Stemstock: More than a concert

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By Dan King

It started 20 years ago as a graduation party and grew to be a huge annual festival, but Stemstock is more than that.
This year, Stemstock makes its return to Whitehall after a 15-year hiatus. While the location has changed and some of the bands have changed, the overall theme and No. 1 rule have remained the same – “be nice.”
The event, organized by Jason Irwin and presented by 518ROCK, is set for Saturday, July 16, at the Whitehall Athletic Club. There will be two stages of entertainment going on from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Micah Scott will be one of many musicians performing Saturday.
Micah Scott will be one of many musicians performing Saturday.

Tickets to the event are $10 and only a limited number will be sold. They can be purchased at Whitehall Athletic Club, Tavern at Lock 12 or any 518ROCK event listed at www.518rock.com. Tickets can also be ordered online at 518rock.ticketleap.com/stemstock2016.
All ages will be admitted into the event. There will be food, refreshments, vendors, an outside social area and a cash bar for those 21 and older.
Stemstock’s confirmed lineup includes Stem Feat. Micah Scott and Tom Egan, Cleveland Gulley, Phillips Head, Citizen’s Treasure, Candy Ambulance, Hungry Jack, Isaac Jogues, the Skenesborough Renegades, Mocking Justice, Northern Sky, the Pete Telisky Band, Syren Jay, Alicia Bautista, Luke Garrett, the Guthrie Union, Those Guys, and Arc Weld: A Tribute to Neil Young.
One artist in particular that Mona Bourn, the original organizer, is excited to have is Whitehall-native PJ Ferguson, who is a part of Citizen’s Treasure.
“PJ is the most talented kid I’ve met in my life,” Bourn said. “My daughter calls him the human juke box – he can play ‘uptown funk’ and then turn right around and play Pearl Jam.”

History of Stemstock
The history of Stemstock is an exotic one. In 1996, the event first started as a graduation party and it quickly grew from there.
“The kids had a band named Stem, they said it would be cool to play on a flatbed truck for their graduation party and my husband drove a truck at the time,” Bourn said.

Mud wresting was one of many events featured at the original Stemstock events.
Mud wresting was one of many events featured at the original Stemstock events.

However, the party didn’t stop at just one band. It grew to include 10 bands and seven vendors, with an attendance of 300 to 500 people.
“It was kind of exciting and people said ‘we should do this every year’,” Bourn said.
And do it every year they did. The three-day event continued to grow in number of bands, vendors and attendance for the five years it took place, 1996-2001.
“It got right up to 2,500 people. I had to turn people away. Our family and the guys from Stem branched out to make it more professional,” Bourn said. “Who would think that a small town like this could do something like that?”
As the event continued to grow, more activities were added to it, including whipped cream wrestling, mud wrestling and myriad other activities.
In 2001, the Bourns sold the property that used to host Stemstock, and with that, so ended the event for the next 15 years.
All of the sudden, with this year marking the 20th anniversary of the original Stemstock, some of the original participants approached Bourn about bringing it back.
“This is kind of a tribute to Stemstock and all the bands that used to play in it,” Bourn said. “Jason Irwin, who used to play in it, has done a lot of the organizing.”
It was the graduation party for Micah Scott and Tom Egan 20 years ago that started the festivities and both will be performing at this year’s festival.
Unfortunately, they will be without their fellow classmate Dan Lafayette, who passed away in his early 30s.
“It’s a tribute to him as well,” added Bourn.
Bourn said when Stemstock was in its prime there were two main rules: Be nice and if it’s not yours don’t touch it.
“It’s reuniting a lot of people,” Bourn said. “I can’t remember everyone after I see thousands of people, but people will always come up to me and say ‘be nice’.”
For more information contact Jason Irwin at 307-4967 or Mona Bourn at 499-5010.