Watson Lake (Preston, AZ)
05/20/23
Arizona’s newest music festival, Pure Imagination Festival, kicked off for the second time on Saturday, May 20th in sunny Prescott, Arizona, a town known for its Wild West roots and for the slogan, “Welcome to Everybody’s Hometown.” Pure Imagination features a handpicked, eclectic lineup and fantastic views along the shores of Watson Lake. The lake is situated in Prescott’s Granite Dells, which are beautiful and unique granite rock formations which have been the subject of a locally-popular grassroots conservation project. This year’s lineup featured big names such as Ziggy Marley and Capital Cities, as well as Nappy Roots, The Brummies, James Jared Nichols, and so many more. Aside from the music lineup, the festival showcased a great many Arizona-based performers and artists, including aerial dancers.
Johan Glidden, a local Prescott musician, opened up the festival, playing music with an optimistic folk/country bent. He sang his heart out on each song and the crowd, filled with friends, family and new fans, responded with cheers. Almost as soon as he finished his set Rachael Plays Guitar, led by Rachael Beck of Denver, Colorado, kicked off on the second stage. The music was dominated by an acoustic folk feeling of airy moodiness, but some of the songs had a lackadaisical, groovy, “dirty” hip-hop beat that had me tapping my feet along. Afterwards, Jared James Nichols & co. took the stage with an ’80s inspired bluesy hard-rock sound, with vocals delivered by Nichols himself, a giant of a man who could be in a biker gang, if not for the radiant joy that showed in his face as he played.
Right in the middle of the day, the Brummies took the stage, a four-piece indie rock band from Birmingham, AL. Their music captivated the crowd with rich, shimmering guitars and a sound that was equally psychedelic, soulful and folksy. The warm, partially cloudy summer day seemed enhanced and extra-real, as though the music, bright with a pensive edge, had been crafted for that day specifically. A highlight was “Drive Away,” a song off their latest album Eternal Reach whose studio version features Kacey Musgraves. The band was accompanied for their last song by many of the festival’s dancers and performers.
Dirtwire performed a fantastic combination of driving electronic beats and live instrumentation instead of sampling. Next, Ponderosa Grove took the stage, led by festival organizer and accomplished vocalist Candace Devine. The band developed groovy harmonies while she delivered passionate and honest lyrics about personal growth and power.
Next up came Nappy Roots, the alternative rap group out of Kentucky. They brought a bit of southern culture to Prescott with a distinct vibe that blended macho country, Southern bounce, and an unapologetically feel-good, happy-drunk sound: “We’re gonna have a good day, and ain’t nobody gonna cry today, ’cause ain’t nobody gonna die today. Save that drama for another day!”
Capital Cities brought some electric, high energy pop to the festival, silhouetted by the setting sun. The band performed hits such as “Safe and Sound,” whose horn-based hook and rolling synths are immediately recognizable to anyone who was alive in 2013, as well as slightly newer songs such as “Swimming Pool Summer” off their 2018 album, Solarize. Allison Russell, playing next, positively radiated love into the sunset as she and her band played groovy amped-up versions of her Americana sound. Capping off the night were Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos and Ziggy Marley.
Pure Imagination was a fantastic day that I remember fondly. This festival is one to look out for. The crowd was twice as big as last year, the performances twice as electrifying, and the weather immaculate! You can catch the festival every summer in Prescott, AZ.
