Flannel Jam: A Fall Foliage, Foot-Stomping Festival

Tucked behind colonial homes, a neighborhood church, and car shops, a large, open field bustled with noise and feet-stomping tunes. On Oct. 8, flannels of every color, ranging from blues and greens to oranges and reds, came from every direction, attracted by the smell of spiked cider and the sound of vibrant laughter. Levitate’s 2002 Flannel Jam was magical, and brought together family and friends to experience bluegrass, warm food, and fall feels.

Flannel Jam is an annual music festival hosted by Levitate, a surf shop based in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Levitate hosts yearly events, including their largest summer music festival, Levitate Music and Arts Festival, that began as a party for the 10 year anniversary of the surf shop. It has since grown to an annual weekend event that attracts over 17,000 people per day, according to associate producer Brittany Ryan.

Comparatively, Flannel Jam is much smaller. Expected turnout this year was 3,000 people per venue of the touring festival. In some ways, this locality is what draws people to the festival. Jacqueline Magliozzi and Catherine MacDonald, candle vendors with a tent set up at the event, said they really enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere. The pair came from 30 minutes away to set up shop, their first time selling at a music festival.

Friends laugh in conversation at the Flannel Jam. By Courtesy of Asher Montgomery

This Flannel Jam was Torie Shepherd’s third year selling her reversible bucket hats and floral headbands at the festival, meaning she’s been around for every Flannel Jam. Her first time vending was at Flannel Jam and she worked for a while as the vendor coordinator for Levitate.

“We have a stage right in front of us, we get to watch the good music and meet good people,” Shepherd said about being a vendor at the festival. “The music’s great, the food is great, all the vendors — I love working with Levitate.”

On top of that, Shepherd notes that there is a very tight community surrounding the festival.

“There’s a lot of customers that came back and have said that they’ve been to several flannel jams,” she said.

The flannel-sporting audience at Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway nod along to the bluegrass music. By Courtesy of Asher Montgomery

Many attendees of the festival found out about it through shopping at the surf shop, including an eighth grader at the local middle school. She brought two friends with her. They wore flannel, painted pumpkins, and ate burritos. The student gave her pink pumpkin to her camp counselor who she ran into during the festival. The girls also saw their science teacher and a substitute. “It was awkward,” she laughed.

This sort of closeness and low-keyness is what the producers of Flannel Jam were aiming for, according to associate producer Brittany Ryan. “We wanted to do something that celebrates the beauty of New England,” Ryan said.

The area was in peak foliage, and orange leaves fell from the trees in the venue on the chilly Saturday afternoon. Even though it is a weekend festival, the location changes each of the three days. On Sunday, the travel crew and the four national touring bands headed to Portland, Maine, then to Nantucket on Monday.

Ryan Ross, a staff member at Levitate selling merch and answering questions at the Flannel Jam, is a part of the traveling crew. He and his coworker Colby Suzio spent 12 hours the previous day helping set up the fences. Ross will do the same at Portland and Nantucket too.

“We don’t get a good view,” he said about the job. “But we can hear [the music] and it gets my feet moving.”

A musical highlight was The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. The local Massachusetts band played on the smaller of the two stages, the “Holla” Stage.

“Do you guys remember rock and roll music? Let’s channel the flannel and take it back!” The guitarist yelled into the mic before playing an energetic, upbeat, folky cover of “Rock and Roll Radio.” The crowd stomped their feet. Some of them linked arms and skipped in a circle, and screamed along with the lyrics.

Fans listen and dance to The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. By Courtesy of J.J. Moore

Next to the Holla stage, Kara Hoblin worked on her chalk wall. She drew a detailed fox, sitting in a field of mushrooms under a smiling moon. This was her fifth year working for Levitate’s festivals and second year working the Flannel Jam. She has never come to a festival with a pre-planned board; she lets the festival inspire her artwork. This time, she arrived at the festival early and got her inspiration when she came across one of the event directors painting a big mushroom for a stage decoration. She says she loves watching how people interact with her drawings.

