Summer Camp Music Festival's 10th Anniversary; four days of five stages playing great music

Festival season is starting off with a bang; the week after Festy Fest, Summer Camp Music Festival will rock your socks off at Chillicothe, Illinois. This epic music festival will start on Thursday, May 27th with the Pre-Party and go all the way through Sunday the 30th.

From five, yes, Five stages, a huge variety of fantastic bands will play simultaneously and in shifts, so there will constantly be one, two or three different shows going at the same time, with bands scheduled to start on one stage immediately as another band's set ends.

Even after the main stages are closed down, a late night show will be held, including a rave, as well as some big-name bands playing.

Among the countless bands due to play on the various stages, starting early on Thursday, there's a long list of bands this reviewer is thrilled to see. Many of the bands will be playing multiple sets, which will hopefully be different, for dedicated fans who come to both. Headliners moe. and Umphrey's McGee will play three days straight, for example. These are the shows that are at the top of a very long list:

Thursday night Cornmeal will play their first show at 9:30 p.m. and play until 11.
Late that night the Soulshine Vibe Tent will have "Rave to the Grave vs. 217 Mafia"

Friday at 1 p.m. one of the headliners; moe. will play their first set until 2:30 p.m.
Split Lip Rayfield will play their first set from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30.
Cornmeal will be up again from 5:00 p.m. to 6:15.
Immediately as Cornmeal is finished Sound Tribe Sector 9 comes on, playing until 7:15 p.m.
Just when STS9 finishes their set, Yonder Mountain String Band will be coming on at 7:00 p.m., and will play until 8:15 p.m.
Fifteen minutes before Yonder Mountain String Band is done, headliner Umphrey's McGee will begin their first set for the night.
But before Umphrey's McGee takes their break, BOTH Government Mule and Bassnectar will be coming on different stages at 9:00 p.m.
When both of them are done, Umphrey's McGee will be on again at 10:30 p.m. and play until midnight.
At 12:30 a.m. Split Lip Rayfield will come on again for a late night campfire jam, and play until 2:30 a.m.
If you buy an additional ticket to "Late Night in the Red Barn," you can catch The New Mastersounds play from midnight to 12:45 a.m., followed by moe. from 1:15 a.m. to 3:00.

Saturday Slightly Stoopid will start at 5:00 p.m. and play until 6:15.
From 6:00 p.m. Lawrence local rock stars Sonic Sutra will be playing at the same time as Keller Williams, both finish at 7:00. This is a tough call, but it's probably worthwhile to go to either one, or try and see some of both, if the stages aren't too far apart.
Umphrey's McGee will be playing from 7:00 p.m. to 8:15, but this time may be better spent seeing Big Gigantic, if the electric dance jam is more your cup of tea.
Next moe. will be on again, playing at the same time as Pretty Lights, from 8:00 p.m. to 9. This time is better spent at Pretty Lights, since moe. is playing three days, and this will only be their first set of the night.
Umphrey's McGee is up again from 9:00 p.m. to 10:15.
Then it's moe. again from 10:15 p.m. to midnight.
Then, once again if you buy an additional ticket to "Late Night in the Red Barn," you can catch some more fantastic bands. Tonight, Pretty Lights will be playing their second set here from 12:30 a.m. to 1:30. Then STS9 will play from 2:00 a.m. to 3:30.

Sunday the great music starts earlier, with That 1 Guy playing at noon.
Umphrey's McGee is plays 2:00 p.m. to 3:15.
Railroad Earth will start at 2:30 p.m. and finish at 3:45.
The New Mastersounds will play from 4:00 p.m. to 5.
The Avett Brothers are on from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45.
Later that night Eoto will start playing at 7:00 p.m., moe. will start at 6:30. Both will finish at 8.
moe. will come back for at a second set from 9:30 p.m. to 11.
For anyone with money to spare, who hasn't had enough Umphrey's McGee or Eoto, they will play the "Late Night in the Red Barn" show.

Unfortunately this entire adventure will cost $170, plus a camping permit. It's a high price for any music festival, but this is one of the best lineups of artists to be found in the Midwest, and may very well give this year's Wakarusa a run for it's money.