Written By Jack Berg. Experienced by Jack Berg & Ryan Cassidy
We managed to whittle the 3.5-hour drive from Dallas to San Marcos down to only 3 hours by cruising well above the speed limit. The inspiration for our haste came from trying to beat the Austin Friday rush hour traffic, as well as our radio bumping a newly compiled playlist containing all of the artists performing at Float Fest 2015.
San Marcos offers a plethora of motels, hotels, and Holiday Inns clustered along Interstate 35. After checking into our home for the weekend, we made the short and sweet drive to the Cool River Ranch Concert Venue. After having to take a short gravel road, we parked in a nice & open field with ample parking space. I could have thrown a football to hit the front gate from my car, and that’s saying something, as I can’t throw a football very far.
Security at the festival entrance was minimal with no pat downs. The only requirement to enter besides a wristband, was to sign away your soul in the form of a liability waiver, as water and alcohol can be a dangerous mix. Although the brief mental image of someone drowning at Float Fest was a sure Debbie Downer, the vibes picked up immediately upon entering. The fact that the intense Texas sun had just set, combined with Dr. Dog’s stage presence, surely contributed to this quick upturn.
Two stages sat on opposing ends of the festival grounds. The perimeter was lined with everything from food trailers, merchandise booths, reps handing out free Fireball samples and my personal favorite-the classic Snow Cone stand. The stages were set up directly facing each other on opposite ends of the site, allowing for smooth set changes in order to keep the schedule on time.
The river float itself was very relaxing. Just outside the front gate, we paid $25 a head for the 3-hour river float, which included a bus ride upriver. The sky was partly cloudy the day our group went tubing down the river. Despite the cloud cover, I still managed to get a nice tan, the moral being to always wear sunscreen. Towards the end of the float, we were able to hear artists on stage. Not much beats listening to Sarah Jaffe live on the San Marcos River! When we reached the end of the float, we simply walked up a short incline to catch the next act.
On the surface, it seemed that Float Fest 2015 lacked a traditional headliner, when compared to some of the other countless festivals taking place nowadays. However, its focus on the full experience, plus being able to float the river, gave it an intimacy that you definitely won’t find at most other festivals. In unprecedented fashion, we were able to move through the crowd easily and get near the front of the stage at will.
There were some definite standouts among the performing artists. Ghostland Observatory absolutely killed it with their laser light show! Paul Wall was fun and brought about euphoric flashbacks from high school. Other standouts included The Local Natives, The Bright Light Social Hour, Max Frost, Phantogram, and Bun B. I’m excited for Float Fest 2016!
