Resonance Music & Arts Festival 2019 [REVIEW & PHOTOS]

Written and Photographed by Breton Spiller

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Resonance Music Festival stepped into its new home in Slippery Rock, PA this year and took full advantage of the incredible venue that is Cooper’s Lake Campground to give attendees a wonderful festival experience. 

To start, as mentioned, the new venue for Resonance was absolutely incredible. Cooper’s Lake is a large, open concept campground which seemed to fit the needs of the festival perfectly. The lake itself was surrounded by intriguing decorations and lights that made the water glisten colorfully at night. 

A standout part of the layout for the festival was the main stage set up. It was made up by two side-by-side stages that would have sets scheduled back to back in order to lessen set up-times. This made it so that more artists/bands on the lineup could play at the main stage and start almost immediately after the performance before.

The only suggestion I have for the future of the main stage area is SHADE. There were barely any places to find shade there and the sun was beating down all weekend. People even started to bring their own canopy tents and umbrellas to the main stage, which could get annoying for other people to get around and made it hard to see at some points. 

On another positive note, though, the staff, volunteers and security at Resonance were all fairly accommodating and friendly; an aspect which can usually make or break a festival. Even though there were some issues with getting my wristband when coming in, the staff did a great job helping me get everything sorted out. Things happen, especially when putting such a large scale event together, but the way a team handles unexpected issues is most important.

Let’s talk about that amazing lineup! Such a diverse, unique lineup of music. I got to listen to just about every genre while I was there. Two sets of Tipper was definitely a nice touch as well. Credit is due to the man himself, Dave Tipper, for putting together two different, yet equally breathtaking sets for us to enjoy. The twilight set was especially amazing after a quick downpour of rain that opened up to sunshine and a double rainbow above Tipper as he began to play. 

The three non-main stages (Dragon, Barn and Cooper’s Cove) held some of the best sets of the weekend. The Resonance team did a great job giving each separate stage its own vibe while still maintaining a cohesive vibe throughout the fest as a whole. Some standout sets among these stages include Freddy Todd, Shield, Charlesthefirst and Chris Karns. Definitely a lot of talent coming from those guys and they got the crowd moving and grooving. 

Another possible improvement for the future would have to be improved/additional water stations. I filled my personal water bottle up from a spout I found near the Barn stage, but I’m not sure if that was it’s actual purpose… From what I could tell there were not any real clear water refill stations and that’s something that every festival should have and have clearly marked and easily accessible for all attendees. Especially in the type of heat that we experienced that weekend. 

Overall, a wonderful, well put together festival and I cannot wait to see what the future of Resonance has in store. I hope to dance with you all out in Pennsylvania again next year!