SUNDAY

This is it. The fourth and final day at Wakarusa is a humid one with overcast skies. Last night's rain has left the grounds at the park muddy, especially parts where the grass has been stomped underfoot by the thousands who have passed over here in the last four days.

A crowd gathers and forms a circle in the middle of the field, the same field where, in about a half hour, people will stand to watch Assembly of Dust perform for the second time in as many days.

In the middle of the circle, a handful of people are dancing to the sound of drumbeats. Some people have brought their own instruments while others use the bottom of water bottles as makeshift drums.

Soon the sounds of Assembly of Dust float through the air and a group of fans begin to make its way to the main stage, the Sundown Stage.

Lead singer Reid Genauer greets the audience with some comedy after the band's first song.

"Good morning, Wakarusa. Bring us your tired, your wet, your mildly hungover," he says, just before beginning the next tune.

The fans applaud and an unshaven man with dirty feet jumps up and down yelling, "I love you guys!"

Looking around, one can see the effects of this four-day camping trip/party. Browned and sunburned shoulders, fingernails and toenails caked in dirt, and dusty, stained clothes are clearly in style.

Assembly of Dust continues to jam in the humid air, while last night's rain water drips off the stage's roof, landing a few feet in front of the performers.

There's a break in the music and Genauer announces the next song will be the last. He then introduces the next act and ends like he started: with a joke.

"I hope you'll stick around for Grace Potter [and the Nocturnals], our friends from the Northeast," he says. "This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto."

Plenty more music is yet to come throughout the day and into the night. Two highly-anticipated musicians, Michael Franti and Les Claypool, will play tonight at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., respectively. The last musical act of Wakarusa 2007 is scheduled to finish at 2 a.m. tomorrow.

- Sam Carlson

SATURDAY

It's hot. It's dusty. It's crowded. It's officially the weekend here at Clinton State Park, though many of the Wakarusa festival goers have been partying since Thursday.

Bands occupy both stages in "Campground Village," a vast area near where most of the campers have pitched their tents. Hundreds of tanned men and women, many in swimsuits, wander on the trampled, sunburned grass around the tents in which the bands play. Hacky-sackers, hula-hoopers, and Frisbee tossers practice their hobbies to the sounds of Honkytonk Homeslice, a band led by Bill Nershi of the popular jam band The String Cheese Incident.

Nestled further into the state park than the other stages, Campground Village is truly in its own world. All age demographics are represented; everyone from infants to the elderly is getting an earful of the music. A tattooed back is a more common sight than a cell phone, and the only things more popular than sandals are bare feet. One can buy a burger and fries at one end of the village, then move to the other and browse a vendor selling hemp jewelry.

Honkytonk Homeslice is wrapping up its act, and Assembly of Dust is up next. Keep an eye on the Assembly of Dust blog to read about the band's performance.

- Sam Carlson

Assembly of Dust has come all the way from the Northeast — two members from New York and three from New Hampshire — for this moment. The band is going through sound checks on the Campground Stage as fans trickle into the open-air tent, a welcomed refuge from the hot sun.

Along with guitarists Adam Terrell and John Lecesse, lead singer Reid Genauer slings his guitar over his head and the band is almost ready. Awaiting the first chord is a group of approximately 25 fans standing directly in front of the stage, as close as a metal fence will allow them to get. Many more listeners stand further back, and the tent is continuing to fill up.

Within seconds, the bands first act of the festival is underway. Genauer's voice, which possesses a country singer's twang, and Nate Wilson's keyboard tones are the most distinctive sounds heard.

Photo Gallery

Assembly Of Dust Saturday Performance

Photo gallery from Assembly of Dust performance Saturday afternoon at the Campground Stage at the Wakarusa Festival.

The end of the first song is met with applause and whistling from the crowd.Two girls dance wildly during the second song near the fence that separates them from the stage.

Behind sunglasses and under a baseball hat, Andrew Herrick, drummer, strikes the cymbal to begin the third song.

