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Michigan offers viable options to summer music festival scene

May 21, 2012

As the summer season approaches, many students are preparing to travel out of state to see performances by top names in the music industry, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Iver.

But not all music enthusiasts are able to make the trip to popular music festivals, such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, because of the cost of tickets and planning required to make the trip.

Fortunately, for those still hoping to enjoy a weekend full of music without spending hundreds of dollars on a ticket, there are plenty of festivals throughout Michigan to attend within the coming months.

BLED FEST

BLED FEST began eight years ago as a small house show with about 40 people in attendance. Since then, the one-day event has grown into a multistage festival that takes place at the Hartland Performing Arts Center in Howell, Mich.

“It’s the definition of an alternative festival,” Festival Organizer Nate Dorough said. “We ended up with a six-stage festival in this old high school, (and) the main stage is in this cafeteria where I used to eat lunch every day.”

This year’s show will take place on Saturday and feature a wide-ranging lineup of about 70 performers representing genres such as metal, pop-punk, folk, indie and hardcore.

Some of the festival’s headliners include pop-punk group The Wonder Years and indie-rock act The Early November. Many Michigan-based bands, including hardcore group Brothers and rock ‘n’ roll act Wilson also will perform throughout the day.

“It’s all over the board,” Dorough said. “If anybody is a music fan, they can come to BLED FEST and feed themselves all day with good music.”

Electric Forest

Attendees at the second annual Electric Forest can explore the Sherwood Forest on Michigan’s west side while listening to music from throughout the country.

This year’s festival will take place from June 28 to July 1 at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Mich.
“The site itself has a real summer-getaway vibe, and you can make whatever kind of experience you want from the weekend,” producer of Electric Forest Jeremy Stein said in an email.

This year’s headliners include bluegrass band The String Cheese Incident and dubstep artist Bassnecter. Although most of the almost 100 performers are electronic acts, the festival also will feature several jamgrass and rhythm-and-blues shows.

“One of the exciting things for everyone at Electric Forest is to walk up to a stage where a band you may have never heard before is playing and be wowed by them,” Stein said.

Dirt Fest
Dirt Fest is a daylong festival that will take place Aug. 11 at the Birch Run Expo Center in Birch Run, Mich.

Andy Dalton, one of the event’s organizers, said there usually are about 50 or 60 bands featured every year representing genres such as rock, punk-rock and metal. Dalton said bands come from all throughout the country, but he also strives to book a lot of bands from the area because he knows how difficult it can be to break into the music industry.

“We feel that there’s not a whole lot of opportunities for local bands to get their name out to a large crowd, so we’re filling that void,” he said. “We (host Dirt Fest) for the love of music and also to support our fellow Michigan musicians.”

Woodtick Music Festival
Nearly 20 years ago, Woodtick Music Festival was just a party in Brian Whitens’ backyard in Michigan’s upper peninsula.

But after gaining popularity, the festival, which now attracts thousands of attendees, was moved to a large field in Hermansville, Mich.

Whitens, the festival’s organizer, said he likes to book a wide range of performers every year, and this year, the weekend’s lineup will consist of about 30 country, rock, blues and folk bands.
“It’s a neat thing,” he said. “It’s fun to do, (and) it’s definitely a unique Upper Peninsula event.”

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Whitens said most of the talent featured at Woodtick Music Festival come from the country’s Midwest region, and a large portion of them are from the Hermansville area.

Stars and Stripes Festival
The sixth annual Stars and Stripes Festival will take place from June 29 to July 1 in downtown Mount Clemens, Mich.

Attendees at this free, weekendlong festival will be able to see performances by several nationally known bands, such as rock group Buckcherry and heavy-metal act Skid Row.

Multiple tribute bands also will be in attendance portraying artists such as Kiss, a hair-metal band popular during the 1980s, and Irish rock band U2.

By the end of the weekend, Joe Nieporte, one of the festival’s promoters, said about 100 bands will take the stage and share their music with fans.

“That’s a lot of bands over three days,” he said. “It’s a chance for (people to see) a lot of local and regional bands.”

Porcupine Mountains Music Festival

In order to attend the eighth annual Porcupine Mountains Music Festival, music enthusiasts will have to travel to a remote location on the shore of Lake Superior.

The festival will take place from Aug. 24-26 at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Ontonagon, Mich., and is expected to attract about 1,000 visitors.

“It’s a really intimate setting,” Festival Director Linda Kermeen said. “There aren’t a whole lot of crowds. It’s a really nice way to spend the weekend.”

About 20 folk, Americana and bluegrass bands from throughout the U.S. are scheduled to perform at this year’s festival.

Kermeen said one of the main reasons the festival is held every year is to attract more people to the unfrequented location.

“We’re hoping to bring people to a beautiful, natural setting to listen to great music for a weekend and introduce them to our area,” she said.

Alpena Blues Festival

June 22-23 marks a weekend full of blues music in the northeast region of the state.

At least 10 artists performing various styles of blues music, including Mississippi blues, Delta blues and Chicago blues will play Friday and Saturday at the ninth annual Alpena Blues Festival, which is held at the Alpena County Fairgrounds.

“All the blues styles and genres are represented in our festival,” said Tommy Rose, vice president of the Alpena Blues Coalition, the organization hosting the festival. “We try to put something up there for everybody.”

In addition to music, Rose said the festival will include vendors selling ethnic foods, children’s activities and a craft area, in an attempt to draw more people to the area.

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