Last weekend a crew of Brooklynites hoofed it approximately 2.5 hours up the river to mingle with their upstate counterparts in Hudson, NY for Basilica Soundscape, a festival that is truly unlike any other. Basilica Hudson, a one-time glue factory in an industrial park turned arts-and-cultural center along the MetroNorth train tracks, hosted the sold out gathering—about 800 people of all ages and similar backgrounds. Now in its third year, Basilica Soundscape has earned its reputation as an alternative festival for curious music lovers who want to expand their listening palette, featuring a diverse lineup with highlights from scenic metal band Deafheaven, Balinese xylophone orchestra Gamelan Dharma Swara, Lorde tourmates Majical Cloudz, electronic wavemaker Tim Hecker, and more.

Many city folk took the MetroNorth, which stops literally across the street from the factory, just for Friday or Saturday evening. It was likely Hudson’s biggest Air b’n’b weekend, and a few inns sprinkled through the historic town also provided beds for musicians and fans alike. I opted for camping with a diverse group of about 100 others, an expensive but satisfactory crashpad at a campsite on the fringe of a golfcourse about 8 miles away. They took the liability out of the experience and offered free shuttles to and from the site all night. Temperatures dipped into the low 50s in the wet evenings and the crowd wore a mixed wardrobe of fall and winter garb while I opted for many layers that would keep me warm within the basilica and while gathered around the campfire at our site, where I met many other adventurous Brooklynites, enjoying the spark of the firewood and the novelty of partial-wildness camping.

Scenes from Basilica Soundscape