A shirtless man with a bright orange baseball hat rides a bicycle past the tent and it appears the music has taken hold of him. Beer in hand, he sets his bike down and begins swaying in a trancelike dance.

After about a half-hour on stage, in between songs, Genauer steps back from the microphone and pushes his glasses back up on his sweaty face.

When the band strikes up again, the crowd joins in on singing. Two men, one wearing a trucker hat and both sporting farmer's tans, bob their heads and sing a familiar song word-for-word.

The band stops playing after about an hour, and thanks the crowd for showing up.

Assembly of Dust exits the stage and setup for the next band begins. This is how it goes at Wakarusa; one band finishes and the next group starts approximately 30 minutes later. Fans are treated to a constant flow of musical stimulation on the Campground Stage, just as they are on every other stage during this four-day free-for-all.

- Sam Carlson

Okay, tonight's the payoff.

Saturday at 11 p.m. is really just the beginning of the rest of the Wakarusa Music Festival, and it's going to be another LONG night.

In all honesty, staying up until dawn out here was an experience I'm sure I'll remember for much longer than anybody else who stayed up until dawn. I met some great people. I wandered into some places I probably shouldn't have. I, and the rest of us who kicked it insomniac style last night, froze our groovy tye-dyed T-shirts off.

The cold wasn't really a factor after you walked for miles and miles and then a few more miles. There were plenty of fires, most of which probably weren't planned, and warmth from good friends, if you buy into that free love hippie garbage.

So here we are tonight; payoff. There was, understandably from the size of this crowd, a lot of red tape around the backstage and press areas. No worries. Wavy gravy and all of that.

I've planted myself on the grass just outside of the chain link fence that surrounds Sun Down Stage, where Widespread Panic is mellow-rocking their fans' minds out, and the noise could be a soundtrack for two koala bears making love.

Side note: there appears to be a couple doing just that-- on the ground in front of a line of porta-potties. Ewww. Additional side note: porta-potties are a real bummer.

To my right inside the Homegrown Porch Stage it sounds like a heavy metal psychedelic band is attracting a sizable crowd of its own. I think they just played an AC/DC song... where the Hell am I?

The two different flavors of music entering my ears is too bizarre and nauseating, so I'm going to move closer inside the vending area. I actually enjoy the few strips of lighted vendor booths in the middle of these stages. They remind me of a state fair or a really bad first date or both.

I'm not positive, but... hang on a second. Yep, it is. That is definitely a large naked woman walking in front of that tree. I'm starting to miss Saturday nights in downtown Lawrence.

A group of three hippies are throwing a glowing Frisbee dangerously close to me and my laptop. I wonder if there has ever been a fight at this wannabe Woodstock. I might be making history in about 15 seconds.

People might want me to talk with some of these bands, but really, what are they going to say that you've never heard before? Meeting a wide array of campers, deadheads and naked, drugged-up hippies is what really appeals to me about this gathering in the wooded hills of Clinton Lake.

In fact, I'm going to go do that right now. I'm clocking out and I may grab a beverage or maybe just a fat barbecue sandwich. Either way, wish you were here. I just got hit by a Frisbee and I'm going to need some backup.

- Tyler Harbert

FRIDAY

I may be the last person through the gates tonight.

It's only slightly past 11 p.m. at the Wakarusa Music Festival, but I feel like I'm the last guy let into the party. Typical Friday night.

This is evidenced right now by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals getting applauded back onto the 100-foot Sun Down stage to perform an encore, their actual set already completed.

I sat down in the media tent north of the stage just as Harper and his band played a song I've heard before on the radio. I don't know the song's title but Harper's lyrics had something to do with stealing kisses from you or I or maybe the surrounding dread-locked masses in general.

The 20-foot video screen next to the stage showed Harper and company smiling and grooving and they looked like nice fellows but apparently Ben Harper is a thief, and that's a shame because most of the people I talked to at the festival Thursday were hoping for trouble-free year.

Security, or the overabundance of it, was the big issue during last year's festival. We all read stories about drug busts, crackdowns and even space-age cameras used to scan crowds for illegal behavior well after last year's festival was all but a flashback.

