Mountain Jam (festival)


Mountain Jam is an annual music festival held in upstate New York that began in 2005. It has grown to become the largest rock music and camping festival in New York. The festival was held at Hunter Mountain ski resort for fourteen years, usually in early June. In February 2019, organizers for the Festival announced that the festival was moving to the location of the original Woodstock festival, the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

History

Mountain Jam was originally conceived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of WDST/Radio Woodstock. More than 3,300 people attended the initial one-day event in 2005, reviews of which were overwhelmingly positive. The founder, Gary Chetkof, along with Warren Haynes, and members of Radio Woodstock, decided to make the event annual. Over time, the festival has grown to include a diverse lineup of smaller artists, as well as large acts including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Robert Plant, The Black Keys, The Lumineers, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir,The Allman Brothers Band, Levon Helm, The Alabama Shakes, Steve Miller Band, Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Pretty Lights. Gov't Mule, the band Haynes co-founded, performed at every Mountain Jam until 2016.

Venue

Mountain Jam's three stages allow for continuous music each day. There is a Main Stage, a 2nd Stage that showcases emerging artists, and an acoustic stage that is part of smaller Greek-style amphitheater. One of the best amenities at Bethel is that every camping spot allows for a car-side parking spot, which makes camping much easier for campers.
At Hunter Mountain, The East Stage was the largest, overlooking the main terrain of the resort. Adjacent to the East Stage was the West Stage, near the resort's chair lift; and Inside the Base Lodge a third stage is set up for late night acts and musicians who require indoor amenities.
Amenities for event goers include a tent camping area in the Hunter One section of the resort and RV camping farther up the mountain. Various hotels also serve the town year-round, and the Kaatskill Mountain Club hotel and Liftside Condominiums are both within walking distance of the festival.
Some years have seen non-stop rain for almost the entire duration of the festival, while other events have had sunny and temperate weather.
In 2019, the organizers of the venue planned to switch the location of the festival from Hunter Mountain to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

2005

The original Mountain Jam, a single-day event on June 4, 2005, celebrated the 25th anniversary of WDST, Woodstock's radio station. The festival featured performances by:
The 2006 Mountain Jam took place June 2–4. The New York Times described it as a "little Bonnaroo".
The lineup included:
Friday Night
Saturday
Sunday
Mountain Jam 2007 took place June 1–3 and was cited as was the largest music festival in the Northeast/New England.
The lineup featured:
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mountain Jam 2008 took place May 30-June 1.
The three-day lineup included:
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mountain Jam 2009 took place May 29–30. The lineup included:
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mountain Jam 2010 took place June 4 to June 6.
The lineup included:
Also included was a brief set in tribute to Levon Helm, who was based in nearby Woodstock and had died on April 20. The set featured Gov't Mule, the Levon Helm Band, and special guests.

2013

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The 14th Mountain Jam took place from Thursday, June 14th to Sunday, June 17, 2018 with the following acts:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The 15th Annual Mountain Jam took place from June 13th-16th at Bethel Woods Center For The Arts At The Historic Site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
The 16th Annual Mountain Jam was scheduled to take place May 29th-May 31st 2020 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The event was canceled on March 31st due to the COVID-19 outbreak.