I had a write-up in NEPAudio Magazine - a grassroots zine covering the jam and music fest scene in Northeast Pennsylvania (and general vicinity).

Full Title is “Fest Vibes: An Interview with ‘Vibe Guy’ Jason Del Gandio.

By Craig Bailey (Spring/Summer 2024)

….

Vibes are a huge part of the fest experience. That’s obvious.

“The vibe at Beardfest is lit!”

“We gotta move our camp spot. The guys next to us are vibing me out.”

“I totally vibed on Solar Circuit last night!”

But how many of us think about the vibe as it relates to music and festing? Jason Del Gandio has. He’s been going to fests for 30 years and has been studying the vibe ever since.

“Everyone refers to the vibe, but no one really tries to explain or define it,” Jason says. “What’s actually going on? What’s this thing we’re collectively experiencing? How can we understand and accentuate it? Beginning in my late teens, I started taking notes about my experience and tried to figure it out. That's how I became ‘vibe guy’,” he says jokingly.

His studies eventually led him to an interesting conclusion.

“There’s a vibrational dialogue at every fest. Bands, wilding dance, vendors, campsites, fest families, and late-night shenanigans. That’s why we keep coming back. We crave the collective vibe and energetic dialogue.”

But can each fest-goer directly impact a fest’s vibrational dialogue?

“Absolutely,” said Jason. “Each of us contributes to a fest’s collective energy. We give off vibes and take in vibes. We’re constantly vibing on each other. What kind of vibe are you radiating? What kind of vibe are you attracting? What vibrational dialogue are you having with each band? What’s the energetic conversation like when you’re dancing?”

Jason is no casual observer of the vibe. He has a Ph.D. in Communication Studies, created his own philosophy of the vibe referred to as “bodily emanation,” and has published works on the topic including a case study on Phish and the vibe. His latest project is 20minutevibe.com, offering vibe-related content to help people understand and articulate their experience of the vibe.

“I’m trying to help people elevate the vibe to a conscious way of life,” says Jason. “I believe that the fest vibe can be a model for a different kind of society, a different kind of humanity. That’s my vision.”

Not a bad vision, if you ask me.

Link to NEPA website.