Chris Ortiz, MFA
The Daily Courier

On a gorgeous Prescott spring weekend, Watson Lake was transformed into a sight that was nothing short of magical. The Pure Imagination Festival, which was held on May 17-18, was a two-day music and arts festival that lived up to its name.

On Friday, the first day of the extended fest (the previous two years had been a Saturday-only festival) saw four bands take to one of the two stages that were erected for the weekend. Two bands highlighted the evening; the multi-musical stylings of Ozomatli, and followed by Michael Franti and Spearhead.

Ozo, as they are known by their fans, were more than happy to get to play Pure Imagination. “The thing about Ozomatli is that we have always been a great festival band,” said Ulises Bella, saxophone player and one of the founding members of the band. “In a festival setting, it gives the opportunity for people who might not have ever heard of us or seen us the chance to just check us out live, and one of our fortes has been our live show. And what an amazing place to do it in. I love places like this where it is just beautiful scenery.”

Bella compared the area of Watson Lake to the likes of other noted performance areas such as the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincey, Washington, or Red Rocks Amphitheater, which is about 10 miles southwest of Denver. He said what made the Pure Imagination Festival similar to some of the other favorite venues that the band has played is when the landscape is the background. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I think what is interesting for us is we have traveled the world many times over, have had many really unique situations. Our first tour was the Warped Tour 1998; we were the odd man out! We have been cultural ambassadors, we’ve played places like Mongolia, and it is a part of our history to be in really unique situations, so this is really fun for us,” said guitarist and singer Raul Pacheco.

It was these bands, with Day 2 acts such as Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, The Pharcyde, Tanya Tucker, Sylvan Esso and Saturday’s headliner The Flaming Lips that really brought the festival together. It was the eclectic styles of music over the two days that brought everything together ultimately.

A few thousand people showed up over the two-day event, all much to the delight of the festival’s creator, Candace Devine. “The turnout is looking amazing!” she stated backstage. “We’re thrilled with how it’s going.”

She recalled the issues with the past two years’ festivals. “Last year we had basically a hurricane come through on Friday and it blew everything that we had in the park out of the park. The first year, we had the Crooks Fire right down the road, and all of the firemen’s equipment was here at the lake, so we didn’t know until three days before if we could even have the festival. We’ve been watching the weather, and a few days ago (Wednesday) we had some rain, and everyone was having PTSD, and I was like ‘No, no, no, the weekend looks beautiful’ and the weekend is beautiful.”

For some people these past three years have been a dream, regardless of what the weather has been, and Nick Rice is one of those people. “We are here at the Pure Imagination Festival in Prescott, Arizona! The third year the crew and I have been here and happy to be here.”

He and his crew came with two fire-throwing vehicles, an old car and an old firetruck, for the spectators to view. “This festival hits all of the marks. The venue is great, the people are great, the town of Prescott is awesome, and the music that they bring out here… is epic. So coming back every year is almost like coming back to a family gathering.”

And that is exactly what it was, a gorgeous weekend with plenty of amazing music to tickle that craving for with people who have become friends and family over the past few years. What more in life can one ask for?