By Friday, the campgrounds were buzzing with energy. People arrived in droves. I was naive to think I’d have a quiet campsite, and by noon I was surrounded by people on all sides. Cars stretched for as long as the eye could see, though it was still nothing compared to the larger festivals I have attended. I watched as people lugged stuff from their cars by wagon (available to rent for free) and dust clouds swirled as people sloshed in the dirt. “Don’t you love the sound of the dirt as you step in it?” a stranger asked me. “I really do,” I responded. Another attendee commented that walking through the dirt reminded him of what it must feel like to walk on the moon. Again, I agreed. While I did hear a few complaints about the dust and dirt, I didn’t mind and most of the other people seemed to embrace it as well. Those bandannas that you see people wearing? Fashion and functional. Though I personally never sported one, most people find bandannas as an easy and effective way to block the dirt and keep your air passages clear.
Photo by Drew Bandy
There was actually so much going on at the campsite, that I didn’t make it to the pool party until it was nearly over. I caught the last few minutes of Wave Racer and the whole Snakehips set. Sometime later, I went back to the campsite for dinner and to change into warmer clothes for the evening. Do not underestimate the temperature level from day until night. Those who are used to festivals at the Gorge in eastern Washington know how brutal the prevailing winds can be, and eastern Oregon is no different. The nice thing about WTFest is that campgrounds are a short ten minute walk away, which makes it easy to go back and forth between the music and your campsite. At the Gorge, once you walk through the gates you are unlikely to go back again until the end of the night.
Far and away, GRiZ was the star of the evening and he absolutely destroyed it with his set, tastefully blending the harder bass sounds with the soothing sax. After GRiZ, I checked out The Funk Hunters with Chali 2na. As a longstanding hip-hop fan, it was great to see Chali 2na in this setting. Since the festival was primarily one genre, sets like the Funk Hunters with Chali 2na stand out in a positive way.
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