Hookahville 2000, featuring Ekoostik Hookah, Jorma Kaukonen Trio, Alvin Youngblood Hart, CPR, and the Dickey Betts Band

The seeds for Hookahville Fall 2000 were planted seven years ago when Ekoostik Hookah keyboardist Dave Katz allowed his backyard to be the setting for an outdoor concert. For the Columbus-based jam band, that particular show became the next step in a recording and touring process that has remained fiercely independent of any outside control. With every turn of the odometer during the band's endless cross-country tours, Hookah's grassroots method has harvested more and more followers. And in turn, so has its homegrown festival. It has moved from Katz's home to larger and larger open-air venues and attracted higher-caliber artists. Because of its popularity, the single day of music and camping turned into two. The biannual event produced its biggest crowd ever over last Memorial Day weekend, when more than 15,000 fans settled into Buckeye Lake Music Center to hear lengthy sets by Hookah, Ratdog, Arlo Guthrie, and the David Grisman Quintet. Hookahville Spring 2000 came about without the assistance of corporate sponsors and was free of the ugly incidents that have marred so many other all-day musical concerts. For its Labor Day excursion, concertgoers will be treated to two performances by the event's musical hosts. Blues-oriented sets by the ex-Hot Tuna Jorma Kaukonen Trio and Alvin Youngblood Hart will highlight the first day, while CPR (featuring David Crosby) and the Dickey Betts Band will take the stage on Saturday.