The first Trinumeral Music & Arts Festival took place in Miami on January 1, 2001 and has been held each subsequent year on the date in which the day, month, and year align in an auspicious numeric sameness. This years festivities took place just south of Asheville in Deerfields, NC from August 8-10, featuring jam-friendly headliners like Galactic featuring Boots Riley, Conspirator, Lotus and Midnite, as well as an increasingly rare performance by Particle. In addition, Trinumeral placed particular emphasis on the arts aspect of the festivals offerings, including live painting during most performances, burlesque shows, belly dancers and the Ariel Arts, who hung, swung and performed from the rafters of the main stage during Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band and Afromotive. Attendees also had access to a pair of swimming holes, while sandcastle artist Billy Jack served as the weekends Master of Ceremonies.
Conspirators marquee set turned into something of a 3/4th Disco Biscuits performance when drummer Allen Aucoin took the stage with the group for familiar songs like Orch Theme, Caves of the East and Oname Wa. Aucoin was at Trinumeral for a performance under his DrFameus electronica alias. Lane Shaw of Pnuma Trio also took the stage with Conspirator to play drums on Commercial Amen. Likewise, String Cheese Incidents Michael Kang sat in with his longtime bandmates Michael Travis and Jason Hann throughout their entire all-improv EOTO performance.
For many, some of the weekends best moments took place on the Ocho Stage, which showed emerging artists. Highlights included a set by the Charlotte group Incognito Mosquito, Miami indie-rockers The Jean-Marie and the bluegrass/metal hybrid The New Familiars. Former Perpetual Groove keyboardist Matt McDonald also returned to perform a solo set on the festivals mainstage. The festival will likely shift locations for a performance around September 9, 2009