First and foremost, it was the most beautiful day they could ever ask for to host such an event on.  The Rez Ball has been going on for 5 years, most of the time twice a year.    A very laid back small festival that really didn’t seem like a festival at all, but just a really big party with a lot of good friends. Let’s just say The Rez know how to throw a party with all the right kind of home cooked munchies to keep you feeling fine. For just $10.00 to enter and to have all you could drink beer while listening to some great music, you couldn’t ask for anything more.

Before I jump into the reviews of the bands and artist that were featured at the gathering, let me paint the picture of the scene. A beautiful piece of property in the outskirts of a small community, when I arrived on the property I felt like I was in a whole different state. The property begins with a long drive way on both sides surrounded by towering trees until I reached almost to the top where my ID was checked and I was given my bracelet. Finishing the walk up the hill I arrived to find a small wooden cabin and around 100 to 200 feet away was where the stage was set up right under a couple bigger trees, it was in the perfect position and was a great back drop for all of the bands. Their was a good amount of people present when I arrived who were either kicking the soccer ball around, chilling in the “music circle”, some over by the tent with all the food and beverages and the others just exploring some of the property.

Their were a total of 7 bands all bringing different genres of music and I had yet to see any of these bands live and only knew 2 of them before the ball. The first band was Woo-Yellow Dubmarine, which unfortunately I wasn’t able to see but from what I heard they played a great set. The second band to go on was The New Retro who played a good set defiantly bringing that funky, blues & soul sound with them. Powerful vocals with that constant groove style, but would have liked a little more upbeat, move my feet instrumentals but it was a more relaxed playing style. The next band to go on was Proper S.K.A.N.K.S. who brought a reggae, soul, hip-hop vibe with them. Defiantly a lot more upbeat, some excellent bass and heavy guitar rifts but sometimes seemed out of place, one thing that was really cool about this band was it’s  versatile of instruments used in the set. The next band that was up was Eat It Raw which is really what we got, some straight up rock your socks off shit.  The Spinsters were the next band to go on, more of a poppy bluegrass but these guy’s really harmonize their vocals and another band that loved playing “musical chairs” with the instruments.  Between the guitar, bandjo and mandolin it was a excellent.  The next band to go on was The Flying Eyes, who I would consider more of a “Classic Rock” sounding bringing in that little bit of blues, a lot of energy, killer vocals and something to bang your head too.   The Rez was the last band to go that night, who played an awesome set, very jammy, which had everyone in the crowed moving and grooving to the sound of the beat.

If you have the opportunity to hit the next Rez Ball up, please do it!  It’s an experience like no other and everyone who attended the event was very relaxed and an amazing time.  I want to thank the owners of the land for having us over and all the volunteers that built the fire, cooked the food, watched the gate and everything else under the sun. I hope to see everyone there next time around.

Great Job to all the bands and artist that played and a special thanks to the Rez for hosting such a great event.