My favorite thing about concerts, other than the ability to let go of every care in the world and immerse yourself in pure happiness and great music, is the people. I love concerts in any form, whether I’m people watching on a picnic table or front row with the Revheads. No one goes to a concert that isn’t completely stoked to be there. (Well, maybe some dads at a Bieber concert, but that’s here nor there.) The people you meet at concerts can enhance the experience tenfold. Festival families. The bonds can be strong for the hour or create life long friendships and connections.

I knew I had to get Candler Park Music Festival tickets when I saw The Revivalists on the lineup. Some concert friends of mine are completely obsessed with them. So of course I had to see what all the fuss was about. I had checked them out on Spotify, but I could tell they were a performance band and that though the music was super good,  it held no candle to actually being there in person.

You can find me in the Candler Park Video Recap!

Friday

For the two-day festival, the VIP tickets were only sixty bucks and that included access to the front of the stage, bathrooms that weren’t porta potties, and shorter lines to food and drinks. That was a definite must. My friends lived just two blocks away so we all got together there beforehand. Some of the guys in the group gave us a pregame jam session at the house before we left for the park. Because who doesn’t need some Chili Peppers in their lives?

Candler Park Music Festival - Galactic

The first night I was the only one that had purchased VIP so I stayed towards the back with everyone. Galactic put on a great show, but we were all pretty tired and hungry so most of us walked back before their last song ended. Unfortunately, the guy with the key stayed behind, so we were locked out. I ended up crashing at a new concert friend’s condo in Midtown.

Saturday

Waking up on the 15th floor to windows overlooking the city was pretty awesome. I had things to do before the festival, so I hit Peachtree Street around 8:30am for a little adventuring. I grabbed some hot tea from Cafe Mims at the Georgian Terrace on my way to the Marta Station.

I figured out my route and started the ever-entertaining wait at the transit stop. I’m not sure why the normal people don’t want to sit with me. Maybe it’s because I look like the Benjamin Button with my baby face and grey hair, but the crazies always sit near me. I had to take to facebook with these goodies.

Marta

Bless. Their. Hearts. I made it back to my car and headed uptown, grateful to be in the privacy of my own car. Fully clothed, might I add. 😋

Candler Park Music Festival - Shake Shack

Sitting atop Shake Shack Atlanta’s rooftop patio I enjoyed a ‘Shroom burger, cheese fries, and PB shake. All those NYC memories came rushing back to mind.

Then on to WOLF Camera where I purchased my first big girl camera. Ended up deciding on a Panasonic G7 with an all-in-one lens. It doesn’t get here until Friday but excited is an understatement. I’ve got a lot of adventures that need some quality documentation.

Purchasing the camera was quite the ordeal though. The total price was above my daily spending limit, which I didn’t even know was a thing on a debit card. Luckily, my amazing small-town bank went above and beyond to help me. I’m just over here trying to spend my money, ya know?

Pregaming Jam Session

Back to the house. More pre-festival jams. More concert friends. New concert friends.

Seriously. Concerts are the most fun networking ever. This weekend I met a graphic designer that creates custom guitar picks for David Shaw. Over the years I’ve met doctors, people who travel to festivals all over the world, artists, scientists, a guy that went to Woodstock, a Yacht captain from Miami, ‘Bear’ that wandered tent to tent chilling in his bathrobe like the Dude. These people are so weird and amazing.

Candler Park Music Festival - Yonder Mountain String Band

So we finally gathered up our weird and amazing group and got to the festival. A little bummed we missed Keller Williams and Lee Fields, but we were just in time to get spots for who we came to see. The VIPs in the group wove in and around the crowd until we were right up front.

There is something about being up front. The energy is different. Like the light energy in the early mornings. You can’t place your finger on it, but you can sense it in the air. And everything is right with the world.

We bobbed and swayed ourselves through Yonder Mountain String Band. I had no doubt they would put on a show. Each musician slayed their instrument. In the picture above you can see Allie Kral getting it on the violin. My security friend even got me a set list once they left the stage. 🙂

A refill of drinks later and we saw Zack Feinburg start setting up his guitar. Everyone was swapping Revhead stories from earlier shows. Twenty shows, sixteen shows, second show, my first. This band had a serious following. I was ready to finally see The Revivalists.

Candler Park Music Festival - The Revivalists

Oh. Man. From the first word out of David Shaw’s mouth to the last second of applause: those guys put on a helluva show! David stood a foot in front of me and sang right in my face. It was too magical to capture on camera I had to just take it all in. I cannot wait for Macon Friday night. They are coming to the Cox and I will be front and center again. Come dance with me!

I had seen what I had come to see, so I headed out in search for the perfect Gyro before heading back to the pad to crash. Made some new friends on the way back and hung out with them in front of the giant projector set up. Some sport was playing. Some kids were jamming in the other room. It was a good night. Candler Park Music Festival did not disappoint.

Sunday

Woke up at 5:30 wide awake. Probably from passing out around 10:30 but that’s fine. Sunday was the last day, so I had to end it right. I made it to Passion City Church by 8:00 am. I was the first person there, besides workers. That never happens. They opened the doors at 8:30 for their first 9:30 Gathering Service. I stopped by the store and purchased Levi Lusko’s “Through the Eyes of a Lion.” Only through the intro in Lusko’s but I was already fighting back tears waiting on the service to begin.

Passion City Church

Worship second row of Passion City is another concert experience altogether. Some people prefer hymnals over power points and organs over electric guitars, but if one method brings your heart to the right place to worship the Lord and surrender your all, then you do you. There is no better way to worship. Just seek God and seek to bring him glory, traditional, contemporary, through your words, your life, your attitude. God can be glorified in any and everything that is honorable, even ordinary.

Louie came up and welcomed us all there. The talk was part of his Open House series. If you’d like to have a listen download the Passion City podcast. I highly recommend.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40

He spoke on worshiping God in the ordinary. In serving others. God can teach and bless us when we serve others just as much as those we are serving. It doesn’t take seminary or a college degree to go out there and give a thirsty person water, a hungry person food. We are all qualified to take these simple steps to bless those around us, and we receive blessings in return.  You can watch the sermons here.

After church I tried to go grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s before heading south. Nope. After thinking everything got straightened out with my camera purchase Saturday, the card company had deactivated my card for ‘suspicious transaction’. They didn’t call to warn me because they had my old house number on file. So I got to watch my buggy be carried away before I went and spoke with the strangers keeping me from buying my cheap, healthy groceries. Dial, hold, transfer, hold, wait… Finally. Once I got it fixed I was too tired and frustrated to go back in fill my buggy again.

I was so sleepy. My Revivalists kept me awake for a while, but Brad let me come crash at his place when I got to Warner Robins. I was out for a good hour while he politely and quietly watched TV in the other room. We then went and grabbed Panda Express and caught up on life and us and our weekends before I drove home and passed out for the night.

So there are my weekend wanderings. I had some pretty fantastic adventures!

Tell me about you!

  • Favorite concert? Do you prefer front row, balcony, or in the back?
  • Any crazy public transit stories to share?
  • What about cameras? What kind do you have? I have so much learning and relearning to do!

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