We arrived on Friday just as the festival was beginning for the day. Check in was done in your vehicle upon arrival. The volunteers were organized and had a plan for dealing with the arriving crowd. Tickets and vaccine cards were traded for weekend pass bracelets in one spot, coolers were checked for prohibited items in another. Once parked, we had only a short walk to the festival grounds. Two stages were constructed side by side at the far end of the grounds with plenty of open space in front of them before the area behind the “no chairs beyond this point” signs began. Bands alternated between the stages throughout the two days, ensuring no one had to miss one act while another one played. Behind the general admission area were the merch and concession stands. I was parched when we arrived so I stopped to grab a beverage from the G&J Pepsi stand and was excited to find that a 20 oz. bottle of soda that would have cost me $6-$8 at most festivals was only $2 here – no price gouging at HHMF. Quite the opposite actually.

My companion went to get a drink but found the satellite stand he chose was cash only and he only had a credit card; but the G&J employee told him not to worry about it, paid for the drink with cash out of his pocket and told my friend to pay it forward to someone else. I looked across the fairway at the Jackie O’s Brewery Adult Ice Cream Truck, where tasty local beers and soft drinks were available to purchase with a credit card,  and made plans in my mind for later. There were plenty of food options in the area as well: pizza, stir fry, steak sandwiches, hot dogs, burritos, coffee and smoothies, and assorted carnival fare. We needed to run back to the car to switch out some equipment, so we grabbed a couple festival posters on the way to stash in the car, and I was glad we did as they were sold out when I stopped back by the tent on Saturday. The merch booth doubled as a meet and greet area for the artists to sell their merchandise directly to their fans, adding to the intimate feel of the concert. Since the concessions and the merch were in the direct line of the stages, even when you were buying something you were close enough to see and hear the acts. There was never a reason to miss the music. And of course, the music was why we were all there… 

While maintaining an Americana theme for the festival, the lineup was still an eclectic mix of music. Country, Bluegrass, Blues, , Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll; Americana is a large umbrella term for a number of genres with lots of room for cross pollination. No one would ever mistake the Friday headliner with the Saturday headliner, yet both were able to blow the audience away on their respective nights.