Article and photos by Melanie Macpherson (Shifting Focus Photography)
Over the years, I have heard countless stories about Ness Creek. Whenever I mentioned that I’d never been, people would look at me in shock. “There’s nothing else like it,” they’d say. “It just has its own kind of magic.” This year, the lineup was filled with bands I love, so I decided it was time to take the plunge. I arranged for myself, my husband Nolan, and our 11-year-old daughter, Rochelle, to attend as press. I made a list (alright, fine… multiple spreadsheets), trying to plan for every eventuality. We scheduled our days to avoid missing anything. I planned meals for portability and convenience, focusing on my dietary needs since I can’t have gluten or dairy, which makes spontaneous eating nearly impossible.
We had to replace most of our camping gear after losing it in a fire this winter, so we bought a tent, air mattress, cooler, floaties, camp chairs, a solar power station, and sleeping bags, among other supplies. I’m trying to become a more minimalist camper… it's not really working. After days of tetrising all of our gear into the back of a Dodge Journey—and only having to unpack and repack about four times to make it all fit—we were ready. I even made Rochelle repack all her things into a smaller suitcase. Finally, we rolled out and settled in for the three-hour drive, a playlist full of local favorites playing on the stereo.
Instead of writing a 12-part, 85-page description of everything I experienced, loved, hated, and wanted the world to know about Ness, I decided to give readers a brief overview of the highlights for my family. And instead of just sharing photos as I normally would, I wanted to do something a little more “Nessy.” I created a picture book of sorts in an attempt to capture just a bit of the Ness vibe. (And no, I don’t plan to do this for every festival this summer—it took sooo long and is partly why this article is so late—but I regret nothing.)
The best way to summarize the experience is this: The weather was over 32 degrees all weekend, and so humid that my pillows were damp at night. There was a wasp nest right outside our tent door (we didn’t realize until we were fully set up, and we didn’t have the energy to move everything—see comment about weather), and the mosquitos were next-level badasses. Our tent was a 15- to 20-minute walk from “downtown”; I think I logged about 300 miles (hard to tell because there was no cell service, and I just turned my phone off for the weekend, so I didn’t have my step counter). There was an ice shortage, and the food safety rating of everything in our cooler fell far below recommended levels. Most of the bathroom facilities were ‘primitive.’ It was noisy 24 hours a day. BUT, despite all that, I will 100% be going back next year. This festival was so good that, despite probable heat exhaustion, insane numbers of bug bites, aching feet, very little sleep, and a lot of wasted food… I’d return in a heartbeat.
The pics are intended to be viewed easily on a phone screen. Tap to zoom in, or hit the arrows to see the next one in a series.
We arrived early to get our bearings, so Wednesday night was pretty quiet. We set up camp, made supper, wandered around, and tried to take it all in. Thursday, as the gates opened and we watched the flood of campers roll in, we got our first real taste of what Ness is all about. Volunteers were everywhere, stationed in every field and at every gate, ready to assist, guide, and point you in the right direction—not to mention all the behind-the-scenes volunteers we didn’t even see. The amount of organization required to manage that many volunteers on such a scale is incredible. I was very impressed.
We spent much of the first evening wandering around downtown, checking out the food, the beer gardens, the markets, and the artwork. There was so much to see. The variety and quality of food available was a definite festival highlight. Rustixx had wood-fired, handmade pizza (which my family said tasted amazing). Food trucks like Bo-Thai and Pop’s Shwarma offered quality international food, with quite a few gluten-free and vegetarian options. Pop’s Chicken Shwarma bowl was huge—easily enough to feed three people. The main concession, run by Big River’s Third & Main, had a massive selection of burgers, salads, poutine, onion rings, ice cream, baking, and breakfast items. The Prairie Pie Wagon had coffee and homemade pie, though we never got a chance to try it. The Chow Queen truck was set up in Field 2, so a huge variety of food was available even closer to the campsite for those late-night snacks on the way to bed. The lineups were very reasonable considering the number of people they were feeding. If it hadn’t been so hot, I think we’d have eaten a lot more.
