Four people stand on stage. Eight more make it possible. This is a Foxglove Fields Friday, hour by hour, through the eyes of the crew who carry it.
Noon: load-in
The truck doors roll up and the Tetris begins: drums, backline, lighting, the merch crates with this year's posters. Mara, our stage manager, has the whole puzzle memorized — she could load this truck blindfolded, and once, in a rainstorm in Ohio, nearly did.
Five: soundcheck
Soundcheck is the band's rehearsal and the crew's exam. While we argue about the “Honeylight” jam length, Dev tunes the room itself — every field sounds different, and he hears the difference before the first note.
Nine-thirty: encore
The part you see lasts two hours. The part that makes it possible starts nine hours earlier and ends an hour after you leave, with eight tired people coiling cables in the dark. Come say hello at the merch stand — half the crew works it after the show.