#Holly the buttscratcher

[bearotonin-international]

Been a slow Fat Bear Friday huh

[bearotonin-international]

That’s actually Holly (aka the Buttscratcher)

This is Otis

are you freaking KIDDING ME (not otis)

[nailtravels]

Welcome back to Clayfest Tour 19 and the quick turnaround to the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park with the inaugural Suwannee Rising Music Festival. Rise up! Spring is the time to be in North Florida and we’ll be here for all of them from Brainquility to Spring Reunion, Suwannee Rising to Tipper. This heralds back to an earlier spring and the Bedouin trade outpost that smelled vaguely of burnt pig bone. You can still smell it, if you try. Festival season begins right here while the rest of country still shakes off their winter cobwebs. Suwannee Rising bought out many of the Bear Creek and Wanee faithful and their distinct vibes could be felt as early as the pre-pre-party. Both of those festivals had reputations for mad love, insane ragery and professional camping prowess. This line-up covered several different genres of fantastic music with greats like Moe and Oteil Burbridge joining with Lettuce, Dumpstafunk and many more to offer up a weekend of music and fun with great friends, old and new. Welcome to the inaugural Suwannee Rising: Call of the Buttscratchers.

Come home to Hobo Kamp.

Lucienda Rosalita and Baitbucket headed south out of Roanoke on their way back to the Live Oak forest. Bluegrass spilled out of the Pioneer as they cruised along the rolling hills of southern Virginia. They were in Clay’s van, which Darth Khaleesi had recently gifted them. It replaced the Adventure Wagon which, only days earlier had been left for scrap on the side of I-75 at Paine’s Prairie, just south of Gainesville. On his way to go tuna fishing in Louisiana, Corporal Turner reported that she was no longer sitting on the side of the interstate. Now they cruised along the same road, in the same vehicle that had carried the original Shawsvegas Mafia to this park that he loved so many times. Now his ashes sat on the dashboard right next to the Alabama cap. You cannot make this stuff up.

Darth Walthall and Moonshine Gary, Suwannee Rising 2019

The week in Roanoke had been full of tears, moonshine and music. From dancing cowgirls to vomit on the Appalachian Trail, it had been a blur of smoky bars and acoustic guitars. Not Baitbucket’s Larrivee of course. The rumors that it was waterproof proved to be unfounded after it spent the night in the pouring rain of Live Oak. He’s why we can’t have nice Canadian guitars. In Virginia, the blueberry moonshine and Knob Creek flowed like a river and the music began each day even before the sleep boogers had been cleared.

Virginia is for thugs.

They arrived at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park Tuesday afternoon and pulled down the Hippy Trail toward the Hobo Kamp. Sarah and Sarah had been reserving the space since Suwannee Spring Reunion and the line of hanging clothes completed the Hobo Kamp theme. Sarah had dug a trench to hide the contraband electricity, which would be used to power the stolen Christmas lights and the towering death clown. Baitbucket still wasn’t sure if we was going to buy a ticket, work the festival or simply not care. He was widely regarded as a kamp body and spent most of his time around the fire contributing to its gibberish. It wasn’t until Wednesday even that the call came through inviting them to cover the festival for the website. Perfect timing. The “small-dog” metaphor could now be passed over for one with a bigger, more sparkly footprint. After all, this is our park and last checked, when we’re here, we’re supposed to go pretty big. Once again, they were legit and would have the VIP passes needed to efficiently maneuver the folds of the festival. Game on.

For this festival, the entire Suwannee Rising Kamp Happiness Hobo Kamp was run completely by girl power. There was such a wealth of strong, beautiful women that the entire facility appeared virtually overrun. With surprise visits by Kamp Happiness founders, Spacebug and Darth Walthall, newcomers like Holly, Margo, Roxanne and Jessica added much-needed spice and networking foundations were put in place with Jodie and the thugish brutes known as the Buttscratchers.

