FORM Arosanti is one of those special festivals that many may not know of but is adored and loved by those who do. Just 70 miles north of Phoenix, an experimental living community exists carved alongside a desert canyon and created by the famous Italian architect Paolo Soleri. Thanks to the creative minds of the Florida group Hundred Waters, the FORM festival is an 800 person, application only, festival that's free to those who attend. The festival is unique in the sense that the main focus is to stay true to the raw architecture of nature, music and human interaction. The stages compliment the environment rather than have massive steel frames propped up in the middle of a beautiful landscape. For comparison, imagine taking the stunning backdrop form The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington and combine that with the Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado, then you would still have only half of the architectural beauty that Arocsanti brings. There is no backstage area, no VIP only viewing but both the artists and the fans are brought together to celebrate a weekend of beautiful music and scenery.
Austin Tuft, drummer from the Canadian band BRAIDS, was a performer at FORM this year and was able to share some further insight on what it was like to experience this rare festival for the first time.
Thursday evening we got picked up at the airport by Pete Dawson. Definitely the most interesting shuttle driver I had ever met. We started the whole weekend adventure with a stop at a bizarre taco spot that was still sporting its full Cinco De Mayo decorations, Taqueria Don Beto. The drive from Phoenix out to Arcosanti takes about an hour and a half and is brought to a close on rugged dirt roads where we saw the first sign of the festival. A huge beam of light erupting into the night sky from a distant point that we all immediately knew was the festival site. It was very disorienting showing up to the desert abode in complete darkness. Not knowing what the space looked like but feeling its immense energy.
