Drug overdose death at Camp Bisco

Posted at: 07/12/2012 11:59 PM
By: Dan Levy

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DUANESBURG - State Police say a 29-year old New Jersey man overdosed on drugs at the Camp Bisco Music Festival in Duanesburg. Even though the official cause of death won't be known until toxicology results come back, troopers say they found Xanax and hydrocodone inside the man's tent, along with some marijuana.

This is the time of year when the tiny town of Duanesburg -- in western Schenectady County -- nearly quadruples in size for the weekend.

In previous years when the Camp Bisco Festival came to town, neighbors complained about many things but this year some neighbors are changing their tune.

Camp Bisco has been described as a "highly organized form of insanity." It's a festival of electronic music that reverberates throughout the Duanesburg countryside each summer, creating the largest dance party on the East Coast, and lures fans from all fifty states, who live in tent cities over the festival's three-day run.

"It's just the anticipation of seeing the same thing that I want to see all three days that makes me in a really positive, excited mood," Says Brendan Owens, of New Jersey, attending his first Camp Bisco Festival.

"I'm a big fan of the music," says Lucas Fader, another Garden Stater attending his first festival. "I have to be here, it's fun!"

"There's just a lot of people," says Abby McCabe of Albany, "I just met (a new friend) here today so you meet a lot of people."

Camp Bisco has evolved into one of the biggest electronic music festivals in the world. Something that festival goers don't necessarily want to compare it to is Woodstock.

"It's a different time and a different place," says Josh Miller, attending the festival from his home in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "It's a music place, thousands of people are listening to music on that same vibe as (Woodstock)."

Even though many Duanesburg residents have complained about negative vibes in the past, primarily due to all-day traffic jams, rowdy crowds, and littered roadsides, things this year seem much more tolerable, according to Batter Street resident Sue Weakley.

"This is the first day of the concert and things are going well," Weakley proclaims. "Right now you can hear the music but it's not overly loud. If the weekend goes this way, I will declare it a success."

Weakley says there seems to be more cooperation this year between festival organizers and town officials and she thinks traffic seems to be under better control too.

More than 20,000 people are expected in Duanesburg through Sunday.