School Daze: Cornerstone festival stays the same, though things change around it
Date published: 7/15/2008
LAST WEEK, I found myself surrounded by corn and hippies. No, I didn't follow through on my undying dream of living simply among the flower children, writing poetry and wearing patchouli oil. Instead, I went to the middle of nowhere--Bushnell, Ill.--to the 25th annual Cornerstone music festival.
Cornerstone is a mixing-bowl of subcultures--from the dredlocked hippie to the bullet-belt-wearing punk kid. And through it all stalked a number of strangely-dressed, makeup-loving goths.
This wasn't my first trip to Cornerstone--it was my fourth. So I was not overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of people like I was the first time I attended. This was my first year driving out in my own car, though--and I'm beginning to get that eerie "I'm going to be graduating soon" feeling, so I took in more Cornerstone details than before.
When I first went to Cornerstone in 2004, just a few short years ago, ska was still barely gasping for air and Chris Carrabba reigned. P.O.D. was still popular enough to headline the main stage. Now, the hardcore and metal bands that were up-and-coming when I first saw them play are the veteran headliners. Talk about weird.
My observations led me to reflect on how I've changed since I first attended Cornerstone. There have been little things, like growth spurts and first long hair, then short hair and now long hair again. Each year that I've gone, it has been to work for an anti-abortion group (formerly based out of Fredericksburg) called Stand True. Each year, the way that I've interacted with the crowds of people while working has changed: I've morphed from a nervous 16-year-old to a more sociable and slightly more confident 20-year-old. The relationships I've had, classes I've taken and jobs I've worked have brought me light-years from where I once was as a person. And I know that, next year, it'll be just as weird, if not weirder.
In contrast to that general feeling of transience stood the little Illinois town that hosts Cornerstone: Bushnell. To my eye, accustomed to the ever-changing landscape here, if time ever forgot someplace, it was Bushnell. Each year that I attend Cornerstone, Bushnell looks the same.
