Annual BluesFest comes to Old Town

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As thousands of MSU faithfuls flooded East Lansing for tailgating Saturday, another party with food, drinks and music carried on a few miles northwest of campus.

Old Town BluesFest 2010, a two-day event in Lansing’s Old Town, brought local, regional and national musicians to the corner of Grand River Avenue and Turner Street.

The event was hosted by the Old Town Business & Art Development Association and ran from Friday through Saturday.

BluesFest played host to 20 performers throughout Friday and Saturday night, including Jimmy G & the Capitols, Paul Miles and the Rusty Wright Band.

“It’s not so much just a static concert as much as it is a great big party,” BluesFest coordinator Mike Skory said. “We hire the coolest bands we can find.”

Skory said he has been involved in organizing the festival for more than 10 years, and this year organizers expected 8,000 to 10,000 visitors.

The festival also gave patrons a new mode of arriving to the festival.

For $1, the River Boat Taxi transported visitors from the Lansing City Market to Burchard Park, near the festivities.

“We talked about it for years, and finally got it done,” Skory said. “You get to see the river — we have a great river. It makes you think you’re going to a different country.”

Those attending BluesFest could enjoy the live music and $5 beer tent in addition to taking advantage of Old Town’s riverside restaurants, boutiques and art galleries.

BluesFest volunteer Gordon Wilson worked for one of the event sponsors, Capital Area Blues Society, and said the wide array of activities BluesFest provides the community makes it suitable for anyone.

“I’m just here to listen, have some fun, check out the shops and volunteer,” Wilson said. “It’s just a great time with great music for everyone.”

In addition to other new features, BluesFest worked toward becoming more eco-conscious in 2010, something Skory said is important to the Lansing community.

“We mainly focus on the simple things, like separating containers (for recycling),” Skory said. “We have watering stations throughout the festival so people can refill and don’t have to spend a buck or throw away a can.”

The event also became an opportunity for budding student photographers, who lined the sidewalks of BluesFest in hopes of capturing the perfect shot.

Bret Miller, a media arts and technology sophomore, attended the festival with fellow telecommunication students, all of whom could be found snapping pictures of visitors, musicians and Old Town architecture for a class assignment.

“There’s a lot of interesting people and a lot of fun,” Miller said. “Everyone’s here to have a good time, so it’s nice
photographing them while they’re enjoying themselves. I like listening to the music, but it’s more about the atmosphere.”

Chelsea Miller, an advertising and media arts and technology junior, was another MSU student on assignment. She said the festival was bigger and better than she had expected.

“The festival’s really cool,” Chelsea Miller said. “I didn’t think it was going to be this big and there’s a lot more people here than I thought was going to be here.”

Chelsea Miller also enjoyed the location and style of music BluesFest provided.

“I like the feel of (blues music) — it’s very social,” Chelsea Miller said. “This is actually the first time I’ve been to Old Town. … It’s very different from the rest of Lansing, but I like it a lot.”

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