Go Yell It On The Mountain

The inaugural Kaleidoscope Music Festival attracts thousands to Emerald Meadows

Love or hate the idea of Emerald Meadows as a thumping festival hotspot pulsing with thousands of gyrating bodies, there is one thing no one can deny: Eugene has never seen a music spectacle like Kaleidoscope Music Festival (Aug. 23-25) before. EW stared down the barrel of that neon prismatic lens and came out the other end. This is what we saw.

Reactions to Kaleidoscope have ranged from youthful squeals of euphoria — “This was most epic weekend of my life!” — to fist-shaking “get off my lawn” disapproval. Friday’s headliner Bassnectar — baron of the bass heads — even weighed in online the morning after: “Eugene, Oregon, went wild last night in one of the most killer outdoor camping venues I’ve seen on the West Coast. Perfect crowd, perfect weather, perfect evening.” The countdown has already begun for Kaleidoscope Music Festival 2014 (and 2015); OneEleven, the production company behind the event, has a three-year contract with the county.

Photos by Todd Cooper.

Lil B

Schoolboy Q

DJ Shadow

Minnesota and Amp Live

Rain did not seem to phase the crowd at Griz

Afroman

Beats Antique

Nas

Empire of the Sun

Bassnectar

Capital Cities

The Thermals

Blue Scholars

Souls of Mischief