Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Memorial Day Weekend

Been awhile since I posted anything on here. It has been a crazy busy summer so far! So many festivals and concerts. Lots of travels as well. Lets hit the first one.  I spent a weekend on the road with Horseshoes & Hand Grenades over Memorial Day Weekend going to two festivals. Dark Star Jubilee in Ohio and Summercamp Music Festival in Illinois.  It was about 1400 miles in 3 days in the ole blue bus.  Got to see some great music besides HHG like Dark Star Orchestra, Railroad Earth and Infamous String Dusters. As per the trip with these guys many laughs as well.

Dark Star Jubilee was a great time and so well run by great people.  HHG kicked off the weekend festival.  Afterwords we all hung out wandered the grounds and took in some Railroad Earth before catching some of Dark Star Orchestra before we had to depart for Illinois.

We arrived the next day at Summercamp Music Festival and were greeted by mud. Lots of mud.   A large storm we had driven through had hit the festival grounds the night before.  We had to leave the bus out by artists check in and get taken back with equipment by Gators. Before load in time on the stage Adam and Myself went and caught The Infamous String Dusters set at the VIP tent.  HHG sound check was against the pulsing sounds of the EDM tent on the opposite end of the field where the stage was.  Awesome.  When showtime hit there had to have been three thousand people in a space where 45 minutes earlier there was not one person.  I think that says something about what these guys in Horseshoes & Hand Grenades are doing and what they provide for music and fun.  We took off shortly after that to get back to Wisconsin and our own beds but it was a great trip and I hope for many more!

Here are some photos from that trip.  There are many more on my Ty Helbach Photography Facebook page!

Dark Star Jubilee

Summercamp Music Festival

Route 66

I firmly believe that one will never get a good understanding of what America is about unless you get off the highway. You see the beauty that makes this country great as well as the ugly and in reality its all beautiful in its own way.  Highways you fly by everything.  You see the same chain restaurants and gas stations.  Its all the same sugar coated, waxed over, gentrified stuff mile after mile.

2 lanes is where you will find the heart of America.  With every mom and pop diner and roadside oddity you experience what makes this country great.  There is no other road better to do that then Route 66.

Recently I had the opportunity to travel some of it from Illinois to Oklahoma.  While this is only a small part of it and I did not see it all it still is Americas main street.  I am a huge fan of roadside attractions.  While i am capable of pedal to the metal traveling to get you from point A to point B... I love the side roads.

From the Blue Whale of Catoosa to the apocalyptic landscape of Picher Oklahoma its all things we should experience.  There is a whole wide world out there to see and its goddamn amazing.  There is so much right in our own backyard from a car window to see.  I highly encourage you to get in your car and get out there.  He is a few photos from that trip. I am sure I will do other posts with more pics but here is a start.