Vibe tribe to call Seaside Park home for another year

After some questions as to whether or not The Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival would return to Bridgeport, Connecticut's Seaside Park in 2010, festival promoters have confirmed that they intend to celebrate the festival's 15th anniversary at its original site, July 29 - Aug. 1.

“Seaside Park really is home for us,” Vibes owner Ken Hays said in a press release. “The park is magnificent, and the city has always welcomed us here. And with the beachfront and plentiful camping areas – this is just a great place to hold a festival.”

For those of you not familiar with GOTV, it was founded in 1996 as a celebration of the life and music of Jerry Garcia, who died the previous summer. Over the years, the festival has hosted bands fronted by the remaining members of the Grateful Dead and other exciting artists who exemplify the improvisational spirit of Jerry Garcia including New Riders of the Purple Sage, Deep Banana Blackout and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Following last year's event, Hays revealed that he might not bring the festival back to the venue due to the high-cost of operating a festival in the city atmosphere. Controversy also surrounded the festival, after a 29-year-old Long Island man's body was discovered at a campsite near the park's baseball fields. The death, which was the first in the festival's 14 year history, was ruled to have occurred from natural causes with no foul-play suspected, although witnesses had testified the body had been dumped from a green Saturn with Pennsylvania plates. Many other festival-goers contested that the man had been murdered by a gang known as the "Nitrous Mafia," who sell and distribute the drug, nitrous oxide, at festivals and concerts.

A very limited number of Early-bird weekend passes are set for sale on “Tie-Dye Friday” (Black Friday) November 27 for $135. Tickets will be available at www.GoVibes.com or at 203.908.3030.

In the coming days, be sure to look for a festival review from years past to celebrate one of the jam band world's best festies.

See you at the Vibes!