The music throughout the weekend was fantastic. With every imaginable genre from punk, rock, alternative, ska, funk, soul, country, folk, bluegrass, and various international sounds, not everything was “my thing.” But as that seems to matter to me less and less these days, it was easy to appreciate how good everyone was at “their thing.” With the inconvenient need to eat, sleep, shop, and walk from one venue to another—never mind the fact that acts ran concurrently in different locations—it would have been physically impossible to catch every performance. We tried to see as many as possible. I’m not going to list every act I saw or missed; there’s a program if you want to know who was there. The exhaustion of days spent in the sun, unfortunately, meant that by the time the world cooled to a comfortable temperature, I was pretty much done for the day. Missing out on a lot of the nightlife of Ness Creek, is probably my one big regret.
Thursday night, we caught the end of Crooked Creek, enjoyed The Waverly Pickers while eating and having a drink in the beer gardens, and even got up to dance along to Skaravan (okay, fine, I don’t really dance, but I bopped along). The star of the show for me, though, was definitely The Radiant, who put on the best set I’ve seen from them yet. And if you follow NSMZ at all, you probably know I’ve seen a lot of Radiant shows. I think I can safely say it wasn’t just my bias—the rest of the crowd seemed just as blown away. Frontwoman Mikhaila Anderson was a mad whirlwind on stage, powering through the heat to give the crowd every last ounce. With the huge main stage, Anderson and the boys had room to move and put on one hell of a dynamic show, ending by hosing down the melting crowd with water guns.
Friday morning, we caught an early bus to Nesslin Lake, excited to experience The Stage of Aquarius. The cool lake water was glorious after two days of extreme heat. This was honestly the highlight of the entire weekend for me. The pictures don’t do it justice, and I’d love to know how many people were there. Floating shoulder-to-shoulder with a sea of strangers sounds like a personal space nightmare, but somehow it worked. With floating party barges handing out sparkling water and the constant Ness reminders to take care of each other and hydrate, you always felt safe, and everyone was so friendly that you never felt crowded. As the blanket of people filled in, you also didn’t have to work as hard to keep your floaty in the right position. As the flotilla shifted and flowed, you found more friends to talk to, both new and old. The music was fantastic, with Dead Ex Girlfriends opening up in hot pink matching outfits and delivering a high-energy, grungy punk set. ThinkTank switched things up with some hip-hop beats. Sëdézë was the real draw for me, though. After seeing them for the first time earlier this summer and becoming an instant fan, I was thrilled they’d be playing twice at Ness. Lovina Tootoosis’ honey-smooth jazzy vocals (think Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone) combined with Karlen Janvier’s raw and gritty soul from behind the drum kit creates a captivating vocal blend that hit all the right spots on that lazy, sunny afternoon. The only downside to an otherwise perfect afternoon was the long, hot, buggy, and hungry wait for the bus back to Ness Creek—that I could have lived without.
By the time we got back and changed, it was about time to catch Sëdézë again on the Main Stage. With more room to move and moodier lighting, the mostly repeated setlist had even more impact. It says something about a band when you can watch them play twice in one day and still wish for more. The rest of the night went by in a bit of a blur of lights, good food, and entirely enjoyable music, but after a day baking in the sun, we were toast and went to bed at about 11, which is probably bordering on blasphemous at Ness.
Saturday, we split up and took in a variety of workshops under a slightly ominous, smoke-filled sky. I headed to the Forest Garden for sessions on medicinal herbs, plant propagation, permaculture site management, and even mind-altering plants. Rochelle dove into everything arts and crafts related, while Nolan embarked on a quest for ice (sadly, he failed). One of the most reassuring aspects of Ness was how comfortable I felt letting my daughter explore on her own. I wasn’t worried at all about her safety, although next time, I’d probably pack walkie-talkies to make finding her easier. The choose your own adventure nature of the festival means there’s something for everyone, all the time.