That hasn't seemed to be the case this year. In fact, my car was never searched and I only had to flash my pass to guards at seven or eight gates while driving into the campgrounds. I have to show my pass anytime I enter or exit a gate inside the festival, but nothing as serious as a bag check or a cavity search.

The thousands of bodies surrounding this stage (the largest at Wakarusa) appear to be swaying and dancing confrontation-free, at least the few hundred I can see from the media tent. Dozens of arms are raised, some hands cheering, some rooting and others holding plastic cups containing a variety of beverages.

Ben Harper and his henchmen now stand arm-in-arm, thanking the crowd and still looking like sweethearts. This crowd definitely appreciates them.

It's midnight, that show is over, and I won't be able to count the total number of acts I'll see the rest of the early morning. I plan to stay up and out all night, talking with other insomniacs I meet and hopefully getting a story for Saturday about what happens at this camp while most of it sleeps.

I think I'm getting kicked out of this tent, which could be bad because it's equipped with a futon I planned to crash on in case I can't keep up. We'll see how this goes. Until then, get some sleep.

- Tyler Harbert

The crowds of people show no signs of slowing down as afternoon turns to evening at Clinton Lake State Park. Loyal band followers and first-time listeners alike have swayed and grooved all day long to such bands as JJ Grey & MOFRO and Whitewater Ramble, just two of the musical groups playing at the 2007 Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival.

For the fourth consecutive year, "jam band" music lovers have gathered at the festival to watch more than 100 bands perform over the course of four days.

Walking by one stage, one could hear the sharp sounds of the harmonica cut through the dusty air, then, from a nearby stage, hear the tones produced by the electric mandolin. On the way to one of the six stages, patrons could buy wares from any of the various vendors, ranging from those selling hula hoops or hammocks, to those offering hand-crafted sandals and organic cotton T-shirts. People in the market for air-brushed tattoos, bumper stickers, or even hemp-flavored candy were in luck. All of these items were for sale on day two of this year's festival.

Photo Gallery

Wakarusa Day 2

Photo gallery from day two of the Wakarusa Festival at Clinton Lake Sate Park.

Frisbees floated through the air as shirtless (and shoeless) men (and women) walked about, browsing the flea market-style booths or purchasing food, which included pizza, kabobs and corn dogs.

Two headline acts, Ben Harper and Yonder Mountain String Band, are scheduled to play at 10 p.m. and midnight, respectively.

Check back later tonight to read about the nightlife at the festival.

- Sam Carlson

The temperature has dropped, but it doesn’t seem the attendance has. Ozomatli, a high-energy Latin band, greeted the nightfall on one of the main stages. The fast-paced beats rang out into the crisp, cool night, and it appeared sleep was the last thing on the minds of many of the adoring Wakarusa fans.

Perhaps the day’s largest crowd for any single act is present now, dancing and singing along to Ben Harper, one of the headline acts at this year’s festival. The growing congregation is most evident when the bright lights attached to the stage shine out over the sprawling acreage.

But Harper isn’t the only performer gaining attention.

Even the tents that house the smaller stages are drawing larger crowds than earlier. Although any band playing at one of these smaller installments might not be well-known, the smaller stages offer a more intimate setting. Fans can get closer to these stages, which are also closer to the ground than those found in the main stage areas.

Photo Gallery

Wakarusa Day 1

Photo gallery from the Wakarusa Festival, Thursday June 7, 2007.

Hungry festival goers or those who forgot to pack a jacket in this 57-degree weather can still stop in one of the many vendor booths and purchase what they need.

Adults and children alike continue to wander the stage areas and campgrounds, though a few have turned in for the night by choosing to curl up and sleep on the grass.

While much of Lawrence will be asleep, music will still pump out of Clinton Lake State Park into the wee morning hours, as the last band is scheduled to perform until 6 a.m. Attendees will then get a short breather before the jams start up again at 8 a.m.

Check back tomorrow to get the scoop on day three at Wakarusa.

- Sam Carlson