Dee Lippingwell has she wants to share.
Itsa国际传媒檚 the title of her new, limited-edition book that documents the 17-year history of Merritt Mountain Music Festival, the popular country-music gathering once held in the B.C. Interior town.
A longtime concert photographer based in Surrey, Lippingwell was the festivalsa国际传媒檚 official photographer from 1993 to 2009.
Just published, the 220-page softcover book features her photos of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Randy Travis, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban and other country stars, along with shots of festival moments.
sa国际传媒楳ountainsa国际传媒� memories: Surrey photogsa国际传媒檚 book recalls sa国际传媒榗razy-ass scenesa国际传媒� of Merritt music fest.
sa国际传媒� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
Campground C party zone and more remembered in Dee Lippingwellsa国际传媒檚 third book.
Lippingwellsa国际传媒檚 yearly job was to sa国际传媒渂asically take photographs of everything on a daily basis,sa国际传媒� she explains in the book, her third filled with concert photos.
sa国际传媒淲e looked forward to whatever the festival had in store for us sa国际传媒� rain, hail, blistering sun, dust storms, just to name a few,sa国际传媒� she writes. sa国际传媒淏ut we came prepared for everything and were never disappointed at each yearsa国际传媒檚 review, only to start planning for the next year and what would be done different or added. We were a family that included paid and unpaid participants, all of us anxiously awaiting the next Mountainfest.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒� RELATED STORY, from January: .
PICTURED: Dee Lippingwell
The booksa国际传媒檚 intro, written by former Province entertainment reporter John McLaughlin, chronicles the festivalsa国际传媒檚 infamous Campground C party zone, filled with cowboy hat-wearing guys (sa国际传媒淐odysa国际传媒�) and bikini-clad gals (sa国际传媒淐rystalsa国际传媒�), tricked-out bars, pool tables, pools, DIY dance floors and lots of liquor.
sa国际传媒淭here were a lot of different customers that kept Merritt as a top summer event on their calendars every year, buffing up the RV and making plans to camp with friends,sa国际传媒� McLaughlin writes. sa国际传媒淐ody, Crystal and their many friends and all their cute, pink livers are actually what kept the place going all those years, kept the beer garden full and the party never ending. It was a crazy-ass scene until it wasnsa国际传媒檛 and, like starlings out the barn door, the kids swarmed off with some new distraction and just didnsa国际传媒檛 come back.sa国际传媒�
(Story continues below photo)
PICTURED: Country musician Keith Urban on stage at Merritt Mountain Music Festival in 2002, in a photograph by Surreysa国际传媒檚 Dee Lippingwell.
McLaughlin tells the story of the festivalsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渋gnoble finalesa国际传媒� in 2009.
sa国际传媒淎dd in the disaster of a brain boggling backstage cash demand from Kenny Chesneysa国际传媒檚 people, payable before his sold-out performance, which led to a mad scramble and left all the staff and freelancers, including our own Dee (Lippingwell), unpaid to this day. That left behind plenty of fury and drama, lawsuits flew like scared chickens but in the end, somehow, there was simply no money. Zip. It was amazing to see it go down, but down indeed went Merritt Mountain Music Festival.sa国际传媒�
Only 250 copies of sa国际传媒淢emories From the Mountainsa国际传媒� are available (for $65 on ), and each book comes signed and numbered.
Lippingwell, 75, photographed the festival with the help of her husband, Paul, and some hired shooters.
Over the years shesa国际传媒檚 catalogued images of the 3,500 rock, country and pop concerts shesa国际传媒檚 photographed since her very first, a Pink Floyd gig in Vancouver in 1973.
Lippingwellsa国际传媒檚 1987 book, sa国际传媒淭he Best Seat in the House,sa国际传媒� was followed in 2012 by the self-published sa国际传媒淔irst Three Songssa国际传媒� No Flash,sa国际传媒� a title that referenced the instructions typically given to concert photographers before a show begins.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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