For many punk rockers on the east coast - the beginning of August marks one of our favorite times of year in Appalachia - The Savage Mountain Punk Festival. This year the dates fell on August 6-8th and was held at the all ages venue, Mezzos, in Cumberland, MD. The building that houses the Mezzos has 3 levels. The bottom level is where the bands play with a green room for the bands, a full bar, and a merch area. The middle level is a bar with a restaurant and a cigar lounge and the top level had tattoo artists this year. There are also local artists and vendors who set up all over the vicinity to sell their wares in between sets.
Regrettably, I was not able to attend the first night. The line up included: Peep Show, M-60, Dead End Lane, The Cryptkeeper Five, Hayley and the Crushers, and Blitzkid. Word has it that the evening was spectacular.
Early Friday afternoon, I packed my car cooler with Mountain Dew, water, and peanut butter sammies, (because I’m a classy lady like that) and made my way to Cumberland. When I rolled into town, I met up with some friends and we did an outdoor day activity. When we were finished, we headed back to town and cleaned up for the evening’s activities. I arrived early to the Mezzos where I started to interview some of the bands playing. I spent the better part of an hour in the cigar lounge with Paperback Tragedy; laughing and chatting amidst the cigar smoke around us.
Friday kicked off with Little Devil Bvstvrds and they set the energy high for the evening. Following them were Paperback Tragedy, Mud City Manglers, The Take, The Downstrokes, Tick, and Titus Andronicus. As the night progressed - more and more people filled the space. Some familiar faces, some not. But to quote Paperback Tragedy’s song “We All Die”, “There’s no strangers here, just friends you haven’t met.” That was really the feeling of the entire evening. Laughter and joy radiated from everyone. I sat down with Little Devil Bvstvards after their set and they said, “You walk into Savage Mountain and it's like a family reunion.”
I rolled into Maryland earlier on Saturday than the day before, because I got an invitation to the legendary Savage Mountain pool party. Although I already wrote about this event, it's a party that is privately hosted and funded by members of the board as a thank you to the punk community. Steve Jackson jumping into the pool after The Pietasters set signaled the end and we all packed up.
Now, this is where I made the gravest error of the weekend. I did not get a hotel room for the weekend. Since I only lived an hour and 20 minutes away, I had been commuting daily. Everyone else headed back to their rooms to nap and shower. I decided to explore the town during this time and hit up a couple of thrift stores and nurseries. I napped in my car for about 30 minutes and then headed to the happy hour event at The Mad Hatter Lounge. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Alice in Wonderland so OMG was this place amazing.
Finally, it was time for the last night of the festival. Steelboy opened the evening of music wide open. My path has crossed with this band a few times, but I had never seen them live before now. Their set was everything that I was told it would be and the vibe was on point. I asked the band a bit later and asked them what Savage Mountain means to them. They responded, “You know when it’s cold and grey out, actively snowing, just finished clearing off the car? Then you settle in at home, fresh log on the fire, warm blanket over your shoulders, hot cup of cocoa in hand, that feeling of contentment? That’s SMPF.” We also enjoyed sets by Thunder Vest, The Power, Incendiary Device, Rebelmatic, The Effigies, and Agent Orange.
For many - this has become our annual get together. It’s a place where we all can relax, enjoy the music, and fellowship with folks that we only get to see once a year. The space is nothing fancy and money isn’t wasted to provide an “experience.” But here is the thing - we aren’t fancy and the experience comes from the foundation that the Savage Mountain team has laid and what we have built together on top of it. the weekend delivered exactly what it promised. “Three days, no filler. Just good music. No frills.”
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Photo credit: Ethan Black of DIssonant Records Photography
