Featured Photo by Paige Mast
Story by Emma Burden
The organizers of Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival surprised ticket holders with a Saturday morning announcement — despite heavy rain and mud from Hurricane Helene, Pilgrimage wasn’t canceled.
Off to a damp start from the beginning, hordes of drenched festivalgoers stood in line — which wrapped three times around a large field — and tried not to let the rain soak their spirits. The children of Pilgrimage, splashing in mud puddles and adorned in their dads’ oversized raincoats, had the right idea. It was apparent from gates opening that the easiest way to make it through a rainy, muddy and cold Pilgrimage was to find the fun in it.
Music fans began their day by staring longingly at workers zipping through the mud in covered golf carts as they trudged through mud without umbrellas. However, rain boots quickly started stomping to the beat of Celisse as she took the Midnight Sun stage at 2:15 p.m.
The 230-acre horse farm-turned-festival venue was little more than a swamp this Saturday, but, like the rain, the excitement of both the crowd and performers stayed constant.
“We left Kansas City at about 10 p.m. last night,” singer Joseph Settine of The Brook & The Bluff said onstage. “We drove all night to get here.”
The Brook & The Bluff took the Midnight Sun stage at 3:50 p.m., and, thanks to the cover of the stage, were few of the only people in the vicinity who weren’t soaking wet. The late afternoon crowd was thin, but die-hard fans clung tightly to the barricade, smiling, singing along and having fun despite the circumstances. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real were a few minutes late to their 4:40 p.m. set on the Gold Record Road stage, but, in the midst of dismal weather and an array of festival goodies, who could blame them? Beside the Gold Record Road stage was a village of merchandise tents, selling everything from blankets to bandanas. Near the back of the field, food vendors sold coffee, snow cones and pizza
The crowd packed in tight for Lukas Nelson, with fans not only clinging to the barricade but being pushed into it. Though they had to trade their cowboy boots for rain boots, Lukas Nelson fans turned the Gold Record Road stage into a hoedown.
Californian country shifted into Irish indie as Andrew Hozier-Byrne, known by his stage name Hozier, followed, bringing heat to the freezing at 6:20 p.m.
“This weather gives me f—ing strength,” Byrne said, laughing as he compared the gloomy weather of Franklin to that of Ireland. “God bless you all for sitting through this.”
Byrne powered through sideways rain and swift wind to deliver his blend of rock, indie and folk. He kept a bright smile as he gripped his microphone, thrumming a tambourine against his chest in time with the drum beat.
Before performing the song “Francesca,” Byrne gave an explanation about the meaning behind the track, sharing that it was inspired by a poem centering around two lovers in a place much warmer and drier than Franklin’s Park at Harlinsdale.
Three years after their first headlining set, Dave Matthews Band made the pilgrimage back to Pilgrimage — and so did its fans, sporting more “Dave Matthews Band” branded ponchos than one could count.
The band brought out classic songs and fan favorites for the festival. The “dad rock” leaning band boasted a large crowd of all ages, complete with the obligatory sprinkling of loyal father-aged fans, of course.
“I know you’ve had a long day,” frontman Dave Matthews said as rain dripped down the awning of the Midnight Sun stage. “But just hang on!”
The 7:55 p.m. set had the worst weather of any, rain pelting down on the crowd and sweeping sideways onto the stage. But, despite the drab weather, the set had the liveliest crowd of any. The lyrics of every Dave Matthews Band song were screamed back to the stage, echoing through the festival grounds. Unlike other artists’ sets, Dave Matthews Band was one of the few where vocals weren’t drowned out by thumping bass, which likely contributed to the lively crowd and sing-a-longs.
As the lights came back on at Pilgrimage and crowds headed back to the dry comfort of their cars, they found a new appreciation for the sour weather. Despite soaked skin and white shoes that had long since turned brown, attendees left satiated from rocking out all afternoon and excited for the second, and thankfully final, day of Pilgrimage.
Emma Burden is a Reporter for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact the Lifestyles Editor, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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