After a day of workshops, we managed to catch The Great Fuss performing an acoustic supper set at the Community Kitchen. Too hot to eat, we just sat at the back and enjoyed the show. After a set full of great songs they called for requests. Lots of suggestions were shouted out but they ended up going with my suggestion of “White Rabbit.” With no preparation and without even knowing all the words they blew us all away. They may want to consider adding that one to their regular setlist.
By the time we returned to the downtown area, the main stage music was already in full swing. The Secret Beach and Leaf Rapids got everyone warmed up before The Brothers G exploded onto the stage, with a high-energy set of prairie-style cowboy rock. Within moments, the lawn chair crowd surged to their feet, and the area in front of the stage got intense fast. Dressed like old west bandits, the band joked about being over dressed for the weather, but like true professionals they powered through the heat and put on a show that was both charming and wildly entertaining. That momentum continued as Kimmortal delivered an intense, deeply personal hip-hop set, followed by The Boom Booms with their danceable Latin funk sound. Determined to experience the After Hours Stage on this final night, we took some time to get Rochelle settled at the tent and headed over.
The energy at the After Hours Stage was different—more frenzied and definitely more crowded, with a smaller area and stage. It created a party vibe that paired perfectly with the fast and heavy sounds of both The Moon Runners and Dead Ex Girlfriends. The ground was muddy, and my dress was too long, making it hard to take pictures, so I tied the skirt up in a series of knots to get it out of the way and continued working in the crush of people. The sights and sounds are almost impossible to describe. As the official dress-up night of Ness, much of the crowd was a bizarre combination of characters straight out of a fantasy circus, with costumes, lights, and props. Mixed in were the usual partygoers, ready to rock out. It made for a surreal yet entirely fabulous experience. The final set of the night was from blues-rock powerhouse The Velvet Threads. Always fabulous, they provided the perfect end to a very late night, and I sang “Sunday’s Best” (probably loudly) all the way back to my tent in the comfortable coolness of early morning, sporting my very muddy, moderately torn dress without a care.
Rochelle woke bright and early, insisting on participating in the children’s parade. I opted to stay in bed a bit longer, then grabbed some coffee at the Community Kitchen while enjoying a jam session led by Chesterfield. We wandered back downtown too late for the parade but caught some low-key Sunday morning music on the Workshop Stage. The sun was already threatening its wrath, and we decided it was time to pack up and head home after an epic five-day experience. The heat was intense, and the smoke was thick as we packed up all our gear that afternoon, but thoughts of an air-conditioned ride home, followed by a long, hot shower and a real bed kept us going. Ten minutes into the journey, it became clear that air conditioning wasn’t going to be forthcoming, so we made do by stopping at the first available gas station for the best slurpee I’ve ever had. I could have bathed in that glorious cold. We eventually made it home—exhausted, dirty, covered in bug bites—but utterly content.
Throughout the weekend, there were hardships. Some, like the weather and bugs, were out of anyone’s control. Others, like the lack of ice or the long wait for a bus, are areas that could perhaps be improved upon. Long term Nessies (is that a word?) were even referring to this year as "Sweaty-ness". But it’s hard to explain why none of that really matters while you’re there. There’s such a sense of family—a feeling of shared purpose. It’s hard to imagine bringing thousands of people together with no cell service, extremely basic amenities, and a smoky heatwave, and having everyone get along so well. The “Happy Ness” mantra is pervasive and truly has to be experienced to be believed. Everyone was phenomenal, from the friendly security who joked with us every time we went through the gates to all of the workshop leaders, the organizers, volunteers, and just the people in general. Ness Creek has created a festival unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and I can’t wait to go back. Next year, though, I’ll pack more ice and more bug spray.
Oh, and if you're looking for pics to share that aren't in scrapbook form, head to my facebook or insta or just send me a message.
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