This year's 14th annual All Good Music Festival was an event to remember, drawing a large and excited crowd of music lovers to West Virginia's premier concert event.

The mountains burst into life as approximately 25 thousand patrons filed into tiny Masontown, W.Va. on July 8 for four days of what turned out to be a marvelous celebration of music, love and harmony. Smiles were abundant and dancing was uninhibited, to say the least.

It's no surprise that this year's festival reached such a size when considering the incredible line-up of musicians, not to mention the promise upheld each year at All Good of having absolutely no overlapping sets.

"All Good is particularly nice because there aren't overlapping sets, and we can just pick up and play as soon as the last band finishes."Joe Tatton, keyboardist for The New MastersoundsThough the legendary jam band The Grateful Dead is no longer whole, the spirit of the band and the message of its music was prevalent at All Good.

Headlining acts Further, featuring original Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir, and Dark Star Orchestra, a long-running Grateful Dead tribute band, delivered spectacular performances, showing that great music never gets old.

Former vocalist for the Grateful Dead, Donna Jean Godchaux opened the festival Thursday night with her band and with guest guitarist Jeff Mattson. Mattson was recently named the new official lead guitarist for Dark Star Orchestra after their original guitarist was asked to tour with Further.

Dark Star Orchestra headlined later that Thursday evening, with Mattson, recreating an original Grateful Dead set list with stunning loyalty to the original sound. The audience was left begging for more, which was exactly what was in store for them.

Campers experienced the unpredictable weather of Marvin's Mountaintop on Friday as rain lingered for most of the afternoon. However, spirits did not seem to be dampened. The sheer size of the crowd became much more obvious as the evening approached and fans gathered at the main stage for Further's extra long set, ponchos and glow sticks ready.

Further wasn't the only name attracting the crowd Friday, though. The entire day was crammed with all-star acts. Umphrey's McGee played a powerhouse set list, featuring both older songs from the Anchor Drops album to the newer but fewer Mantis cuts. Old Crow Medicine Show added some classic bluegrass sound to the afternoon mix, while Cornmeal's set, just before Further, kicked the bluegrass sound up one or two rock and roll notches. 

Bassnectar and Lotus wrapped it up after Further with late night electronic and dance music. A vast majority of the crowd remained until the very end, dancing their soggy sandals off and enjoying the positive energy, which seemingly became a trend for the whole weekend.

Saturday's line up shaped up to be just as strong as the day before, only with the added bonus of sunny skies. Papadosio and Railroad Earth played very solid sets after an interesting performance from the alien-costumed group called Big Nazo, who seem to be an All Good favorite.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic brought the funk and really got the energy flowing for what would continue to be a spectacular night of music. They performed many classics that have inspired new funk musicians, like the New Mastersounds, for generations. The New Mastersounds, who performed in Knoxville just last April, kept the funk going that evening with a little added European touch of dance beats.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be here," said New Mastersounds bassist Pete Shand, "And I can't believe I just saw George Clinton backstage!"

Even more thrilling for the New Mastersounds, who come all the way from Leeds, England to tour in America, was that they performed just before the huge headliner Widespread Panic. This provided an enormous audience for their set, many of which might not have heard the New Mastersounds before. Everyone who came early for the headlining act got a very special treat!

Keyboardist Joe Tatton said, "All Good is particularly nice because there aren't overlapping sets, and we can just pick up and play as soon as the last band finishes." Shand added, "And here, and really anywhere in America, the crowd is great. They practically beg for more jams on songs and they love the continuous energy."

"We are absolutely thrilled to be here... And I can't believe I just saw George Clinton backstage!"Pete Shand, bassist for The New MastersoundsThe New Mastersounds gave the audience exactly what they wanted. Forty-five minutes later, the crowd was on their feet and ready to boogie all night. This was the perfect warm-up for an extra long set from the always solid and ever popular Widespread Panic.

Late night for Saturday was a slight change up from the first two nights, where The New Deal, Bassnectar and Lotus brought the electronic element to the festival.

After Widespread Panic finished, the fantastic New Orleans based Garage A Trois took over and brought some delightfully organic deep South character to the stage. This band is chocked full of talent with Charlie Hunter, Galactic's drummer Stanton Moore, Mike Dillion and the legendary freak-saxophonist known as Skerik.

Last but not least, Yonder Mountain String Band played their much anticipated late night set, playing both their usual jam-bluegrass as well as spicing things up a bit with some awesome covers of After Midnight and Crazy Train. Yep, that's right; Randy Rhodes probably never imagined that a mandolin could sound so good on his solos!

A true All Good veteran, Keller Williams helped bring the weekend to a close with two separate sets on Sunday. Moonshine Breakfast with Keller and the Keels helped nurse the tired who remained for the final day, followed by the Lee Boys and The Travelin' McCoury's, who brought a soulful and tasteful touch of the Holy Spirit to that Sunday on the mountain. 

Next, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a rock and soul group that has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years, performed one of the most impressive sets of the weekend. The lovely young Grace Potter sang with that certain soulfulness that gives you goose bumps, and her Gibson Flying V just made the sound all the more surreal.

Finally, wrapping up the festival, Keller Williams and the Added Bonus played their farewell set, including a heartfelt thank you from Williams for all the fans who stuck it out to the end yet again and for all the crew and artists who also made the weekend possible. Keller has played at every All Good for 14 years, and his fans are as loyal and appreciative as he is of them.

All Good 2010 truly was a huge success, from ticket sales to quality of music to the enjoyment of all. One spot of bad weather on Friday seemed to be the only setback in the entire weekend. Many showed the first signs of disappointment only as they packed their things and memories and said goodbye to all the wonderful new friends made.