There are grassroots success stories and then there's the tale of Hookahville: a bi-annual, three-day music fest that has graduated from a humble backwoods campfire outing into a musical package that continues to outgrow venues and draw bigger and bigger talent. What started as an impromptu backyard jam is now in its seventh year. What once was entertainment for a few score of jam-band aficionados has become a quiet institution, drawing more than ten thousand regulars.

The roots of Hookahville lie with Columbus, Ohio's Ekoostik Hookah, a jazz/funk/soul/bluegrass five-piece who have slugged out a living in the middle of Buckeye country. Hookah couldn't be more content with their independence. The road warriors spend much of their time touring, though they've managed to record six self-produced albums (the seventh is due later this year).

In 1994 Hookah keyboardist/vocalist Dave Katz and the group's manager Jeff Spencer decided to put out word among their regulars on the Columbus club circuit that they were holding a two-day music/camping outing because, as Katz puts it, "We just wanted to play in the woods." A wooded area behind Katz's home became the center for the first Hookahville and the group's sole musical guest was musically like-minded local Ed McGee. Afterwards, McGee joined the group.

Later that year, Hookah hosted a second shindig at the slightly more formal Songbird Center, an amphitheater about fifteen miles from the original site. According to Katz because there was visible evidence that the event was growing and he didn't want to have to clean up the mess in his backyard.

By 1996 a mini-phenomenon was in the works. The festival reached its third year of bi-annual performances set on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Attendance for the spring show cleared 5,000 with about half as many concert-goers making the trek for the September weekend. Fast forward to 1999. Frequent Jerry Garcia collaborators Merle Saunders and David Nelson had become Hookahville alums. And the GD's Bob Weir and his Ratdog signed on for the spring weekend, while country and bluegrass legend Vassar Clements and NRBQ were tapped for the fall. The attendance numbers were astounding. Nearly 13,000 fans arrived for the former, and 5,000 made the latter.

The Memorial Day weekend extravaganza is back for the second year at Buckeye Lake Music Center and the lineup promises yet another attendance spike. According to Katz, advance sales are already nearing last year's attendance and day-of sales should push the number higher. In what can only be described as the ultimate game of six degrees of Jerry Garcia, the guys of Hookah have lined up an impressive list of folk, blues, bluegrass and the kitchen sink. Weir brings Ratdog back for a second year and first-timers include legendary bluegrass/jazz fusion mandolin-picker David Grisman and his Quintet, summer-fest veteran Arlo Guthrie ("That really got my parents into it," Katz says) and funk/jazz jammers Deep Banana Blackout.

With such a quiet vibe, Hookahville looks to be everything that the other summer package tours don't offer. The rage that ravaged Woodstock is nowhere to be found. In its place is a stylistic diversity that accounts for the growing legions who make the trip to the outskirts of Ohio twice annually. "We're trying to keep it diverse. We're hoping to open people's eyes to different kinds of music. We have our folk and bluegrass and blues," Katz says. "And, of course, the Dead thing."

Gates open for this year's Hookahville on May 26 at noon. For more information, check out www.hookahville.com.

ANDREW DANSBY
(May 25, 2000)