“Especially the kids are so interested in the artwork and it makes me feel good that my work is being appreciated and making people smile,” she said.

Cris and John Conlon came to the festival to celebrate their seven-year anniversary decked out in vibrant flannels, flower crowns, and sunglasses to block out the autumn sun. As a couple, the Conlons were full of comforting smiles.

“The traditional present is a wool gift… when I saw flannel, I thought: Well that’s close enough,” said John.

This was one of many music festivals that they have been to this past year. When asked about what has made Flannel Jam stand out, John said, “Cool crowd [and] good vibes.” There were five food trucks near the entrance of the venue, Cris and John were looking forward to the apple doughnuts the most.

“It’s awesome. This is a really good event. Really good food,” said Cris.

With the New England fall foliage and folk sound, Flannel Jam lures its audience in by the offer of hot cider donuts, cider & whiskey, caramel apples, and array of food trucks ranging from burritos to spring rolls. Some people were waiting in long lines for food. For some, the food was what they were the most excited for. The festival itself is a reminder of early autumn, but tasting the cider donuts really makes it a staple for the fall experience.

Other than the delicious food, the offer of whiskey definitely draws people in.

When Milak and Emma, a couple attending from Virginia, were asked about what they were the most excited for, without hesitation they said, “The spiked cider.”

Despite the spiked cider, though, Flannel Jam is at its core a family-friendly event. Not only was this apparent through the abundance of food and drink options, but also the kids zone, hilariously titled: The Rugrat Rodeo.

Kids rolled in corn, parents stood around, sprinkling kernels onto their kids. Some kids buried themselves in it, others scooped up handfuls and threw it at their brothers or sisters or some random kid they met through their newfound love of corn boxes.

The Kids Corral was filled with many fun activities for children and parents to enjoy while still being able to hear the live music just a little ways away. Along with the corn boxes, there was a hay playground for kids to hop around on while their parents watched and socialized. Other major activities included painting pumpkins and writing on a chalk wall, which genuinely helps build community and get kids involved at the festival.

Young girl draws a ghost on the chalk wall at the Rugrat Rodeo. By Courtesy of J.J. Moore

Watching her six-year-old daughter paint a pumpkin in the Kids Corral was Cheryl Balkom. “My daughter loves music and this is a very friendly environment to expose her to,” Balkom said. “The vibe is always laid-back, fun and welcoming.”

The festival music ended at eight, perfect time for families to get home for bedtime. So at sunset, children were still jamming out to the folk music, some even at the front for one of the headliners Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, kicking their cowboy boots in dance.

Molly Tuttle, a young, award-winning bluegrass musician, was a highly anticipated show of the festival. She recently released a new album called “Crooked Tree.” The album featured big names in the bluegrass genre like Old Crow Medicine Show, Billy Strings, Margo Price and Gillian Welch.

On stage, Tuttle’s guitar playing laced together all the instruments in her five person classic bluegrass band. Each band member: the fiddle, the banjo, Tuttle on the guitar, the bass and the mandolin shared the stage equally, with Tuttle in the center. They all held huge smiles. And together, they harmonized on the choruses.

“I know I feel like a crooked tree sometimes and I think all of us are crooked trees in some way or another, so this goes out to all the crooked trees out there,” Tuttle said, introducing the song sharing a name with her newest album.

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway performs at Flannel Jam. By Courtesy of Asher Montgomery

The headliner, Greensky Bluegrass, featured a soloing steel guitar that the player held horizontally around his neck. By the time they came on, the Massachusetts sun had set, the air was chillier, and people held their flannels tighter around them. But it wasn't too long before the dancing picked up and it wasn't too hard to stay warm anymore.

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“Scientifically speaking, there are two ways to keep warm,” a Greensky member said into the mic. “One is flannel. The other is bluegrass. So y’all are in the right place.”