulled out all the stops, spinning one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Remixing a slew of southern rap hits from as old as a decade ago, Dex and Juice kept the party moving at light spped making the 2nd stage the main attraction for the better part of two hours. As Dex ended his set and prepared to exit stage a round of applause erupted confirming the party had indeed started.

Silver Machine
Having the same set time as the host of the festival left Silver Machine to play to the few that were determined to see all of the music at the event. Silver Machine choose to give Dexfest what it craved, superior live music. Using Theremin controller guitarist Chris Tanfield strung out single notes to brink of their staying power. At the end of the set Chris raised a beer in the air and announced ‘Happy birthday Dex, How are you feeling Dexfest?’, judging by the response they were definitely feeling Silver Machine.

Uprise
Often time a DJ/Drummer set up the drummer can played the background to the power of a macbooks versatility, but this was not the case with Uprise. Uprises drummer gave a bit of humanity to a type of music that can sometimes lack it, controlling the feel of the set in a way that a drum machine can never duplicate. The foundation of this bands sound is built around the stocks synths that echoed from the speakers, the bricks and mortar of the band is the drummer and bassist.

Random Rabbit
With sets running late Random Rabbit attempted to keep the crowd moving till four in the morning. The first day of Dexfest felt as though it were coming to a close early as many people retired to their sites, but the crowd picked up as Chronicles of the Landsquid’s set came to a close.

Two Fresh
After a brief sound check Two Fresh began to spin just after 4:30 (The initial set list had them scheduled at 2:00). Visible agitated Two Fresh began to pump remixes of Throw some D’s and Doom’s Potholders. Finding their groove after the first 20 minutes Two Fresh brought the insomniacs out of their tents filling up the coverd area of the main stage. After getting pushed back for two hours Two Fresh pushed forward to put on a set to rival any other at Dexfest.

Total Recall
Total Recall played host to a thinning crowd. TR’s arsenal seemed to consist of speed up drums that never dropped below 160 and at 5:30 in the morning he may have brought to much energy to a Dexfest crowd that was on it’s 16th hour.

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