Photo of Suwanee Hulaween taken by Yvonne Gouglet

Best Things We Saw at Suwannee Hulaween 2022

Suwannee Hulaween is one of the premiere music events in the world, but its appeal and allure go far beyond lineups of music.

Photo by Yvonne Gouglet

Upon passing through the Hula archway and traversing through an endless wood that has hosted adventurers for the last 100 years, you’re instantly reminded why this is one of the best cultural experiences in the country.

Being the top-flight event hosted in the Spirit of the Suwannee Music River Park each year, Hulaween is an amped up boutique experience capped at 20,000 people on Halloween weekend. The music is a dexterous range that can only be described as a music festival lover’s delight; culling together an intoxicating array of funk, bluegrass, jam, electronic, hip-hop, reggae, and everything in between.

In return, attendees often get to see marquee musical performances and interact with eye-opening art and community. Here’s the Best Things We Saw at Suwannee Hulaween in 2022:

The Amp Stage

As CloZee put it during her headlining set Friday night, The Amphitheater stage is truly “The Spirit” of Suwannee. The “Amp Stage” and its curation over the weekend stayed true to its reputation, offering some of, if not the most memorable moments of Hulaween 2022.

On Thursday, Twiddle did its best to steal the show, even dishing out a cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” before giving way to opening night headliner, The Disco Biscuits. On Friday, the aforementioned world bass queen kept things sizzling after a red hot run of sets from A Hundred Drums, MZG, OPIUO, and Manic Focus. Saturday, Player Dave made his debut before Lost Dogz brethren, EAZYBAKED, who broke the ice for mind altering, career defining performances from Dirt Wire, Of The Trees, and STS9. Fresh off tour with ODESZA, Sylvan Esso closed out the weekend alongside a Sunday lineup of Two Feet, Lewis Del Mar, and Paper Idol.

Spirit Lake Area

If the Amp is the steak of the full course meal that is Hulaween, Spirit Lake is its potatoes.

While fans might have had a hard time infiltrating deep into the massive crowds present at the Amp all weekend, Spirit Lake provided a place to freely roam, explore and experience the magic most clamor for at immersive events like this.

Spirit Lake area hosted its own stage, amplified by LED-production this year and takeovers from WAKAAN, Desert Hearts, & Femme House. Additionally, the woods offer mind-blowing installations and fan-favorites such as Frick Frack Blackjack.

Completely transformed at night, kept broiling late night by the Incendia stage, Spirit Lake is and should be renown as one of the most coveted sites in all of North American festival land.

Takeovers by WAKAAN, Femme House & Desert Hearts

Not only did Spirit Lake offer more production than ever in 2022, it also hosted stage takeovers from some of the hottest acts in electronic music.

On Thursday, Liquid Stranger led an all-day WAKAAN label takeover, which featured performances from Tape B, Zingara, Canabliss, Ravenscoon, Tripp St., and Jantsen. This previewed similar lineups and sounds fans can expect on his upcoming DIMENSIONS EP and nationwide tour.

On Saturday, LP Giobbi returned for the second year in a row to bring fans her Femme House experience, which showcased exceptional sets from Riva & Bianca, Hunlee, Kaleena Zanders, Miane, Ultra Nate, and Elohim. After TOKiMONSTA’s closing set was cancelled due to travel, LP stepped in for an extended, 3+ hour set to keep the party going.

Closing out the weekend, the Desert Hearts squadron of Mikey Lion, Marbs, Lee Reynolds & Porky reminded people why their West Coast party and dance brand has thrived for over a decade now.

The Place & Its People

You’ve heard it before: it’s the vibes.

Suwannee is an unparalleled destination that makes you feel at home. Its something you have to experience in person, but once you’re there, you simply understand why people choose to dress up and go camping in the Florida backwoods year after year.

For attendees and lovers of music festivals, Suwannee Hulaween is simply one of the top flight experiences to enjoy exceptional music, nature & people.

String Cheese Incident

Last but not least, it should be mentioned that whether you’re a rookie or veteran: don’t miss The String Cheese Incident.

As the founders and hosting artists of Hulaween, all six of their sets offered magic that will keep us spinning until next October.

The MP3 MAG team can’t wait to see what’s in store for Suwannee Hulaween next year! Hope to see you there!

Tags:
Franz Hilberath is a writer, publicist, artist manager, and editor/founder of MP3 MAG. Franz's passion for telling creative's stories began as a journalist with local and national newspapers (Creative Loafing, USA Today), magazines (Marquee, Man of the Hour), and blogs (EDM.com, CULTR). His byline spans live event coverage, music reviews and interviews with innovators such as ODESZA, Marc Rebillet, RUFUS DU SOL, Lee “Scratch” Perry, GRiZ, & SOFI TUKKER. Today, as an independent publicist (Franz.mp3), Franz has represented true creatives and esteemed labels such as Zeds Dead (Deadbeats), Gravitas Recordings, Mersiv (MorFlo Records), Night Tales (Ultra Records), Of The Trees (Memory Palace), Justin Jay (Fantastic Voyage), Meduso, KHIVA, RaeCola, THRASHA and more.