The inaugural Middlelands festival kicks off in the Woodlands near Houston, TX, this weekend, May 5th-7th. There are a number of things that have made this an intriguing destination festival for thousands, and we’ve pinpointed a few that have really got our interest at a high level.
The Medieval Theme
The festival takes place where one of the largest Renaissance Faires in the country takes place, and festival-and-concert promoter Insomniac and C3 Presents are taking that idea and running with it. You’ve perhaps been to a Medieval Times show in your lifetime – now imagine that extrapolated over an entire four-day camping music festival and that’s what Middlelands is trying to accomplish.
People love to dress up at festivals, and the theme of this one will have people dressing up as knights, goblins, etc. as they take part. The stages even have medieval-themed names, from Castle Northwoods, Middlelands Arena, The Stronghold, Trinity Vale, and The Wench’s Bay.
The Soundcamps
I’m camping at the festival, staying with people I’ve never met in what is called a ‘Soundcamp’. A Soundcamp is a camping site where people are motivated to bring their own gear to spin music late into the night, also allowing people who want to get a good night’s sleep to separate themselves into regular camping. I’m camping at Ye Old Dohm Collective, where people have gotten into the campgrounds on Wednesday to build an extensive setup for everyone camping there. I’m pretty excited to wander around and see what’s in store. Insomniac also has their own Soundcamp, where acts like Louis the Child, TOKiMONSTA, and NGHTMRE will spin late-night sets between 1 AM and 4 AM.
So Much Room For Activities!
The blueprint for the festival grounds is expansive — which allows for Middlelands to include some pretty dope themed activities for people to take part in the campgrounds. Take for instance the Archery Tag, which looks epic. Thursday night, there will be telescopes on-site for a stargazing pre-party. There is also a 24-hour area accessible in the campgrounds called Conqueror’s Court, Middlelands’ version of Bonnaroo’s Centeroo. There’s also tug-o-war, bubble soccer, Hula hooping classes, yoga, as well as MAGIC classes.
Diverse Set of Musical Acts
I’m not a HUGE electronic music fan, admittedly. What drew me to Middlelands was mostly the unique experience they are promising to offer. That said, there are plenty of electronic acts I do like, but also a mix of stuff outside the genre that is more appealing to me, like Phantogram, as well as a slew of hip-hop acts like Danny Brown, Jurassic 5, Rae Sremmurd, and more.
The Community
At first-year festival, you always wonder what kind of excitement and community will be built heading in. Middlelands has seen a ton of Facebook groups and Twitter accounts spring up that have gotten me excited – because so many OTHER people are really excited and will bring their own charm to the festival. On Facebook, my Soundcamp group has a Facebook group, and then there’s the nearly 5,000-strong member Middlelands Clan. On Twitter, MiddlelandsFam has been running contests and retweeting people’s excitement for months. I can’t wait to get out there and meet some people.
For festival website, go here: http://www.middlelands.com/
