October 12 kicked off the first and hopefully annual, Echo Project music festival. The concert took place south of Atlanta on the Bouckaert farm.  Competing with the likes of Bonnaroo, which takes place over the summer, the Echo Project had a lot to live up to in terms of music, organization, and most importantly, having a good time. I can safely say that the organizers were onto something; giving my comrades and myself quite possibly the greatest three days of our lives.

The basic idea and underlying theme behind the Echo Project is to promote environmental awareness through music, art and various presentations and demonstrations throughout the weekend. While this aspect was the driving force behind the festival, the music was obviously the main reason why some 10,000 people gathered from across the states on this beautiful 300-acre piece of land.

The festival featured over 100 acts spread across five stages. Headlining the festival were The Flaming Lips, The Killers, and Phil Lesh and Friends. Cypress Hill, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bassnectar, Les Claypool, Cat Power, Thievery Corporation and The Disco Biscuits were just a few other amazing acts the promoters were able to snag for the festival. The stages were organized well with very few major time conflicts for the larger acts and little to no noise pollution from the other stages. Conveniently, the center of the festival was located a short five minutes from the campsites.

Friday began the epic weekend with main stage headliners Cypress Hill and The Flaming Lips.  Cypress Hill put on one of the funner shows of the weekend, with lead Emcee B. Real running through all of their hits and inciting quite possibly one of the largest clouds of marijuana smoke to ever grace an outdoor music festival. 

The real draw of the weekend came with the Flaming Lips Friday night. Being a fan for the last five years and only seeing them for the first time at Bonnaroo, I was more than excited to have an opportunity to see them again. Seeing The Flaming Lips live is the only true way to find the meaning of life.  The show began with lead singer/frontman Wayne Coyne rolling on top of the crowd in a giant plastic bubble, one of the more interesting and exciting aspects of the show (I actually got to touch Wayne). From the opening of their first song, "Race for the Prize," the crowd was continuously showered in confetti and giant orange balloons, inciting the largest party I have ever been a part of.  The experience was something that cannot be put into words. 

As the Flaming Lips finished their set, The Disco Biscuits began on an adjacent stage, playing their interesting mix of electronic/dance/rock followed by the insane electronic beats of Bass Nectar. Needless to say, it was not very difficult to stay warm in the 30 degree weather, dancing and running around in a crowd of several thousand until 2 a.m.

While Friday was easily the pinnacle of the weekend, Saturday led in strong with Perpetual Groove, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and the GZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame. The only conflict of the weekend came while Thievery Corporation played during the same time slot as Cat Power and the Delta Blues Band.  I've been a long time fan of Cat Power and eventually made the choice that she was the more important of the two. 

As the sun began to go down, the electronic act Rabbit in the Moon took the stage, presenting one of the most psychedelic experiences I have ever witnessed.  Musically, Rabbit is a fairly straightforward, powerful electronic group. The stage performance was riddled with costumes, dancing, glow sticks and two screens displaying psychedelic images. At one point a dancer brought out a small saw and a metal cover for his arm in one of the more interesting tricks of the show.  He began showering the crowd with sparks from the saw, even pulling a girl up on stage and shooting the sparks from just below her neck.  This was one of the highlights of the day, besting the headliner for the evening, The Killers. 

While I enjoy The Killers, their set was basically a quick run through of the hits from their two albums.  It was fun to hear live, but I felt like I was just sitting in a field somewhere listening to a CD player.  Following The Killers, jam band favorite Moe took the stage for two hours, while MSTRKRFT brought the late night party on the opposite side of the field.

Sunday brought the festival to a close with several high-energy performances from the strange, yet entertaining Man Man, the Marchforth Marching Band, Umphrey's McGee, Spoon and The Roots.  After two days of nonstop fun, Sunday was spent mostly laying in the grass listening rather than participating.  Sadly, I missed the closer of Grateful Dead fame, Phil Lesh and Friends due to pesky classes on Monday I had to make it back for.

The Echo Project has left big shoes to fill next year, but if this inaugural year is any indication of what`s to come, there will be no problem filling those shoes.