How is one supposed to properly network with new neighbors? Welcome to your field. Welcome to our fire. The best way to introduce yourself to neighboring  campers is with a gift. Sparkly rice crispy treats or ham and egg sandwiches are just a couple of ideas, but gifts of any kind are a fine way to get the wheels greased between neighbors. Otherwise, encroachment issues may arise and in a forest of 800 acres, that’s a bad look. Make sure safeguards are in place so as to avoid unfortunate lapses in communication. It’s fun when two small fires becomes one big one.

Run, don’t walk. It’s the attack of the Buttscratchers. This Wanee procession has been raging just south of the lake for years. Listen for their haunting call as you wander by the sweet spot, next to the sound board, on your way to the rail. Their bar serves everything on tortillas and it’s always the last stop of the night. Jodie could be found chumming the road with glow sticks and then setting up her gear for some wook fishing. Serious anglers, the slot for wooks (phisha wookinus) in April throughout Suwannee County is five to seven feet. Aggregate bag limit is three per person. Be sure to harvest responsibly and help protect our remaining wook rookeries.

A Day in the Life of a Buttscratcher

8:12 am:  The light fog hung over the tents throughout the forest as only the earliest birds began to stir. Special Ed was already up brewing the coffee and preparing for the first acoustic jam of the day; He’d begun to smell like a Polaroid plant and it was agreed he should take a page out of Waffle’s book and consider an old fashioned trucker’s shower.

10:10 am: As the second wave of late-night revelers began to roll out, Margo ran down her battery for the second time during the breakfast jam. It’s a rule, Floozies fans should just camp together. Is it too early to get greasy and low-down? I think not grasshopper. Visit her spot, Cool Beans Coffee next time you’re in Marietta, Georgia.

Suwannee Rising 2019: photo by Sarah Fortier

12:12 pm The Kamp Happiness courtesy vehicles remained in operation for most of the festival. Sarah’s golf cart served to transport team members as well as locate groundscores and firewood. The second courtesy bike disappeared sometime during the festival. Last seen, it was with Chandler, who had been already sucking contraband electricity from Sarah’s contraband electricity. Who steals from the bike thieves and where are all the courtesy vehicles ending up? Sounds like some kind of mystery to be sure.

Thank you Sarah Fortier for this gallery of serious whimsy. Look for her work when nailtravels heads to Floyd, Virginia for the culmination of Clayfest Tour 19. The world is yours. Also thanks for helping to reserve the Hobo Kamp for the rest of the flotilla.

Easy E, Suwannee Rising 2019: photo by Rose McGuire

Chandler, Suwannee Rising 2019: photo by Roxanne Epstein

5:34 pm: Baitbucket had removed his governor and the moonshine began puddling in the bottom of his feet. It was far too late to change anything. The good work had been done and there was only time to sit back and wait for the white lightning to fill the cavities of his head hole and make a mess of things. By the time he threw himself from the moving golf cart, his vision had begun to get all “wiggly”. His head slammed into a tree stump but his face had been spared by his new groundscored sunglasses. The last time anyone saw him his face was covered in drool and his shirt was getting ripped off in strips of torn, colored cloth. As he offered an umbrella apology to everyone the next day, he chalked up the entire nasty incident to the effects of sustained and intense grieving.

This next gallery is from our sister and professional ukulele picker Arielle D’Ornellas. For a musician she’s one heliconia of a photographer. These shots will explain why she stands head and shoulders above the rest. Visit her social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram and be sure to catch her band as they play at Orange Blossom Jamboree later this month.

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Thanks to Suwannee Rising for including our team in the inaugural fun. The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park is the perfect place to unwind with music and friends. We look forward to many more years working together in the park to make it a special venue for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to Roxanne Epstein for helping with photography and mimosas.

Thank you Shane Turner for having a mind to catch a soapfish with a net. You will be missed.

Keep up with nailtravels as we slug through the summer of lost rednecks and Clayfest 19. Get ready for Tipper&Friends, Suwannee River Jam and Backwoods Music Festival in Ozark, Arkansas. Don’t ever look back.

The Inaugural Suwannee Rising: Call of the Buttscratchers Welcome back to Clayfest Tour 19 and the quick turnaround to the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park with the inaugural Suwannee Rising Music Festival.