Dance Party for Democracy at All Good 2010

The end of the fourteenth annual All Good marks the beginning of the end of the summer festival season. But there is no reason to be bummed, with Gathering of the Vibes around the corner. There is still plenty of fun to be had and even more young people to usher into the world of political action.

At this years' All Good the HeadCount booth had a prime location, between general camping and the mainstages. Also next to our booth was the grassroots side stage, where we were lucky enough to present two great shows: Cornmeal performed an all-request acoustic set and Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove did an acoustic solo show. Both artists offered a few words on the importance of hitting the polls with a vengeance in November.

Thursday night at All Good offered a Grateful Dead cover band, setting the stage for Friday’s performance by Furthur, who some have described as the best rendition of the Dead since the passing of Jerry Garcia in 1995. It's safe to say there was no shortage of Dead logos, skeletons or dancing bears at this year's All Good. After Furthur’s performance on Friday, Bassnectar’s wobble factory brought out the younger fans, which was noticed and appreciated at the booth.

Blasting some whompin' bass from the HeadCount booth's PA drew young music lovers like moths to a flame. Thanks to countless Bassnectar tracks or Europe’s "Final Countdown," we attracted soon-to-be voters and plenty of Arrested Development fans too. We created a dance party for democracy, and it was pretty sweet. Pedestrians were drawn in by the familiar tunes, so it was an easy ask when we checked if they were registered voters or if they would like to pledge to vote and get a call from their favorite artists. (Like Marc Brownstein of the Disco Biscuits, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead or Willie Nelson!)

I'm not sure what was more satisfying: registering new voters or hearing that because of HeadCount's many great volunteers folks had already been registered to vote on Phish tour, at Mountain Jam or at last year's All Good. With a track record of registering voters for years and giving away free things, plenty of new and old friends were happy to stop by and say hello. One person in particular who was happy to see the booth this year was last year's winner of our Reality Check trivia game, Shawn Mauzy (pictured, left, with runner up.) He informed us he had been hitting the books hard since last year and was ready for our best shot. He returned to defend his throne and succeeded in winning tickets to All Good 2011. We'll see you next year, Shawn!