The Big Wu Family Reunion
Encyclopedia
The Big Wu Family Reunion (BWFR) is an annual music festival
hosted by the Rock and Roll
jam band
The Big Wu
. It is currently held over the Memorial day
weekend at the Harmony Park Music Gardens in Geneva, Minnesota
, and features multiple bands on one or two stages as well as on-site camping
.
, Minnesota
(the very place where their first CD, Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub
had been recorded the year before). The next year the Family Reunion was held at Harmony Park Music Garden in Geneva, Minnesota. Over the past years, it has been held at either Harmony Park or the Jamboree Campground in Black River Falls
, Wisconsin
. 2006 marked the ninth annual year that the festival has taken place.
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
hosted by the Rock and Roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
The Big Wu
The Big Wu
The Big Wu is a rock 'n' roll jam band from Minnesota. The group is composed of Al Oikari, Andy Miller, Chris Castino, and Terry VanDeWalker. The band made a mark on the jam band scene with a reputation for hook-oriented songwriting and as one of the earliest jam bands from the Midwest to achieve...
. It is currently held over the Memorial day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend at the Harmony Park Music Gardens in Geneva, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and features multiple bands on one or two stages as well as on-site camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
.
History
On July 17, 1998, the Big Wu created a tradition by throwing the first ever Big Wu Family Reunion at Latch Lake Studios in EaganEagan, Minnesota
Eagan is a city south of Saint Paul in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fifteenth largest...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
(the very place where their first CD, Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub
Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub
Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub was the first studio album released by the rock n' roll jam band The Big Wu in 1997. It was released at the Cabooze Bar in Minneapolis during CD Release party hosted by the band.-Track listing:...
had been recorded the year before). The next year the Family Reunion was held at Harmony Park Music Garden in Geneva, Minnesota. Over the past years, it has been held at either Harmony Park or the Jamboree Campground in Black River Falls
Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,622 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County. The Ho-Chunk Nation has its administrative center in Black River Falls.-History:...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. 2006 marked the ninth annual year that the festival has taken place.