The Friend Zone

 Dip your hippie head into a cool sonic pool this weekend by day-tripping up (or, hey, camping out) for the sixth annual Frendly Gathering, a three-day grassroots music festival in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont. Vibe-wise, this fest is heavy on the crunch — it’s organized by feel-gooders “Jack and Danny,” who vow in their online Frendly Manifesto to help guests “leave the real world behind, enjoy the fruits of nature” and “create a ‘we’ generation … built upon kindness, generosity, and respect.” And yes, the missing vowel in the festival’s name was driving us up the wall — until we realized that among close friends, there’s no place for “I”. Get it? Good. Bands include a mix of local and regional acts: Big Gigantic, Twiddle, Trevor Hall, Turkuaz, Givers, The Ballroom Thieves, Moon Hooch, and about 40 more. Ticket sales for this intimate affair are capped at 3,500 people. One word of caution: the event is sponsored by Burton, so expect to impulse-buy some snowboarding gear in the middle of the night.

Frendly Gathering: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Rain or shine. $150 for a two-day pass; $200 for a three-day pass. At the old Timber Ridge ski resort, 431 Glebe Mountain Road, Windham, VT. frendlygathering.com.

— Hunter Styles, hstyles@valleyadvocate.com