The High Sierra Music Festival is an annual four-day music celebration that has been going on for 18 years.  It takes place in Quincy, a small town in Northern California, usually in the first weekend of July.  This year it was July 3-6.  It’s a camping festival, which means that you camp right on the fairgrounds where the music takes place.   That also means that there is music happening literally everywhere around you for four days.

Being from Portland, attending the High Sierra Music Festival (HSMF) can be a hell of a commitment, due to the length of the festival, the intensity of the hot weather, the high cost of the weekend, and either the length of the drive down or the lack of equipment you end up with if you fly.  Despite these challenges, most of my music-loving friends  jump at a chance to attend each year, because.. well, it’s amazing!!

The only other time I’ve attended HSMF was five years ago when I wasn’t a very experienced festival goer.  Back then, it was hot (over 100 degrees every day), busy, intense, and uncomfortable.  I hadn’t learned how to pace myself since there is incredible music basically any time of the day or night, so it was tough not to want to see all of it.  I ran myself ragged and ended up overly exhausted, sick, and it took a long time to recover.

This year, my girlfriend Christy and I had a much better plan.  Many of our friends were volunteers for “Team Quench”, which provides drinks and ice to the attendees.  Volunteering meant that you get a free festival pass, you get to arrive and set up a day early, and can even make some money.  But each day you work two 2-hour shifts which can sometimes interrupt a busy day of music.  Christy and I decided not to volunteer since we wanted the full HSMF experience.  Luckily though, our working friends helped us out by arriving the day before the festival opened and reserving an incredible camping spot for us.  The spot was in among our friends and was perfectly central to all the stages for music.  It was under a big covered structure and even had a circulating fan to help keep our area cool.  Our friends even hooked us up with free ice for our cooler!  We were so spoiled!

Since wild forest fires were raging through Northern California, the air quality in Quincy was pretty bad.  Some days were better than others, but overall the air was thick and full of dust and smoke.  However, this did produce some spectacular light for shooting.  I managed to get my camera out several times during the festival to try and document its unique and beautiful imagery.  When you get so many creative and fun-loving people in such a small space, imagination is the only limitation.  There were parades, costumes, dancing, cute kids, performances (of course), and I had a big challenge trying to keep up.  Since it wasn’t a photography trip, but a personal one, I tried to keep my camera out of my hands through most of the festival.  But I put together a big gallery of my favorite results.  Enjoy!