I’ve spent a lot of time this year traveling and documenting my perspective at various festivals all over the country. While a lot of these festivals are in rural areas, none even come close to how deep in the cut SubOctave Music Festival is. The only thing within a 30-mile radius is cornfields and tractors – which makes for a perfect setting for a music festival.

Nestled within a hilltop valley sits Outback Ranch. This picturesque ranch has hosted this event since its inception in 2015. While still in its infancy, compared to other festivals, SubOctave has come a long way in that time. With over 40+ artists on the bill this year, SubOctave boasted acts such as G Jones, Liquid Stranger, Space Jesus, Bleep Bloop, Buku and Champagne Drip. Along with my personal favorites Esseks, Perkulator and Clozee. The production was top notch with Jem technicians perfecting the sound across two stages, and Antic delivering beautiful lighting & visuals for festival goers.

SubOctave is owned by three friends, Adam Boothe, Brendan Leis, and Adham Blandin. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to speak with them all, but I sat down with Boothe to ask him how SubOctave started in the first place:

“It all started from parties we used to throw on the river, we would have a lineup and boat people out to the sandbar. It had the form of an organized event but it was actually just an underground party. Once we realized we couldn’t keep getting away with that, the decision was either we quit doing anything like that or we take it to the next level. So that’s what we did.” – Adam Boothe

At SubOctave you can feel the intimate underground vibe that it has emerged from; something about it just feels genuine. It’s small enough that you won’t bust your ass walking from the campground to the stages, but big enough that you can completely disappear if you choose. There’s a sense of camaraderie at SubOctave that is hard to describe – a “we are all in this together” feeling that is truly unique. I can honestly say that this festival has by far been my favorite festival to attend this year and I am looking forward to returning in the future.

© All images courtesy of Seth Watrous (Shutterfinger)