Gem and Jam Festival is a very special gathering that happens every February in the beautiful city of Tucson, Arizona. The 11th year is set for February 2nd-5th, 2017, and for the first time, will take place at the new location of Pima County Fairgrounds. Complete with tons of extra space, multiple camping options and room for so many activities, G&J is set to be one of the best fests of ’17. The lineup is hella stacked, featuring Mike Gordon, Gramatik, The Floozies, a rare Trancident set (feat. 4 of 6 members of The String Cheese Incident), EOTO, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Motet- the list of audible goodness just goes on and on and on. We had a chance for some Q&A with the founders of the epic Tucson happening. Read below and we hope to see you at what is sure to be the best G&J ever! Check out our review and pictures from last year to get a real feel of what G&J offers its guests.
G&J: Awesome. Probably the best lineup we have ever had, in the best location we have ever had, with the best sales we have ever had. This is going to be the year!
G&J: Well, to be honest, Tucson specifically has always been the festival’s “forever home,” since it is based around the Tucson Gem Show. That has always been the start and the end of this thing. The vibes around that many stones and crystals are unlike anything else. Certain parts of the environment might be something we aim to recreate elsewhere, but ultimately you just can’t imitate what goes on in Tucson for the Gem Show.
G&J: Let’s just say that this new space allows for more, better, faster. The rest of it will be revealed in time… for now we have to keep tight lipped.
G&J: The crystal, gem, and mineral community seems to have always had a small minority of music-loving and consciousness-minded forward thinkers. Gem & Jam was founded originally by Toby White and crew, over a decade ago, in large part to provide a space for that niche of the gem community. Since that time, crystals, gems and more have spread throughout the music community through wraps, jewelry, stage displays, and etc. Now there are increasingly greater numbers of music lovers becoming interested in crystals and gems and as a result we have seen the attendance for Gem & Jam grow exponentially.
G&J: Well this is the first time that the venue we have been using has the infrastructure needed to book bands. And while we love electronic producers, this is Gem & Jam…. we are all about instruments and jamming! I’m personally extremely stoked to have Mike Gordon on the festival this year. Also, the Trancident is a very rare String Cheese Incident side project with 4 of the 6 members jamming out on instrumental electronic music. Gramatik is a huge highlight also… and our friend Thriftworks!
CYM: G&J has a special and tight knit family in the west coast bass community…how does that relationship intertwine and help set the vibe of the fest?
G&J: That is the start and end of it all. This community is from all over the country and the world and it is what has made this thing what it is from Day 1.
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