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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)