Vibes Celebrates 15th Year

The Gathering of the Vibes annual music, arts and camping festival honoring Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead recently celebrated its 15th gathering, a four-day festival held July 29 – August 1 featuring Damian Marley and Nas, Primus, Jimmy Cliff, Rhythm Devils featuring Keller Williams, Umphrey’s McGee, Galactic, Jackie Greene, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Steve Kimock and Crazy Engine, and many, many more. Along side the big names, the Gathering of the Vibes continued to showcase extraordinarily talented, young, up-and-coming bands to the thousands attending the event in Bridgeport, CT.

Held in six different venues over its fourteen years, Vibes 2010 marks the festival's sixth return to Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT, making Seaside Park the Vibes venue more than any other place. Vibes has become the Northeast's preeminent music festival — springing from traditions born in the Grateful Dead community. Telefunken Elektroakustik has been involved in the Vibes since year two, not only as a sponsor but recording the event. In fact, the M80 was partially developed at Vibes by "Vibing" with the artists and engineers about what an on-stage mic "should be." With the help of bands like Umphree's McGee, and other Vibes regulars, the M80 became a reality. Now the M80 is seen with nearly every band that comes through, a true "Full Circle" kind of thing. And the process continues as we work with artists at Vibes to develop new products for stage and studio.

What a rich history Vibes has had! During the band's 30 year run, the Grateful Dead sparked the creation of an unparalleled sub-culture of loyally devoted enthusiasts. More than just another band, the Grateful Dead became a way of life for thousands of self-proclaimed Deadheads. For decades, Grateful Dead shows served as a community-building institution where followers revelled with friends both old and new. When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, these fans were left with a void.

In 1996, Ken Hays, a local businessman and Grateful Dead aficionado, got some of his friends together to throw a memorial party for Garcia on the campus of SUNY Purchase. Aptly named "Deadhead Heaven - A Gathering of the Tribe", the event provided a forum for music lovers to celebrate the life of Garcia and to reunite for a weekend of spiritual renewal. In 1997, the festival relocated to Croton Point Park, NY and was re-named "Gathering of the Vibes."

In each year since, Gathering of the Vibes has carried the spirit of these initial events forward by creating wholly unique musical experiences for attendees from far and wide. The folks who come to the Vibes annually to build and renew their bonds of friendship comprise the community that has affectionately become known as the Vibe Tribe.

In 1999 Vibes found a natural home for the annual event at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT. Then in 2000, Bob Weir became the first Grateful Dead alumni to grace the Vibes’ stage, performing both with his band Ratdog and in a memorable sit-in with bass virtuoso Les Claypool.

In 2001, as Seaside Park began to undergo major renovations, the Vibes moved to Red Hook, NY for its most well-attended event to date. Following the year in Red Hook, the Vibes took up a five-year residency at Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, NY from 2002 through 2006, highlighted by an incredible two-night performance by Phil Lesh & Friends over Independence Day weekend 2002.

In 2007, Gathering of the Vibes came home to Seaside Park, re-kindling the magic of the unforgettable 1999 & 2000 shows. With the help of the Vibe Tribe and the generous support of the City of Bridgeport, Vibes 2010 marked an extraordinary 15th anniversary on the shores of Long Island Sound.

Telefunken Elektroakustik is proud to be a sponsor of Vibes 2010, and especially proud of our 15 year association with Vibes. For years we recorded the festival with our old remote truck. Supporting live music is our passion. At this year's festival, two of our new R-F-T AR 51 mics were utilized in recording the festival, its smooth mid-range, open top end, and solid well-balanced low frequency translation making it a great choice for the musical variety of Vibes 2010 from vocals to drums and percussion to acoustic guitar to saxophone. And Telefunken Elektroakustik dynamic M80's delivered their signature wide emotional range with depth and clarity for on-stage performers. Team TFunk included Jason Scheuner, Toni Fishman, and Rebecca Vandercar alongside the inimitable Telefunken VW bus at the vibes.

Event: Gathering of the Vibes 2010
Location: Bridgeport, CT
Genre(s): Americana, blues, folk, country, rock
Years Active: 1995 - present
Official Website: GatheringoftheVibes.com.

Team TFunk at Vibes

(Click for larger image)

M80 & AR-51 mics