Why I Broke my Three-Year Festival Hiatus for Camp Alderwild

I took three years off from festivals, but it only took one weekend at Of The Trees’ Camp Alderwild to relight the spark.

When it comes to launching a new event, your first year’s success can make or break you. Of The Trees made it clear that one weekend is all Camp Alderwild needs to prove it deserves an annual return to the breathtakingly beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado.

Everyone loves a successful festival season. Whether you attend one or five, the inspiration and reset from daily life is the best therapy they can provide. With that in mind, take my words seriously when I say Camp Alderwild is the only festival I needed to attend this year to feel truly fulfilled. Yes, it was that good. How good, you may ask? Good enough to shake the cobwebs off my three-year festival hiatus.

From the views and music to the fans and the people behind the scenes, Camp Alderwild provided the most “Perfect” (Of The Tree song pun intended) debut event possible. There’s a lot that goes into making a festival worth revisiting, and they nailed it. Read on to see why you should attend next year’s edition of Camp Alderwild.

Photo Credit: Alex Kittoe

The location is straight out of a movie. It almost seemed too perfect to be real.

It’s hard to beat being plopped right in the middle of Telluride with the San Juan Mountains as your backdrop. Campers woke up each day with the skyline right in their backyard; that alone was worth the travel expenses. Additionally, water was within walking distance for anyone needing a cool-down during the peak heat of the day. The scenery was so picturesque, enough so to question if it was a simulation.

The townspeople of Telluride also welcomed us with open arms. While some worried about whether the clash of two worlds would cause any friction, quite the opposite happened. One local newspaper, Telluride Daily Planet, reported that Camp Alderwild was a ‘home run,’ and several attendees have also stated that locals had nothing but positive things to say during encounters. Although it was a different crowd than they’re used to, the town embraced the change and — as of now — seems to invite it back again.

Photo Credit: Shutterklick

The people elevated the event to heights as tall as the surrounding scenic views.

It’s safe to say we have all been to an event and thought the vibe was off or the crowd mentality wasn’t quite on par. But the crew, attendees, artists, and every person in between were all so kind and thankful for the moment we were all sharing.

It was truly a breath of fresh air. The festivals you choose to attend matter because every individual present contributes to the experience. Everyone in attendance was meant to be there — not a single person fewer.

The energy felt like a peek back into the days of Charlesthefirst’s 2021 Terry Bison Ranch event in Wyoming. Nothing could ever quite replicate the full magic of that weekend, but Camp Alderwild definitely is continuing the legacy. Of The Trees even said on night two that everything he does is for Charles. It’s so beautiful that the late artist’s best friend is keeping his light forever alive.

Photo Credit: Shutterklick

The intention was for the event to “set the standard” and “be different” than the rest — and it was.

It was clear from the start that Camp Alderwild had a different motive than most festivals. When you see the workshop lineup — which includes activities such as edible plant walks, fly fishing, and San Juan ecology and conservation workshops — you can feel the essence of Of The Trees’ roots in bringing nature and music together.

At the end of night one, Of The Trees took a moment to talk to the crowd and said, “I’ve been wanting to bring people to a beautiful place, bring them together, camp out. Everybody’s in their own little spots, having the times of their lives, but we’re also listening to great music, appreciating nature.

He continued: “It means a lot to me if you guys respect this area, these lands, this town, these people that live here. I want to set the standard. I want to be different, and I want to raise the bar on what it means to bring our electronic music festival to a beautiful place.” Considering reports that this was the least amount of trash ever left behind from an event at Telluride Town Park‘s stage, the standard has definitely been set.

Photo Credit: Shutterklick

The pop-up heard around the world — well, actually just Telluride.

The moment Of The Trees sent out the text and online post stating, “SURPRISE! FREE POP UP SATURDAY,” the hype was through the roof. It was an Of The Trees ‘odds & ends’ set, one by Freddy Todd under his Heatline alias, and finally, an unforgettable BLAAP performance.

All of this took place at Heritage Plaza in Mountain Village. To access the pop-up, you had to ride the gondola to the site, and the view was breathtaking. It was such a trip to see the mountains and town from an aerial view. As you neared the pop-up, you began to hear the sounds from Of The Trees’ UKG selects as the perfect soundtrack on your gondola descent.

The crowd was beyond stoked to be there, and it showed. There wasn’t a still body in the plaza — especially when JACOBRA did an impromptu dance on stage. The screams for his provocatively divine moves were louder than the bass emanating from the speakers. 10/10 would recommend attending any pop-up involving Of The Trees!

Photo Credit: Shutterklick

Of The Trees’ sets predictably took the cake for the best mixing of the weekend.

Of The Trees is the kind of artist for whom each set you see is the best one you’ve ever witnessed. I’ve been following his journey since 2018 and can confirm that statement still rings true. His ability to hype and ground his fans all in one fell swoop is an art form we can’t get enough of, and at Camp Alderwild, attendees got two nights full of the musical sorcery.

On night one, the IDs and rap mashups were plentiful. He threw out some new Chmura, JID flips, and an Owl Song x Victory Lap mashup that I still can’t get out of my head. Night two started gently, but eventually sent the crowd full speed ahead, bringing them to their knees. There was an ebb and flow of hard and soft touches throughout the set, maintaining a harmonic balance for the listeners. He closed out the final night with “6AM,” a song he wrote over eight years ago. Right before the family photo, he paused to reflect on the surreal feeling of performing a song from the very beginning of his journey at his first festival.

“Surreal” happens to sum up the weekend in its entirety, not only Of The Trees’ personal career reflection. The mountainous backdrop, beautiful souls, unwavering intentions, pop-up to die for, and artist as in love with nature as he is music, all combined to create the unmistakable, phantasmagorical experience that was Camp Alderwild. My friends, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of why you need to be there next year.