Jam Bands & the Grateful Dead

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Jam bands are characterized by improvised rock and roll sets that differ each night, but also by a strong sense of community among fans, and it all began with the Grateful Dead. The Dead joined together in San Francisco in 1965, and became pioneers in psychedelic jam-rock. Famed for long, improvised musical passages, each Grateful Dead concert was a different, special experience and this kept fans engaged. Hundreds of thousands of Deadheads followed the band around on tour, some witnessing hundreds of shows in a lifetime.

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Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hard once said of the subculture: “For many Deadheads, the band was a medium that facilitated experiencing other planes of consciousness and tapping into deep, spiritual wells that were usually the province of organized religion … [they] got people high whether those people were on drugs or not” (Hard qtd. by Almodovar) People went to Grateful Dead shows for the music, but also for the cosmic connection they felt with other people.

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Following the Grateful Dead came The Allman Brothers Band, Phish, Widespread Panic, and countless others whose fans showed a similar sense of community and loyalty to one another and the music.

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Jam Band Culture at Festivals

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Jam band culture runs deep at jam-electronic camping festivals in North America. Certain bands like The String Cheese Incident, The Disco Biscuits, and The Werks fund and organize their own festivals, creating venues where up-and-coming artists can gain recognition and musicians from different bands can perform together. Jam bands rely heavily on word-of-mouth to gain traction, so music festivals are a perfect venue for them to showcase themselves in a diverse and far-reaching community.

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In addition to promoting different types of artistry and musical fluidity, jam band gurus cultivate fan communities extremely similar to that of the Dead. Conspicuously reminiscent of the term Deadhead, “Cheeseheads” refer to die-hard fans of The String Cheese Indecent, and “Phishheads” refer to Phish fans. The word “head” is tacked on to the end of many other artists’ names in reference to their fan community. Each jam-fan community is subject to its own critical stereotypes, (i.e. Phish fans are snobby about their music taste, Disco Biscuit fans are rude and rowdy), but most are known for their enjoyment of a relaxed experience and sense of community they feel with other concert attendees. Alex, a festival enthusiast I interviewed for this project, brought up Deadhead culture when speaking about the current jam-band scene. Referencing a Deadhead he knows who followed the Dead around Europe in the 60's, he explains: "He comes out [to jam shows, and] its like he never left, he says. It’s very much a similar vibe, similar people, similar thoughts, just a different time."

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This familial atmosphere is also prominent among electronic music fans. “Bassheads,” or fans of bass-music and festival legend Bassnectar, are not only drawn to his sound, but also to the Bassnectar “lifestyle,” as described by one fan (Seals). When another fan was asked what he likes so much about Bassnectar, he replied, “I’ve always been a fan of the music, but also like this culture and the crowds that come here and the way everybody rages but takes care of everybody” (Seals). Fans colloquially call Bassnectar by his first name, Lorin. This is a not an uncommon phenomenon with popular artists in the scene, but the use of Bassnectar’s first name is particularly widespread, a testament to the devoted community he cultivates as an artist.

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Bassnectar, a Bay-area native, is one of many culturally influential electronic musicians in North America’s jam-electronic festival scene. Electro-funk instrumentalist-producers like Griz and Big Gigantic are two additional examples of festival icons that represent and promote values of love and community. Griz, sometimes referred to by fans by his first name, Grant, is universally praised for his compassion. Griz's perpetually-smiling face and tag-line, "show love, spread love" exude the same positivity he represents in his artistry. He annually hosts and performs at massive charity events, and runs a record label whose mission is to, "[develop] the spread of thoughtful artistry to the world" (All Good Records). Big Gigantic, who collaborates frequently with Griz, shares a similar positive attitude, dropping albums with titles like, “Brighter Future,” and “The Night is Young.”

