The Summer Camp Music Festival, an annual staple for Chillicothe, Illinois, is to be discontinued following this years gathering on Memorial Day weekend. Producer of the festival, Ian Goldberg, shared the news in a recent press release.
The Summer Camp Music Festival first began in 2001 and has since been known for its trademark late night events, open field shows, campgrounds, and a consistent line up of incredible artists and bands. The 2023 Memorial Day weekend will mark its 22nd year running, bringing back host bands moe. and Umphrey’s McGee along with headliners Willie Nelson & Family, Badflower, and more.
In his statement, Goldberg related that the show will not come to a definite end as the team still plans to throw a redefined camping and music experience at the Three Sisters Park every Memorial Day starting in 2024. The need for change is said to come from logistical challenges that emerged from the pandemic along with the difficulties of throwing an independent festival of this size against large corporate competition. Goldberg claims that these problems have had the team reevaluating how the festival runs for a while now which has led to more road blocks.
“Reimagining Summer Camp had its own challenges, we could not figure how to scale back the event in a way that would feel true to everything Summer Camp Music Festival has come to be,” Goldberg stated. “Cutting pieces of it felt like leaving our children behind. So we decided it was time to put the Summer Camp Music Festival to rest. For now.”
More details about the new Summer Camp festival are said to be released to the public after this year’s concerts. While being different from what concert goers have grown to love, the producer emphasizes that the new rendition will include certain aspects of the original that experienced Sumer Campers will find very familiar.
This year’s Summer Camp Music Festival will commence on May 26th, and, as Goldberg claims, will be “insanely meaningful.”
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