Atlanta rapper Ludacris performs at the 11th annual Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing. Ludacris played a seamless collection of hits spanning his entire career which began with the album “Back for the First Time” in the year 2000.
For Lansing resident Matt Brickner, everything about an outdoor music festival is appealing. The sunlight, the open space, the free air — everything. But what Brickner finds to be the biggest draw of all is the people such an event brings with it.
“I love it because there’s so many different kinds of people,” Brickner said. “It’s like they’re all my friends.”
Brickner is one of thousands of Michigan residents and out-of-state visitors to come out for the 11th annual Common Ground Music Festival, which started Monday and goes through Sunday at Lansing’s Adado Riverfront Park.
Early in the week, the festival included headlining acts such as Buckcherry, Adam Lambert and Sammy Hagar, and will feature Alice Cooper and Ludacris in nights to come.
Malinda Barr, media coordinator and spokesperson for the event, said depending on the performers, the make-up of the audience changes nightly.
“The music will dictate a different crowd each night,” Barr said. “It’s the vibe that certain bands give out.”
Loud Lansing
The festival features three stages, all with separate lineups of performers slated to appear.
Barr said the variety of artists and performers makes this year’s festival stand out.
“We’ll have everybody across the spectrum here. … If you don’t like one band, there’s something that you will like,” Barr said. “It’s a very diverse group of musicians and artists this year.”
As it is an all-ages show hoping to offer something for everyone, Barr said audiences still should remember that some nights might be more kid-friendly than others.
“We build a concert and a festival … as an all-ages kind of event because there’s something for all ages every night whether you’re at the Sandbar or one of the main stages,” Barr said. “Head-bangers and hard rock is not necessarily conducive to young children — sometimes there is language that’s inappropriate.”
Ann Arbor resident Gayle McAleenan said this year’s list of performers was a great way to see a variety of artists in one place, all while being able to explore Lansing.
“I like the people watching and the different opportunities to see a bunch of different bands,” McAleenan said. “(I also like) the opportunity to get out in to a new city because I’m not very familiar with Lansing.”
Helping hands
Without volunteers and help from the Lansing community, the festival wouldn’t be able to run so smoothly, Barr said.
Chad Wazeka, owner of Baja Smoothies, a vendor at Common Ground, said the organization of the event is evident.
“It’s a well-ran event,” Wazeka said. “We do many festivals all over, nationwide, and this is one of the better events put on, and we’re very pleased to be here.”
Barr said knowing exactly how many people needed to volunteer is key to running an operation of this size. She said by the time the concert rolls around, they generally have volunteers for the following year as well, which allows more planning for all scenarios.
“We’ve been doing this for 11 years, so we have contingency plans for every scenario, so surprises aren’t really surprises,” Barr said. “We try to get away from surprises and plan around (them).”
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Along with volunteers for the event, Scott Keith, president and CEO of Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority, said the event creates up to 200 temporary jobs for local residents as well as some full-time positions.
Coming together
Walking around the festival grounds, McAleenan said she could tell the wide range of entertainment Common Ground had to offer brought people from all around.
“There’s a wide variety of people here,” McAleenan said. “You can tell that a lot of people specifically came (to Lansing) for this event.”
Festival volunteer and Lansing resident Patrick Amante said that as a long-time volunteer in the community, he sees local events such as these as a great perk to those already living in the area.
“It gives people an outing to not have to travel too far and come down here and have some fun while still getting home at a respectable hour,” Amante said. “They can still crawl out of bed and go to work the next day. It’s a great way of bringing the community together.”
To have the best time you can at a festival such as Common Ground, Barr said there are a few things patrons should remember when attending to keep the atmosphere as pleasant as possible: Appropriate dress, drinking lots of water and planning are vital to an enjoyable experience.
Besides that, Barr said the most important thing is the mentality festivalgoers have in tote.
“Come in a happy state of mind,” she said.
For more information and for a schedule of the remaining acts to appear at Common Ground, visit commongroundfest.com.
