Four years ago Kirk and Kelly Davis came up with an idea and vision that any fans of their favorite band could ever hope for, and brought it to fruition. The idea of setting up a music fest, in which that band would be the sole focus, and in our case bring together not only the fans and the band, but a place where the interaction and getting together of fans and most definitely friends alike, could drop everything in their world and get together for three days in the most intimate of settings. For us, the Jackmormons have been around for a while and the majority of those attending all know each other well enough to form a kind of unique family that in my opinion only music could somehow play a major part in. We have seen this in large versions like that of the Grateful Dead. However, Dixie Mattress and Jerry and the Jackmormons came together to create something much more personal.

Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons have had a very tight group of fans for a long time and there are usually several opportunities that a majority of the fan base will plan ahead and see a few shows together. Aka…NYE run, Colorado runs NW runs, etc. Dixie is much different in the sense that it has been hand crafted to happen at the same time every year and hopefully at what now looks to be the same venue which is where it was this past June at the Pendarvis’ Farm in Happy Valley, OR. There could not be a more fitting and conducive place than this to put this get together on. As Dixie has been THE gathering place for JMOS fans around the country, this year seemed to be extra special. I attended the first DMF but did not go to the last two. This is simply because I am usually home in Colorado entertaining a great number of old friends at a certain annual concert out here. It is hard for me to pick between the two, but what it has come down to, especially as we grow a bit older is the family that is brought together and which band is clearly playing on a higher caliber. These days that family or groups of friends are my JMOS friends, and that is why I will always attend this Festival.

This year the Jackmormons had just come off a run of shows supporting their new album Happy Book, in which I was able to catch two shows in CO before heading out to Oregon for the Dixie Mattress Festival. I had been looking forward to this for so long, talking to my friends from Oregon, Seattle, Idaho, CO, Montana, California, the Midwest, and those from the East coast. Since the band had been playing to back the new album, most of the shows where very similar, in that they played a great majority of the new album at each show, which the exception of Steamboat Springs, where the they played an all old school set list show. This is one thing I knew would be so great about DMF. The band wasn’t going to their festival to push the new album on us each night, we all already knew every song by heart, yet they had 3 days and 7 sets to play a hugely mixed bag of songs spanning material from Jerry’s days in Little Women to his newest song to date. This obviously grants great diversity.

When I first arrived I set up camp at my Camper and began to explore. The Pendarvis’ Farm is definitely a cool place consisting of acres of camping surrounding two main barns where the music took place. There were already paths set up with lights and random trinkets (Giant sculpted horses, and a not quite sure if its real, piano outside in the middle of nowhere, yet a great landmark to let you know you were near the show. All Jackmormons’ sets except the Sunday acoustic show took place at the main Galaxy Barn, which literally had a single horse stall and grazing area attached to it, with an old zook horse that added just that much more ambiance to the place. The other side had a huge bonfire pit and a place to grab some food. We even had a Chili cook off on Saturday afternoon and me and my Teammate Emika took second, Thank You. This barn couldn’t have been a more perfect size for the crowd, the band, and the sound and lighting to all fit together. The infamous Jim Bull took over sound duty as he had for many, many years before for the Jackmormon’s. It has often been said that a JMOS show isn’t a JMOS show without Jim Bull at the helm Friday night got started with a couple opening acts; Adam Sorensen, Quasi Horse, and the infamous Stunt Poets. Then it was time for Jerry and CO. to take the stage.

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