Shoes were optional, but the tie dye t-shirts were not at this year’s annual JerryFest in Five Points, which honored the life and music of Jerry Garcia and the psychedelic jam band scene.
The Grateful Dead is one of the most recognized jam bands, a style of music that features "jamming" or improvising music and sound during their sets.
Symbols that are largely associated with the Grateful Dead, such as rainbows, teddy bears, skulls and deadheads, adorned the streets as festival-goers spread the love. Jerry Garcia, the late lead guitarist and vocalist of the Grateful Dead, is the festival's namesake.
Local Five Points store Loose Lucy’s is the principal sponsor of the festival in partnership with the Five Points Association. Don McCallister is the co-owner of the store, which is widely known for its hippie fashion and trippy vibe. He said this year's festival is different than years prior due to the addition of more artists.
“This year, we're expanding the scope of it to have two stages and an after party and just a little more of everything,” McCallister said. “We're also expanding the range of music. It won't just be Grateful Dead music. We decided to start paying tribute to the whole jam-band scene.”
Previously, bands paid tribute solely to Grateful Dead, but this year the scope was expanded to other jam bands. Runaway Gin, who covered Phish, and Machine Funk, who paid homage to Widespread Panic, were some of the new music JerryFest featured this year.
Bands Stillhouse and The Reckoning both gave Grateful Dead tribute performances, and Ten Mile Ride kept the vibes going with various songs throughout the day.
“Events like JerryFest have become very important to people. And it's like every town with enough people in it seems to have a dead cover band, and I didn't anticipate all that,” McCallister said. “It warms our heart, so we look forward to the love.”
Local lemonade business Sonnie’s Lemonade participated for the first time in JerryFest this year. To celebrate the hippie theme, Sonnie’s offered specialty drinks, including a “Strawberry Fields” lemonade and a “Tie Dye Monster” lemonade. Allie Burke, an operator at Sonnie's Lemonade, said she was excited for the opportunity to participate in the festival.
“We tried to come out a couple of years ago, and we were rejected, so we were really excited they called us this year,” Burke said.
While vendors and drink stands played a large role in the celebration, the musical acts took center stage. The two stages at the festival were packed all day with visitors singing and dancing.
Local Columbia band Stillhouse engaged listeners with a Grateful Dead tribute set. Under the hot sun, dozens danced to the music with their hands in the air.
People dance to rock music played by a local band at JerryFest on Oct. 1, 2023. JerryFest honors the legacy of Jerry Garcia, the late lead guitarist and vocalist of Grateful Dead.
One of Stillhouse's lead singers, John Scollon, said the environment created by the late Garcia's music brought the entire community together.
“It's not just the music but the camaraderie to it. But underlying all of that, it is the music that brings it all together,” Scollon said. “It’s something very strangely simple and beautiful and complex at the same time.”
The legacy of Grateful Dead lives on through Columbia’s JerryFest in what Scollon could only describe as "magic."
“A lot of people say it's sloppy, but it comes together a little different every time, and when you catch that magic right, it's really something,” Scollon said.
Editor's Note: Amanda Petty contributed to the reporting in this article.