Not-so-weird scenes from a prior Shangri-La Fest at Harmony Park. / By Marshall Lee via Wookiefoot.com (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
WookieFoot, Matisyahu in Harmony next weekend
The local acidic rockers return to their favorite Southern Minnesota campground with lots of friends' bands in tow.
August 31, 2011 at 8:25PM
A lot of ballyhoo was made two weekends ago about the SoundTown festival bringing back the campground rock fest experience for local music lovers, but the truth is it has been a mainstay all along down at Harmony Park in Geneva, Minn. -- at least for the local music lovers with a hippie streak in them. There's another flowery bash happening there again next weekend (Sept. 8-11): Minneapolis-based acid-rock/rap/reggae/neon band WookieFoot is putting on its Shangri-La Festival, formerly called Harvest Fest.
The three-day concert (four if you count the Thursday night "pre-party") features one heavy-hitter headliner, Hassidic Jewish reggae/rap powerhouse Matisyahu, who also rocked the Minnesota Zoo earlier this summer. Also from out-of-state will be South Carolinan songwriter Trevor Hall, Australian Outback dance act Ganga Giri and earthy Oregonian folk group Medicine for the People. Local players include Pert Near Sandstone, Roster McCabe, Heatbox, Shoeless Revolution and at least one act that also hit SoundTown, More Than Lights (the Kanser dudes' rocking live band).
Beyond the music, the charity-serving WookieFoot is always raising money for good causes and offering the usual sideshow of other-worldly activities. The website for the fest says that past years have included: "Fire rituals, a free healing arts center, arial dancing, Native American traditional drumming and chanting, a marching band, Alice in Wonderland tea party, parades, spiral dancing, Labrinth work shop, 3D black light painting station ... and …on…and ... on." Geez, and all I wanted was a beer tent.
Click here for all the details on the Shangri-La (passes are $125).
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