Hillberry Music Festival a five-day fall experience in Eureka Springs
It’s almost time for the Hillberry Music Festival — five days of art, dance, food and craft vendors, plus two stages showcasing a unique mix of Americana,
bluegrass and funk music. The event returns to the Eureka Springs area Oct. 2. It is hosted by The Farm, which has won the Arkansas Country Music Awards Music Venue of the Year and is presented by Jon Walker, awarded Promoter of the Year.
Hillberry burst onto the festival scene in 2015 after the last-minute cancellation of Phases of the Moon Music & Art Festival. Within hours of this news, Walker, owner of Deadhead Productions, created a Facebook page announcing plans for the Hillberry Music Festival. By the end of the day, he had over 1,000 people respond, saying they would attend.
“Phases had merged with the area’s longtime favorite, Harvest Music Festival. No Phases meant no Harvest,” Walker explains. “I felt it was up to me to carry on the magic of Harvest Music Festival for all their dedicated followers.”
With Phases scheduled at nearby Mulberry Mountain, Walker hoped to attract performers who had already planned to be in the area. Hillberry drew 13 of their headliners. His 160-acre concert/event venue, The Farm, bordering the Mark Twain National Forest, proved to be the perfect setting. Hillberry attracts nearly 4,000 attendees annually.
Deadhead Productions has grown the event through the years, interspersing a mix of nationally known artists, such as Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth and Elephant Revival, alongside popular local artists like Arkansauce, Eureka Strings and the Patti Steel Band.
Patti Steel says, “Hillberry has become one of my favorite local music festivals in Arkansas because of the grassroots, team-building atmosphere and the community it has created.”
Get your Hillberry on
Once festivalgoers enter The Farm, they leave the real world behind to become immersed in the Hillberry Experience.
The first order of business is finding a campsite. Walker and his crew have expertly subdivided The Farm’s rolling grass-covered hillsides into distinctly marked avenues. Attendees can cruise the various neighborhoods until they find that perfect site to call home. Once the campsite is in order, it’s time to explore.
It’s a small venue, so no map is needed. Just strike out in whatever direction calls. Marvel over the creative campsites others have constructed. Tie-dye is the requisite pattern, draped across makeshift curtain lines and lounge chairs and featured in the clothing of festivalgoers.
The Farm regularly operates as a campground. There is a general store, showers, a disc golf course and a hiking/biking trail. Attendees purchase a $20 pass for showers and flush toilets. For everyone else, there are wildly painted “vintage” portable toilets, which are well-maintained throughout the festival.
Meander down to Vendor Alley to check out food truck dining options and to grab a morning cup of coffee.
While there, look over the schedule for the Activity Tent. Audience participation workshops, including tie-dye T-shirts, yoga, juggling and meditation, are held daily.
After browsing various tents offering locally crafted apparel, purses and jewelry, head across an open meadow to the
artist community. Hillberry attracts a wealth of talent, with featured artists creating pieces throughout the festival.
In the groove
Artist Mystic Easel (aka Amanda Graves) says she can’t wait to return for this year’s festival, expressing her deep connection with the event.
“Hillberry and The Farm feel like a hug for your soul — the kind that wraps you in reassurance and leaves you with a deep sense of well-being.”
The Main Stage is situated next to the artists’ tents at the end of a valley. The surrounding forest and Ozark Mountains create the perfect natural amphitheater. Music from the stage can be enjoyed throughout The Farm.
The second stage, The Shrine, has a smaller clearing fronting it and is situated further up the hillside. Nestled among the trees, it helps confine the bands’ music, making it an ideal setting for late-night and morning performances.
The Shrine’s name comes from the nearby Jerry Garcia shrine, a native stone memorial for the late musician, who would have been right at home at Hillberry. The memorial is decorated with colorful mementos left by festivalgoers. It is often accompanied by a large bulletin board with strips of ribbon for visitors to write words of wisdom to share with others.
For annual attendees, the Hillberry Music Festival is more than an outdoor concert. It’s community.
At a previous festival, sitting around a campfire as Railroad Earth’s jam rhythms from the Main Stage filled the air, Grant Nally, a regular, captured Hillberry in a single sentence.
“A just-right combination of Arkansas fall camping, excellent roots-based bands and friendly music fans in a setting that lets you pick whatever pace you want.”
Hillberry Music Festival takes place Oct. 2-6 at The Farm in Eureka Springs. For more information, visit hillberryfestival.com.