After a six-hour drive to Jacksonville (in the middle of the night), the creation of BIRD MURDER (the best made-up band name ever), a few hours of sleep in the city’s oldest inhabited house, a deliciously hand-crafted breakfast, a second helping of way too much food at lunch (served by an authentic Italian Nonna), and a final hour’s drive, the four of us landed on the St. John’s County Fairgrounds in St. Augustine, Florida.  Our reason for going such lengths?  The Harvest of Hope Festival, duh.

A question regularly asked of me has been “What the hell is that?”  It is an annual, three-day mash-up of musical genres and a mismatched, clusterfuck of hippies, pot heads (yes, there is a slight, but notable difference), hip-hoppers, punks, and hipsters.  The talented and those who turned out were supporting the Harvest of Hope Foundation.  This non-profit not only provides a festival experience that transcends the Lollapalooza chaos and the Warped Tour’s capitalistic trash, but the main thrust of their efforts is in giving migrant farmworkers the money, tools, and support to continue picking our crops for meager pay.

Three out of the four of us on this 2010 trip attended the first ever Harvest of Hope Festival last year.  The line-up then was pretty damn phenomenal, featuring (again, a spicy gumbo of genres) Propagandhi, The National, Black Kids, The Mountain Goats, Tilly and the Wall, Girl Talk, KRS-One, John Vanderslice, GZA, David Dondero, Austin Lucas, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Deerhunter, The Bouncing Souls, Bad Brains, and so many more.  With a bill like that, you would have to listen to Q100 to not enjoy yourself, or worse… you’d have to be deaf.  I cannot even begin to describe the time I had then.  It made me come back.  I had to.

So this year, upon reading the final list of bands, my heart fluttered at a million miles an hour… yes, fluttered, like when you realize that the most beautiful girl in a room is your girlfriend (and I can only speak from a boyfriend-to-girlfriend perspective, for I have no clue what it is like to experience that about a boyfriend).  The music included James Husband (of Of Montreal), Portugal. The Man, Rogue Wave, Black Sheep, Chali 2na, Dead Prez, Gatorface, Strike Anywhere, Anti-Flag, 7 Seconds, High on Fire, Holopaw, Kimya Dawson, The Mountain Goats, Billy Bragg, Austin Lucas, Ninja Gun, Leatherface, Fruit Bats, Sea Wolf, Matt Pond PA, Man Man, Broken Social Scene, Stars of Track & Field, Crime In Stereo, Small Brown Bike, Whiskey & Co., Cory Branan, Jon Snodgrass, and Umoja Orchestra… just to name a few.  The best thing about this festival is that you can pretty much catch every single act you want to see, due to the smaller sized audience, closely placed stages, and great scheduling on the HOH crew’s part.  PHENOMENAL.

Not only were the bands impressive, but the merchants, the carnival rides, the non-profit tent, and the scrumptious peanut noodles (and other mystical vegetarian and non-vegetarian, carnie and higher end foods) were miles above the garbage and shenanigans at other festivals.  And like most other 3-day festivals, primitive camping was available… if you wanted to surround yourself with smelly, muddy hippies.  But hey, it is all part of the experience.

The amazing performances, the food, the purpose, and the close knit feeling were all very important aspects of the gathering.  Dead Prez definitely put on the best show Friday night.  Their high level of energy, social consciousness, and crowd involvement were all heightened by their ability to drop the beats, the knowledge, and (amazingly enough) the rain.  The rain came with their first words and everyone was drenched by the end of the first verse.  Saturday had excellent shows by lesser known, but equally incredible, Holopaw and Austin Lucas (check them out) and widely known Kimya Dawson, the Mountain Goats, Billy Bragg, Leatherface, and 7 Seconds.  Where the first night focused on hip hop, Saturday had a punk rock lean.  Sunday had phenomenal spectacles by Mucca Pazza and Man Man, enjoyable indie rock by the Stars of Track & Field and Broken Social Scene, and the worldly influenced show of Umoja Orchestra.  We had the pleasant opportunity to talk to Jeff from Holopaw, Austin Lucas, Dead Prez, Honus from Man Man, Kim from Whiskey & Co, Umoja Orchestra, and the founders of the foundation at the festival and Crime in Stereo after.  All of these musicians had different levels of involvement with the foundation, beautiful points of view on society, incredible stories of the road, and such humbleness.

My biggest and only disappointment lay in the price of beer.  Good God!  $5???  For Yuengling?  They had a beer garden, but the penetration of not-so-good, not-local, pricey-for-what-they-are beers really hurt my heart.  I would suggest and hope that next year’s beer selection featured more delicious, locally brewed, less expensive deliciousness.  Regardless the steep booze prices, this festival satisfied in ways only good food, great music, and amazing consciousness could.

Located in Gainesville, Florida, The Harvest of Hope Foundation is a unique non-profit 501(c) 3 organization that has been providing migrant farmworkers and their families with emergency relief and financial assistance for over 15 years.

As of January 28, 2010 the Harvest of Hope Foundation has distributed over $790,000 to migrant farmworkers, seasonal farmworkers and their families for severe or life treating situations. The Foundation’s services include, but are not limited to emergency: healthcare assistance, housing and transportation assistance, educational grants and scholarships, monthly expenses, replacement clothing, and financial aid to migrant farmworkers and seasonal farmworkers throughout the United States.

The Harvest of Hope Foundation firmly believe that factors such as limited cultural capital, lack of political power, poverty, and frequent mobility operate as barriers that continuously prevent migrant farmworkers and seasonal farmworkers from obtaining legitimate legal rights, education, healthcare and social services. Therefore, it is the Harvest of Hope Foundation’s intention to be a proactive voice and leader in providing emergency services to migrant farmworkers and their families.

We are The Grass Being Greener and we are dedicated to the idea that all artists belong to a community, and as a community, we have a responsibility to support each other in our artistic endeavors, whatever form they may take.  We want to help this community grow.

Our focus is in promotions, networking, and special events.  We would like to work with you, not just for you.  Creation between us should be a collaboration.  Using anything from photography to graphic design to simple word of mouth, we aim to help you carry yourself further toward your creative goals.  We hope to build a relationship with you and hope that it doesn’t come to an end just because our project together has ended.

For full transcriptions of the interviews with the bands, please visit our website at www.thegrassbeinggreener.com.