Sure, the Woodstock 50th anniversary festival may have been cancelled, but we have our own three-day camping music festival right here in the Upstate this weekend! Since we’re in the mountains, the music has a distinctly grassy flavor, covering a wide range of music that falls into the Americana genre.

    Pumpkinstock is the brain child of long-time music festival promoter Pat Mulkey, and although the idea for this festival came because he wanted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock—particularly with the on again, off again, and now definitely off again roller coaster ride of the big anniversary show in New York—he’s calling this the inaugural event, hoping to do it annually.

    Pat Mulkey on the Bonfire Music Fest property

    The festival is hosted by Mulkey’s Bonfire Music Fest, a campground in Pumpkintown that was developed especially for camping music festivals, with both RV sites and tent sites. This will be the second festival held on the property, after a very soggy one a couple of years ago where it rained all weekend. The forecast for this weekend is much more favorable for an outdoor music festival—and even if it’s a little hot, festival goers are welcome to cool off in the river on the property (but no glass in or near the river, please!).

    Three-day tent or RV passes as well as single-day passes (no single-day camping) can be purchased online. There are no hookups for RVs, but you can bring a generator, and there are plenty of Port-a-Johns around the camp sites. The festival is kid- and pet-friendly (with a $10 pet fee that will be donated to the Pickens County Humane Society), and campers can bring their own food and drinks or buy meals and beer and wine from food trucks that will be onsite.

    Gates open to campers at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, with music getting underway at 4:00 p.m. until right before midnight. Saturday’s lineup starts playing at noon, and on Sunday the music starts goes from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.

    The Grass is Dead, a bluegrass Grateful Dead cover band led by Billy Gilmore, is the host band for the festival, and the West End String Band is “the official campground band.”

    Other bands include:

    Songs from the Road Band, a folky, grassy band

    Fresh Hops, which features a fiddle, but also some funky fusion and just plain fun

    Marvin King Revue, definitely more blue than grass

    The Raelyn Nelson band, fronted by Willie Nelson’s granddaughter

    JGBCB—Jerry Garcia Cover Band, which is pretty self-descriptive

    Mama Said String Band, an almost-all-female new-grass band (only the fiddle player is male)

     

    The Complete Music Lineup for Pumpkinstock:

    Friday

    Marvin King Revue

    RJ Galloway

    Westend String Band

    Marvin King Revue

    Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band JGBCB

    The Grass Is Dead

     

    Saturday

    RJ Galloway

    My Girl My Whiskey and Me

    Sunflowers and Sin

    Shuffel Button

    Kelly Jo and Phat Lip

    Sunflowers and Sin

    Mama Said String Band

    Fresh Hopps Band

    Raelyn Nelson Band

    Billy Gilmore and Grass Is Dead

    Bonfire Jam

     

    Sunday

    Mama Said String Band

    Some Very Special Guests

    West End String Band—Our Official Campground Band!

    Rev Jeff Mosier and Friends and Family Jam

    Songs from the Road Jam

    The Grass is Dead’s Goodbye Jam

    Pickin’ at the Fire

    This schedule is subject to change, but regardless of what the lineup looks like, a good time will be had by all.