Weekend of the living Dead - An interview with Frank and Roger of The Grateful Camp Out

Maine Coast Life: So how did The Grateful Camp Out come to be?

Frank Frederico: We met over 10 years ago at smaller events in Massachusetts where I ran volunteer organizations. Roger was there, and we both started as volunteers. We've learned everything [about organizing festivals] from the way up. I've always been in the music, uh, that's a form of drumming myself.

We went camping at this campground in Brunswick [Thomas Point Beach], and I was thinking, “Wow, I think we could do an event here!” And then, Summer Jam first formed out of that. And then we did Grateful Camp Out, and that's how it all started six years ago.

MCL: Were you guys always motivated by jam band music and the Grateful Dead specifically, or were you into the music aspect in general? 

Roger Cyr: I’m mostly into the music in general, but I grew up with classic rock, and definitely the Dead, Allman Brothers, stuff like that, yeah. I grew up in the wrong era. [laughs]

MCL: What was the inspiration behind creating something like this, having a festival at a campground specifically for this subculture of music?

Cyr: One year, Thomas Point Beach Campground had another event happening there, and we just had done two events the year before in New Hampshire. And we were like, this is a beautiful spot we could do in New Hampshire.

Frederico: That was in 2018. ... We had also done two cannabis-based festivals that were in New Hampshire, The Hempfest in 2015 and we did the Cannafest [New Hampshire Cannabis Freedom Festival] in 2017.

Cyr: But then in ‘18, we said we’re going to do our own thing. 

MCL: What were the initial steps that you would take on the festival? What were some of the first things that you guys were on the lookout for, and then what were some of the first hurdles that you guys had to face when you put this together? 

Frederico: It wasn't too bad with the bands because we’ve worked with them in the past before we started these events. We knew a lot of people within the industry, as far as the bands, musicians, etcetera. It was the hiring of stage people, having to get light people, all that kind of coming together.

Cyr: We just wanted to look for the amenities. [laughs]

Frederico: It's just trying to get all that together, learn how to start operating all this on our own. And being the person in charge, you better learn to be the person in charge. If you want to be successful, you play by the rules and just do things right. 

As you’ve seen, festivals at all levels come and go. It's hard to get established and keep going, especially with the cost involved. That's another major thing we had to learn to deal with. We’ve got to talk about insurance. Now we need a special type of insurance. And we can only get insurance 90 days out before we start the date of our event. And then, of course, the money management, that's a major part of it. And we work with a very, very strict budget. I mean, talk about being penny pinchers. [laughs]

Cyr: We set a budget, and I like to come in under it. We don't usually set the price until we know the final budget number. That's when we set our ticket price. So, we try to make it affordable.

MCL: When you guys first started scouting locations, what was your strategy in terms of becoming familiar with the towns that you worked with and your approach to letting them host the festival? 

Cyr: When we ran at Thomas Point, we had to write a proposal to the venue owner and whatnot. And then there was no approval from the town at that point. It was just applying for a business license to operate for that weekend. Other towns we've been to, we've had to go in front of the selectmen and stuff like that. And meet with town municipalities, officials, and go over to present a business plan of the layout of a venue showing emergency exits, everything they want. 

MCL: When you were conceptualizing this festival, what was your initial vision for it?

Frederico: Good music for the time and day that we're offering it. We know that whoever we put on stage, it’s going to be quality. It's not going to be just something to fill a set. And, to tell you the truth, there's a lot of bands that we've had to sequence out. We could probably do two more festivals of just a list of bands that want to play right now!

Cyr: It goes back to the amenities — going there, seeing the beach, the grassy field, a beautiful concert field we designed. We thought we had a great layout there.

Frederico: So then to find a new spot … of course, we want the amenities because everybody loves their hot showers and a regular toilet. ... But we really got lucky with Acres of Wildlife. They contacted us out of the blue because they heard all about us. So, we've been meeting, and it seems like a match made in heaven. 

MCL: This is the first year that you guys are doing the festival at Acres of Wildlife Campground in Steep Falls. Was there anything specifically that had drawn you guys to that location? 

Cyr: Well, we had put something out that we were looking for a new venue, and they hit us up.

MCL: Were they fans of jam bands?

Frederico: Yes, actually. [laughs] They're right into the scene, but they do little stuff at the campground. They do a metal weekend, other family-type weekends, maybe a band, but nothing like what we have coming. 

But I think also this venue is beautiful too because it's just such an attractive campground, and full of families. He has a hundred seasonals in there. The safety factor is no problem. He's got security people there 24/7. So, after this first year when people really see this place, I think we're going to see a major growth of the following.

Cyr: We currently have people from 15 states right now that we've sold tickets to for this year. We've had as many as 24 before. There's people from three other countries that came, one year in the Philippines, and Canada…

Frederico: Oh, the guy from South Africa!

Cyr: That's a great story.

Frederico: We were here [at Portland House of Music] for Wednesday night Dead Night a few years ago. We were talking about the event coming up. So, this guy comes up to us, and says, “When is this campout going on?”

But then he tells the story of how he just flew from South Africa to Miami, picked up this beautiful catamaran in Miami, randomly sailed it up to Portland Harbor, and showed up here for a Dead Night.

So, we pull out a map of the coast. We showed him where it was, and he showed up! He docked out in deep water. He came in a dinghy and bought a ticket for the show. He met a girl at the show. They came back to follow in three years. They got married and have two kids. 

MCL: That's unbelievable!

Frederico: You know, we're not really here for the money. Of course, we want to take care of things financially, obviously. But it's about the community and about giving back. I'm going to be 73 in August, just before the show. … It took me as many years to get to this point, but I'm happy. 

MCL: It seems like putting on a festival is for gluttons for punishment. So, what's a motivating factor? 

Frederico: To do what I love. I got two kids, a son and a daughter. I got five grandkids, and the grandkids love it! My kid was a Phish kid. So growing up, I’m a Dead guy and he's like, “Come on, dad.” But now he's a dad and he’s showing them Phish, and they go, “Come on, dad.” But it’s all in the family

MCL: In terms of long term, what is your dream attraction that you would want to bring to this festival at some point? 

Frederico: Bigger headliners. People really don't realize, even with a festival our size, there are thousands and thousands that go into it. We don't really have any sponsorship. We have very little sponsorship. Being independent is very difficult in the business, because that eliminates a lot of people sponsoring you. Don't get me wrong, we're getting a lot of recognition in the business. But we're working on the bigger management houses. And we’ve worked with some bigger acts. It’s just a matter of cost.

MCL: What bands specifically would you be eyeing if you had, let's just say, an unlimited budget? 

Frederico: Joe Russo. Darkstar. Triple Mountain. We know the money involved. We're just not there to do the investment yet. It's too big of a risk. People don't realize this, but if I'm hiring a band for my festival, it's going to cost me more money than if I hired for a venue. So that's another fact of production. You majorly increase the range of headlines. 

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The Grateful Camp Out takes place at Acres of Wildlife Campground in Steep Falls, Maine, from Aug. 14-17. Learn more here.