The Backwoods Experience – Full Documentary Out Now
Back in September, the Sensible Reason crew headed to Backwoods Music Festival in Stroud, Oklahoma. We were all blown away by the lesser known festival’s production, lineup, and overall vibe. It was a hot weekend, so everything came alive when the sun went down, the temperature a little more bearable. One highlight of the festival was its main stage. It resembled a castle and stood tall at the mouth of the festival – The Motherland Stage. Fader, a stage designer and VJ had a vision for this main stage that allowed the festival to come alive after the sun went down. Fader recently released a documentary about this epic main stage and what truly goes into creating festival magic.
Backwoods Experience opens up with an overview of the festival’s magnificent main stage. VJ Fader opens the video by introducing himself and explaining the background behind how he got to be the designer of the Motherland stage. The team’s vision for the festival is mapped out quickly: bigger production, bigger acts, bigger venue, bigger stages. One sees the festival before it’s fully put together, the late nights and tough conversations that truly make the magic happen. The short documentary helps Fader explain more about himself and what his vision was as both a VJ and a stage designer. Pulling everything together, one sees the progression from idea to finished product. For those who attended Backwoods, it’s amazing to see what went in to such a fantastic festival.
While there are several very ordinary interactions in Backwoods Experience, it’s eye-opening to see the amount of collaboration that happens on site. There can be a vast and diverse cast of characters that put together a festival. These people come from all over the country, all over the world even, to assemble a stage such as the Motherland. Communication is limited to emails and phone calls for months, even upwards of a year, before things can actually be put together in real time and in person. The challenges that come with that were seen in the LED screen/”the eye” at the Motherland stage. Many structural and electrical issues cannot be solved until everyone is on site. So, it’s amazing to see the progression of problem solving in such a short period of time from these very talented people.
Backwoods Experience is a short watch – approx. 20 minutes, but it pulls together a lot of ideas and issues that many face when putting together a huge production such as a festival. Attendees often forget that these festivals are built with bare hands and brilliant minds. This is a great watch. Enjoy.