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The positivity these artists emulate is of a reciprocal nature with fans. In one Facebook post, Big Gigantic writes: “BIG GIGANTIC FAMILY!!...We know a lot of you saw us several times this summer, and, we wanna thank u for that and all of your amazing energy. The way the energy bounces back and forth between us and you all is absolutely out of control!! We can sure feel it up there on stage, that’s for sure!!” Griz communicates to his followers, “Grizfam,” in similar ways, always with a gratitude and a big heart. This type of personal, familial fan-artist connection exemplified by artists like Griz and Big G apply to many popular festival headliners, and mirrors the jam band subculture.

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Electronic Music: From Raves to Radio​

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Electronic dance music (EDM), whose sound is rooted in disco, house, trance, and techno, grew with rave culture during the late 1980's. Before it gained widespread popularity, electronic artists would play at underground venues whose location was held in secrecy until the night of the performance (EDM History). This was largely functional, as inconspicuousness helped ravers to avoid the police from raiding venues full of illicit drug use (and probably fire hazards), but also contributed to a culture that demonstrated a “…celebration of deviance” (Anderson).

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In the late 80’s, a man named Frankie Bones became well known in the East Coast rave scene for throwing underground parties he called “Storm Raves.” During one of his famed nights, Bones made a speech in which he called for, “...peace, love and unity…” a phrase attributed to the origins of the acronym “PLUR” (R.E. PLUR). PLUR, which stands for, “peace, love, unity, respect” was a staple of rave culture. Ravers exchanged special handshakes and beaded bracelets called kandi with one another as symbols of PLUR (Melero and Stockman). The rave scene was fueled by reciprocal gestures and feelings of support. Some postulate that people wore such vibrant, textured outfits, “…because people know they can wear whatever they want without fear of judgement” (Nguyen).

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Raves embodied an “up-all-night” culture, and embraced stimulating drugs and dancing. Both are credited with the popularization of “flow performances,” which began with hooping in the 90’s and continues to grow in its range of props and dance styles (Hoopdance Revolution). Flow performance includes hooping, gloving, poi, orbits, and staffs, videos of which are included on the Gallery section of "The Lives" page.

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Elements of rave culture are visibly alive in the concert and music festival sphere, but the identity of electronic music as a genre has drastically changed. As EDM was popularized and sound engineering and production software became extremely accessible, "EDM" lost its connection to any particular subculture. The list of sub-genres and sub-sub-genres of electronic music is constantly growing, (the titles of which are sometimes humorously similar), and so is the diversity of its fan base. Further, due to its versatility and ability to make nice sounds, electronic music has eased its way into every other genre imaginable, from hip-hop to jam-rock to pop music on the radio.

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Electronic Music in the Festival World

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Electronic music pervades music festivals across the world. The persistence of rave culture elements is far from unique to the jam-electronic North American camping festival scene. But to understand this culture, it is essential to recognize the ubiquity of EDM’s roots. Flow performance is pervasive at these festivals, as are outfits with vibrant colors, textures, and accessories. People gift and trade kandi, keychains, hat pins, and other knick knacks with one another in identical fashion to PLUR exchange rituals. And whether it draws directly from rave culture or not, jam-electronic camping festivals certainly share the sense of freedom and so-called “celebration of deviance” engrained in the underground history of EDM.

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Functionally, dance music bodes well at jam-electronic music festivals (and others), because attendees want to dance. The heavy kick and snare drums and deep base lines that EDM offers give the crowd music they can move their bodies to, whether they are flow performers or not. In an interview with Josh, an attendee of several camping festivals, he states: "Electronic music got me into the scene. I really like dancing, and I think that's one of the most fun parts of festivals is kind of letting loose and dancing," which EDM enables.

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Further, because of electronic music’s versatility, artists of all genres incorporate electronic elements into their sets. Even jam bands whose history is based in rock and roll now frequently incorporate electronic music, breeding a new genre, “jam-tronica.” In an interview for this project with a man named Tony who has worked for numerous festivals, he elaborates on the integration of electronic music into different genres: "When you can layer the electronic music on to jam band, or when you get like STS9 or Lotus or an Umphrey's McGee who layers that jam band in with the electronic, it just allows for something that's new and fresh. You're mixing that old in with the new, which is really what music does." In these ways, rave culture and the sounds of electronic music fit perfectly at camping festivals.