When we initially bought our 1987 Dodge conversion van, I envisioned weekends of camping by pure mountain streams, surrounded by trees and wildlife with lots of privacy. That hasn’t exactly been the case at least at first but I got plenty of natural beauty this past weekend at Ashefest, held on the grounds of Deerfields, just five miles or so past the Asheville Airport. Our campsite was near a stream, banked by trees and our nearest neighbor was at least 100 feet away from our site. At night with the back of the van opened up we could hear the faint sound of music and the babbling of the stream, it was wonderful. I had been told that Deerfields was a fabulous setting but I really couldn’t have pictured a more peaceful and naturally beautiful place so close to home.

We arrived early Friday afternoon for the festival, set up camp then walked up the path about a half mile or so to explore the venues. Two fake deer greet you at the entrance, a couple of log cabins are the only buildings around, a beautiful pond with a cool float in the middle of it, complete with iron bed let you know that things were a little different here at Deerfields. The Homegrown stage served as the main staging area, with a smaller stage set near the pond as the secondary venue. The festival began with the sounds of Atlanta based Bonobos Convergence, their laid back fusion of jazz, funk and jam were a nice welcoming start to the festivities. Stillwood followed at the smaller Moboogie Stage and they rocked the hillside with their southern flavored boogie and soul. Our favorite group of the night by far however was Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band. These guys were fabulous. The Boone, North Carolina band made up of seven incredibly talented young men mixed up soul, hip-hop, rock, blues and funk. Their horn section made their sound full and soulful and their two main vocalists were very strong mixing rap with rock in a very compelling show. Alan and I must have looked like we were having fun because at one point the young trumpet player waded into the crowd and plopped down on my lap and kept on playing. It was so much fun. Our biggest regret was missing a set by Laura Reed & Deep Pocket at the smaller Moboogie stage. Laura Reed a native of South Africa jammed with The Heavy Pets on Saturday night and we fell in love with Laura’s huge, soulful voice, which was in contrast to her very petite frame. Laura Reed is an Asheville resident and plays locally quite a bit so if you get a chance to check her out don’t miss it.

On Saturday things got off to a pretty slow start. I’m thinking most of the campers stayed up into the wee hours and were sleeping in. The afternoon featured a performance by Lee Rodgers & The Code Talkers. They were a mixture of pop and rock and although they played to a fairly sparse crowd they gave it their all. Crazy Fingers took over at the MoBoogie stage later in the afternoon, the band hails from south. Florida and is proud to be known as the area’s premiere Grateful Dead tribute band. Based on the looks of this laid back group, they fit right in. We took a break to take a dip in the pond, which felt very refreshing then a thunderstorm rolled through so we retired to the cozy confines of our van for a bit till the storm blew over. New Monsoon was the band that led off the evenings entertainment and they were a pleasant mix of Latin, Brazilian and classic rock. Alan was blown away by the lead guitarist’s ability to rock the banjo by picking the hell out of those strings. The heavy metal band Particle, veterans of Bonnaroo, Coachella and the New Orleans Jazz Fest kicked off their set at 10PM and they were amazing. They provided a fantastic light show and the fire-eaters and fire dancers nearly stole the show from the group. It was amazing to watch this group of talented entertainers swing a burning hula hoop around as well as toss flaming objects back and forth with ease, that was a very cool feature to their show.

While the music was awesome at Ashefest the real highlight for me was the naturally beautiful setting which was well maintained and not littered with trash. We also enjoy the eclectic crowd that outdoor music festivals seem to attract. It’s a mix of hippies, older folks, families and let’s face it the eccentric ‘dress to impress’ crowd. You always see some unique costumes and Ashefest was no exception. I love to people watch and I got my fill this weekend. The atmosphere is one of joy and it’s a wonderful thing to be surrounded by people having a wonderful time, it breeds contentment and that is such a rarity these days. The crowd isn’t heavily liquored up and that adds to the laidback nature of the event. We hope to return to Deerfields at the earliest opportunity and I would encourage you to check it out as well.