Spring is here, and the festival vibe is in the air. We have another great lineup for you this year that includes the return of many festival longtime favorites and we’re proud to bring great new talent to the stage, as well.
The lineup is just one part of the festival story. The real spirit of this event lies with you, the fans. In the early years of the festival, the crowd was small but devoted. An interesting dynamic developed in those early years that still continues: for a few days each April, the festival becomes a community, united by a passion for lyrics that touches the heart and music that makes you wanna dance. People make friends with their new, albeit temporary, neighbors. Daytime finds the campground filled with groups of people sharing a meal or locked into intense games like forty-two, horseshoes and washers or simply kicked back in lawn chairs, soaking in a little sun, and relaxing. Each night when the main stage goes dark, the campground lights up with campfires and the community comes together around those fires to share food, drinks, and stories. Professional and nonprofessional songwriters hop from one campfire to another into the wee hours of the morning, playing requests and sharing the stories behind their music.
More than simply coming together, though, the LJT community takes care of each other, in big and small ways. You don’t have to worry long if you forgot matches to light a fire or an ingredient for one of the meals you planned to cook on that fire. Someone always has extra and is willing to share.
Our community has obviously grown since the early days of crowds of one or two hundred. We’ve expanded from two days to six, from one stage to three, from hundreds of campers to thousands, from fans being mostly from Texas and Oklahoma to people from across the US and Europe. Regardless of crowd size, one thing remains the same: we look out for each other. When you drive through the front gate, you’re on sacred ground. Friendships have been forged here. Relationships begun. Souls have been bared in song, and careers launched. Friends we’ve lost are remembered in the melodies & drum beats that pulse across the festival grounds. Perhaps some of those friends still listen. We’d like to think so. We’d also like to think we make them proud by carrying on our tradition of care all these years later, even though our village has become a city.
When you show up in April, we want you to have a good time but we also want you to honor our past by helping each other out. We know there are always a few people in any community who are willing to cause harm but they are far outnumbered by folks like you who are there to relax, listen/play music and have a good time. If you see trouble brewing let our staff know. Contact uniformed security or D&L Security that will be all around the campground and stage areas. They are hired privately for one reason…to keep you safe. If you are not near security personnel go to the festival office located on the main road next to the windmill, the EMT Tent located next to the office, main gates, merch booth, showers, front gates...all these areas will have a way to contact security.
This year we will all we be wearing a #SafeLJT wristband. Join us! Pick up your free armband at the Merchandise booth. Wearing that band means you’re part of a community, and you’re committed to the safety of the community. We anticipate seeing those bands all over our campground, because we know the type of people who make up 99 percent of the crowd.
We look forward to seeing you! We’ll eat, drink, play a lot of music and help each other out when we get the chance, just like we’ve always done.
#Safe LJT