THE RETURN TO MULBERRY
If you’ve conversed with me within the last 3-4 years, you know how much I love Wakaan. There’s also a pretty good chance I’ve told you about their festival of the same name. After the premiere year of the festival in 2019, I knew that this was truly a very magical collective, family and gathering, and I just could not wait to get back.
My attendance in 2019 was incredibly eye-opening and enlightening for me. I often (half) joke that it really propelled me into my wook-dom. I’ve patiently awaited the return of my favorite state-side festival, and boy, oh boy, did it not disappoint.
A text I received from a concerned friend
I woke up in the weeeeee hours of a Wednesday morning to head to Arkansas (yes, you read that correctly) and meet up with my friends, Bailey and FJ. We headed to Mulberry Mountain (via Walmart and Dunkin’, of course), and I could not contain my excitement. We wanted to go early for the preparty since I missed it in 2019. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend, especially with that Liquid Stranger b2b LSDream set.
Bailey woke me up on Thursday morning so that I could make it to the daily yoga session. These sessions were the perfect way to start my days, even with a practice led by Luzcid! As I’ve been in my accelerated health + wellness journey and spiritual awakening era, I knew that this would be something I had to incorporate into my weekend. And as expected, having this time time (kinda) to myself in the morning to get grounded in nature was spectacular. I remember looking up at the various branches above me reflecting on how special this all was and how grateful I was to be practicing in nature, experiencing fall at my favorite festival (besides Shambhala).
Anyways, back to the music! All three days were absolutely JAM packed with music. I had a big “damn, we heard SO much music” realization by Sunday. Wakaan is great because it’s one main stage during the day and then two late night stages out in the woods. And it’s like a big picnic style, so you can bring chairs, blankets, etc and just chill tf out and get up to dance or move around whenever you want. Kinda like the wook Sizdah Bedar for all my Persians out there.
Everyone we saw for the most part was great!! Besides the three Liquid Stranger sets (LSDream b2b, Trippy, Party) here were some standouts:
Mersiv (absolutely my favorite of the weekend!!)
Daily Bread (!!!!!)
Additional folks who deserve honorable mentions:
Ternion Sound (they even uploaded their full set!!!)
LSDream (solo)
What I love about Wakaan (and I’m sure absolutely anyone else – fan, staff or artist – would tell you) is how it truly feels like a Big Family Function™. People are genuinely so kind and gracious. I received so many beautiful gifts – like stickers, lil animals, shroom trinkets, affirmation cards, etc. – from different people throughout the weekend. With a festival that’s that niche in such a remote location, you’re going to get a certain kind of person there. And that REALLY makes all the difference in your experience.
I had the absolute best time getting to completely lose myself in the music. I was dancing so, so much and having the best time. Lots of screams and yells emerged out of me throughout the weekend – especially any time someone dropped “Noxious” by LYNY. Some of my favorite moments beyond the music were getting to bond with our neighbors, going for walks to grab food with Bailey (and even running into Harry from Smoakland!), slapping wine bags during TVBOO, giggling and gasping during Daily Bread and requesting “Gasolina” whenever possible. I also loved trolling and running around on the way to the late nights joking about Dave Tipper playing 😉
Will I be returning in the future? You absolutely better believe so!! I do hope that they continue to keep it relatively small and build out more of the artist workshops and events (i.e. production workshops, Q&As, TVBOO Comedy sets, etc.).
Thank you Liquid + Wakaan and everyone involved in this special annual gathering. Until next time! W’S UP!!
