Justin Criado
Audio By Carbonatix
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard struck Rocky Mountain gold when the Aussies decided to team up with Buena Vista venue Meadow Creek for the first-ever Field of Vision festival last summer.
The uniqueness of the outdoor spot paired with a carefully curated three-day lineup, not to mention the many features sprinkled throughout the expansive campground, attracted a curious contingent of Gizzheads.
The loyal Weirdo Swarm will be back again this year for the second edition of Field of Vision from Friday, Aug. 14, through Sunday, Aug. 16. Of course, Gizz is the headliner each night, but other main stage bands on the bill include viral French-Canadian aliens Angine de Poitrine, breakout Austin rockers Die Spitz and Colorado’s own astral metal gods Blood Incantation.
Spitfire Dead Kennedy’s frontman and Boulder native Jello Biafra returns to DJing throughout the weekend again, too. (Who knows, maybe he’ll make another surprise appearance with Gizz?) For the record: Angine de Poitrine is playing two shows at Denver’s Ogden Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 12, and Thursday, Aug. 13, while Die Spitz takes the Gothic on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Expect “some fun surprises” this time around, according to Meadow Creek co-producer Jake Frommer. From the frontlines, he says the crew is busy bolstering some of the side stages, tweaking the venue set up to better accommodate the crowds and enhancing the viewing areas and sound across the three stages.
“There’s definitely room for improvement,” Frommer adds. “In any year-one to year-two scenario, a lot of it is based on the relationship that we’ve built with our core team and the Gizz team and support artists.
“The whole goal of what we set up in Meadow Creek is we want to be the host, and we want to partner with artists who want to be the curator, and we get to help them bring that to life,” he continues. “We have the experience to bring whatever they imagine to life. We just want to be generous hosts that can make whatever they want happen.”
Comprised of former AEG and Madison House pros, creating such a party of a parallel universe is quickly becoming Meadow Creek’s calling card, and that’s even easier in Buena Vista, Frommer notes.
“The through line is that the land speaks for itself. We recognized immediately, being in the festival space, that this is a special spot, a special place to gather and to host and be able to throw a show like this,” he says.
Ross Jones
Jed Selby, a former pro kayaker and co-founder of Buena Vista’s South Main, originally purchased the property in 2013 with the plan of making it a festival space and overall destination. Meadow Creek co-founder Michael “Sampo” Sampliner, who previously ran Michigan’s Electric Forest, partnered with Selby for the purchase.
“He’s a visionary,” Frommer says of Selby. “I think it was just the right person, the right timing and the right fit. It’s just right for a gathering like this.”
So when the King Gizz camp initially reached out with the Field of Vision idea, it was a no-brainer.
“The background intention on this is, how do we partner with an artist or artists who have cultivated a really, really strong community who would be open to this? Not everyone is built for anything out in the mountains and driving a few hours away from an airport and really surrendering to that whole concept,” Frommer explains. “We feel grateful to be partnering with Gizz, the band themselves and their crew are incredible people — really, really dialed in. Obviously, the music and community it fosters speaks for itself.”
The Meadow Creek team is also preparing for the second iteration of Yahn Dawn, the three-day electronic music festival put on by Pretty Lights, in September. That’s sure to be another one-of-a-kind offering.
“How lucky are we to have a venue that feels that way?” Frommer adds. “A lot of us align with the concept of being out in nature in this way is already a great experience and healing in so many ways, but to add music of this caliber to that whole experience is such a cherry on top.”
Frommer is looking forward to seeing all of that come to fruition again this weekend.
“I always have a moment where I can see as many patrons as possible,” he says. “When I can see that many people just living in the moment and being so attached to the music, especially to Gizz, there’s just no better feeling than seeing all this hard work, this year-round job, payoff for that moment. I want everyone to feel that they’re taking care of, supported and valued.”
Field of Vision II, begins at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, running through Sunday, Aug. 16, at Meadow Creek, 15264 County Road 350, Buena Vista. Tickets are $115.
