New Brunswick’s best worst-kept secret wants to let you know that they’re trying to be more accessible. Really. Having been active for more than a decade now, The Pocologan Camp Party are ready to admit that they exist.
What started as just a party over ten years ago, and became a party with a bunch of bands as recently as five years ago, is now accepting its fate as something too big to keep under wraps.
“We’re kind of a not so secret secret event,” says festival organizer Jeff Keleher who absolutely insisted he remain anonymous for the purposes of this interview.
“We’ve been throwing the party for over ten years now, but this will be our 5th consciously booking bands, and only our second where the stage wasn’t made of dirt. We started as just a family party, so our audience grew around that, and it’s what has allowed us to grow into this one of a kind, tight-knit event, without having to sacrifice production quality.”
Flying in the face of prudence, The Pocologan Camp Party have risked everything this year, going so far as having brought in (thoroughly scrutinized and vetted) bands from out of province for the first time.
“We’ve got a ton of talent coming from the Halifax area and a great brass band from Toronto,” continues Keleher.
Today, the festival has quietly announced that they’ll be featuring performances from Toronto’s Big Smoke Brass, mashup collaborations from CRAYWAL (AWAL & CRaymak), Lost Betts (Gordon Gets Lost & Betsy White), The Brood, KDZ, Hi-DEF, McKinley Morrison & Williams, TAAPE, Jamie Comeau & The Crooked Teeth, Math Class, AnuBass, Natalie Lynn, and Anteeq. Further eye-candy will be provided by BITS and YETI Visuals.
“Everyone with a good attitude is welcome,” Keleher explains.
“We’ve just found that making people have to do a little digging to figure out how to come has kept our vibe right where we want it to be.”
The Pocologan Camp Party takes place during the weekend of the full moon in the month of August at an undisclosed location. Those wishing to attend the festival, and are found to possess the necessary qualifications, may apply at www.pocologan.ca.