Rootwire has been branded from the beginning as more than a music festival and this year is no exception as organizers bring more diversity and a greater sense of community.
Papadosio, the Athens-based band that founded the festival, rocked the crowd for three of the four nights with varying sets and styles ranging from electronic to acoustic.
“I’ve seen them a lot,” said Brennen Nore, who graduated from Ohio University in 2006. “I like how the people react to the environment and keep coming back. Everyone here is family and gives off good vibes.”
During the band’s set, multiple performance artists came on stage to show off their talent, including one man who danced on stage while arranging flowers in a vase based on the mood of the music. Other performers twirled fire, spun brightly lit Hula Hoops, balanced on one another in feats of aerobic yoga and executed gymnastic feats on two long cloths or rings that hung from the stage.
Lights illuminated the field as painters set up canvases in front of the stage to be inspired by the music. One Ohio artist, Justin Roberts, painted on stage and created a landscape that spelled “Rootwire” with the word “root” embedded in the roots of trees and “wire” made of electrical wire.
Roberts said he is a live painter, which means he only paints while the music is playing and creates his entire work within the timeframe of the band’s set.
However, even with all this artistic expression, the festival was not without its problems. The original schedule had the musical acts on the main stage playing well past noise ordinance hours, which caused a last-minute scramble to push all of Saturday’s events a half hour earlier than intended. Security was also increased unexpectedly halfway through the festival to include bag checks.
Dave Weissman, media coordinator for the festival, did not respond to questions regarding those problems.
After music and visual arts, the third leg of the festival was the presenters. People from throughout the country came to give lectures on spirituality and community. Nicholas Nebula, presenter of “Quantum Psychology” and workshop administrative assistant, said the entire festival can be a cathartic release from everyday life if participants are open.
“My approach was different from the other workshops that were based on spirituality and metaphysics … mine was based more on science and physics,” Nebula said. “Rootwire is a ripe environment. If you don’t vibe at my presentation you can walk around and find something that does vibe with you … it’s a co-creative effort.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
