WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005
WAKARUSA
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
11
Fans enjoy profusion of musical genres
KANSAN She
crowd or "?" or the sales er's Day, need fur-
ns any-
drink," to make
Billy Nershi, guitarist and vocals, performs barefoot on a rug on the stage. The Boulder, Colo.-based group String Cheese Incident played for a full, energetic crowd June 17.
BY ADAM LAND
aland@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Music from a jam band emanated from one campground stage as sounds from an adjacent stage could be heard. People came and went listening to one then another and concentrated on the music.
concentrated on the diversity of bands at the Wakarusa Music Festival was incendiary, giving fans an eclectic lineup on all stages.
The campground stages offered lesserknown bands, but not less talented. Bands such as Jervis Jort, Big Metal Rooster and Ten Mile Tide gave an uplifting start to the festival.
While the main stages were still being built, participants packed the stage tents, dancing and singing along with the bands.
ferent bands.
June 17 began with much the same fervor at the campsite stages, but people were less stationary. People would pack the stages in waves, listening to many dif-
The reason for this transiency came from the opening of the main stages, where fans and other listeners were given a taste of bands ranging from Carbon Leaf to North Mississippi Allstars and String Cheese Incident.
Thousands of people came for the latter two, filling the Sun Down stage for the hour-plus sets.
"This is crazy, there are a lot of people here," Aaron Classi, Topeka senior said.
Even after the official music ended, guitars and sing-a-longs could be heard throughout the campsite, with people dancing in and around tents and along the streets.
Dancing was a pervasive theme, continuing from the beginning to the end.
Fans often took breaks from the nomadic tendency and sat or lay down to listen to one particular band.
Matisyahu, Chubby Carrier and Jazz
June 18 about 15,000 people were listening, leaving and returning to a number of bands.
Mandolin Project played throughout the festival and the crowds for all three grew from word of mouth by the end of the weekend.
By June 19, fans were expecting their favorite songs and performances from Matisyahu, a reggae band, and Chubby Carrier, a self-proclaimed Northern Louisiana calypso band. Fans sang along with a Chubby Carrier version of the Todd Rundgren song, "Bang on the drum all day."
The festival came to a close with perennial Lawrence players Big Head Todd and the Monsters and Split Lip Rayfield. The '70s band, Little Feat, even did a set on the final day to help close the concert.
Galactic, a New Orleans funk band, closed the main stage to a crowd of thousands.
Attendees were as likely to hear music ranging from reggae to bluegrass, as they were to see a BMW or a Volkswagen bus. And the music was as diverse as the people attending the concert.
—Edited by Erin M. Droste
DEATH
Tragedies occur during lake festivities
BY ADAM LAND
aland@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
With no serious injuries through June 18, the Wakarusa Music Festival almost escaped its four days without tragedy. But that was not the case.
First, the Douglas County Sheriff's office was called June 19. at 4:15 p.m., for a medical emergency, according to a statement issued by the sheriff's office.
A 29-year-old man had stopped breathing at the front gate of the festival, 775 N.1415 Rd.
Deputies and Lawrence Douglas County Fire and Medical responded to the call but found the man deceased when they arrived.
He was later identified as William J. Pospisil, Key Largo, Fla., resident.
An investigation is ongoing into his death, but at this time the sheriff's office does not suspect foul play.
The Douglas County Coroner's office will conduct an autopsy, according to the release.
The second possible tragedy is the search for a missing festival attendant.
Robert Jensen, a 20-year-old, New Caanan, Conn., man, was reported missing at the Clinton State Park, June 20, according to a sheriff's office press release. The search began Monday evening at approximately 6:30.
Jensen was last seen at 2 p.m. June 20, when he told acquaintances he was going swimming. The 6 foot 4 inch,175 pound Caucasian male with reddish brown dreadlocks, was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with a colored collage of squares on the front, long dark shorts with corduroy patches, flip-flops and a Rastafarian-style hat, according to the release.
The sheriff's office and the Kansas State Wildlife and Parks Department are searching for the missing man.
Anyone with information about the man should call either the sheriff's office at 841-0007, or the Clinton State Park Headquarters at 842-8562.
— Edited by Erin M. Droste
841-4833
920 E. 11th Street