MF #23
Moonrise 2018
Date
August 11th, 2018
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
Reason
Sneak
I was back in Baltimore for family obligations on the exact same weekend as Moonrise Music Festival. This was a multi day EDM music festival at Pimlico Racetrack, right in the middle of Baltimore City. While the lineup looked great, I was in rough shape financially. I couldn’t afford the $150 single day ticket, but I had a feeling if I went down there, I could use my production knowledge to find a way inside.
I went down to the venue early. If you want to sneak in, go early. The earlier the better. I arrived around noon, later than I had planned but still a full hour before the gates were set to open. I avoided the lines at will call and the already crowded front entrance and made my way around the back of the venue. I was in search of the production lot.
I made sure to look the part. I had black shorts, a black shirt, a black flat brim hat and my black Camelbak backpack. I finished off the look with an old staff wristband from Electric Forest. Dressed as just another worker, I began wandering around the production lot looking for people who might be willing to help me out.
I found a guy standing by himself next to a road case. I went up and made small talk, asked him what his company did, and told him I was in the production world as well. He told me they set up TV screens showing festival maps and advertisements around the venue. I told him how I worked in audio production, and we quickly started sharing war stories from different events. Now that I had a friend, I admitted that I didn’t have a ticket and asked if he could possibly point me in the right direction.
He told me I could help him pull the TV into the venue. He couldn’t guarantee anything, but he said we could give it a try. The two of us went on either end of the roadcase and started pushing it towards the venue. There was security at the staff entrance. We were going to get checked. The security guard lady saw we were pushing a case, yelled at us to show our wristbands, and hardly even glanced at us as I waved my Electric Forest wristband in the air.
Once we were on the other side, I gave my new friend a fistbump and slipped into the crowd. I knew I could get inside. Going through the back entrance allowed me to bring my camera. I texted a few friends and let them know the good news. The old crowd was back in action. Both Dave and Sydnee would be coming to this show.
While I waited for my friends to arrive, I got my barings of the festival grounds only to find Tica’s Tacos. I went up and said hello to JB, Mario, Dustin, and the rest of the crew. Thousands of miles away and I was seeing familiar faces. The festival community is the best. I had gotten in for free, now I was eating for free.
Photographing from the moshpit at the Solar Tent
With lunch out of the way and still no friends in sight, I went into photographer mode. I checked out all the different stages, doing my best to get as close and as central as possible. I found myself in several different mosh pits. Just a few hours in and I was having a blast.
Sydnee was the first to arrive, showing up in the afternoon. We wandered around the venue and said hello to her old boss Mehul. We got to his tent right before they made the call to evacuate the venue. A thunderstorm was rapidly approaching and the entire crowd needed to go. I didn’t have a ticket and didn’t want to press my luck sneaking in again. Luckily, Mehul invited us to chill in his booth.
We spent the next hour taking dabs in the back of Mehul’s booth. Mehul runs the business Ground Score, which sells high quality clothing, artworks, and heady festival accessories. Syndee had worked for him at Electric Forest, and we had become good friends.
Dave arrives at Moonrise – Spotted in the Ground Score Booth
Thanks to the hospitality, we emerged from the rain delay ready to party. Dave arrived, making his way inside right as the gates opened. Reunited as a crew, we took off around the grounds. While we caught several good sets, NGHTMRE was one of the more impressive shows of the night.
NGHTMRE from the back of the crowd.
All of us were excited for the main act. Griz would be headlining. There is nothing like a Griz set, and I was ecstatic to get to share the experience with both Dave and Syd. While Syd made the argument for heading to the back of the crowd, Dave and I overruled her. We were getting dead center and headed up as close as possible.
Up close for Griz at Moonrise Music Festival
This Griz set was phenomenal. Lots of saxophone, heavy bass drops, and incredible guitar parts from Muzzy Bear. I pulled out my camera at several points of the show, doing my best to both capture and live in the moment. We danced together as a crew and left the set and the festival smiling from ear to ear.
