FORMAT Festival: Diversity and Bold Expression in Comfort [Film Forward]

In the spirit of “C’est la V13,” 35mm film captured these images. Film Forward is a call to action encouraging you to anticipate where film photography can lead your mind in uncertain times. The “why” for my choice of using film will be more apparent as the number of images here grows from 13 to 31. It’s an exercise in mindfulness on the most self-serving level and a reminder of impermanence.

Live music photographers are typically permitted to be in the pit where nothing stands between us and the artists onstage for only the first three songs. After that, the fleeting moment will be gone and irreplaceable. Shooting film for kinetic action in low light commands a level of concentration that holds my consciousness to the present during those three songs.

Surrender to the Experience Completely

“We Rise by Lifting Others. Dance First, Think Later.” This mission statement or mantra glowed brightly along a popular pathway on the grounds of FORMAT Festival. My wife and I definitely danced relentlessly in the company of many deliciously different strangers. The connection among us all was palpable through set after set of electrifying performances.

FORMAT Festival Grounds and its Unexpected Amenities

Music and art lovers representing a multitude of tribes gathered in the surprisingly comfortable public spaces of the Momentary. It’s a premiere attraction for the lovingly maintained downtown of Bentonville, AR. The Momentary’s primary feature is a permanent main stage facing a gently sloping hill, and at the top is a cluster of small buildings that provide uncommon respite from outdoor conditions. Artists commanded a smaller stage here set in an air-conditioned black box theater adjacent to indoor restrooms and a gourmet coffee and pastry bar.

Another large festival stage with its spectator lawn featured a welcoming expanse of shade from the direct sun during afternoon performances. Broad cemented pathways facilitated easy exploration of the custom-crafted fourth and fifth stages. Italy’s Toiletpaper art magazine whimsically incorporated port-a-potties as access doors to a domed structure over a small stage. The parallel entrance hallways were papered over in collages that bled across every wall and ceiling. Finally, our last stop on most nights was for DJ sets at Drag Me to the Disco. This barn rave was affectionately named for the female impersonators who served as MCs there.

Art, Food and Music that Surprised and Delighted

FORMAT Festival truly integrated thought-provoking art with a curated creator roster throughout the experience. It wasn’t limited to destination art installations. The work of carefully selected artists surrounded us as decorated park amenities, concessions, and sound engineers’ booths for the main stages. The food options were unlike any I had ever experienced in a festival setting. In their own permanent buildings, a strip of independent local restaurants added more variety in addition to the food trucks and offered service in air-conditioned dining rooms.

Live shows from musicians that rarely, if ever, tour North Texas compelled our travel to Bentonville for an unforgettable first visit. A fever dream of awe-inspiring performances kept us dancing until we levitated. There were larger-than-life performances from headliners LCD Soundsystem, Alanis Morrissette, and Leon Bridges. However, my purest passion was for the disrupters.

FORMAT Festival 2023 event poster

The Performances I Couldn’t Miss

UK rapper Little Simz prowled the main stage like a stalking lioness whose prey was ignorance. Her lyrics of struggle and triumph amplified the voices of working-class Londoners and children of immigrants everywhere alike. Her accompanying bass rhythms physically pounded on my chest like a drum with an intensity that I’d rarely experienced before.

Australia’s non-binary multi-instrumentalist Tash Sultana was a virtuoso in their element, surrounded by nearly a dozen instruments and a multi-track looper. Tash’s face appeared ecstatic as they layered their complex compositions of hypnotizing groves before the main stage audience’s adoring eyes.

The enchanting Sudan Archives spun a trance of hypersexualized playfulness. She studied ethnomusicology and since committed to “show the blackness of the violin.” Recently, though, the evolution of her songcraft has produced more Beyonce-esque R&B and hip-hop. Her new songs sound as much like the future as ancient culture that inspired her distinctly African violin technique.

FORMAT Festival acknowledged hip hop culture’s 50th anniversary in 2023 and featured stellar performances by 30-year veterans of both East and West Coast styles.  South Central LA’s kinetically explosive The Pharcyde bounced their way through beloved classics. NYC’s sublimely smooth Digable Planets glided about the stage in front of their live jazz-funk ensemble.

Community and Connection Resonated Strongly

The performers were sublimely colourful, but the revelers dancing to their music would not be outdone. Some were adorned with fur and LEDs. Others wore so little that it’s barely worth mentioning. They were all shapes, spanned a broad spectrum of sexuality, and they all came to dance through the night. They danced among strangers that didn’t feel as strange by the time the sun set on the festival’s final day.

Another mission statement or mantra glowed in neon from one of The Momentary’s buildings behind the main stage lawn. It read, “You Belong Here.” My wife and I easily agreed with that welcoming phrase after only our first visit to Bentonville. We knew we would return for year three of FORMAT Festival in 2024. I’ll bring many rolls of film again. I’ll also count on losing myself in moments that last forever when I surrender to the surreal.

Get stoked for FORMAT Festival 2024 and follow the event via their official website.

FORMAT Festival @ Bentonville, AR on September 22-24, 2023

31 photos