The field in front of the Auto Value Main Stage filled up more than an hour before Casey James performed.

For many fans in attendance, anticipation was high for the Wednesday night headliner, Kevin Costner & Modern West. Costner — who rose to fame for his acting roles in movies such as “JFK,” “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham,” among others — has been performing with Modern West since 2007.

Eaton Rapids, Mich., resident Sara Maksyanowski came to the festival for the first time strictly to see the group perform because she is a huge fan of Costner.

“I’ve never been here, it’s just something new, and I decided to try it,” she said. “It’s nice, it’s busy, it’s easy to get around, and there’s things to do for everybody.”

There were also plenty of Common Ground veterans in the crowd, such as Lansing resident Jerry Zee, who has attended all 13 years of the event. Zee said the event organizers do a good job of scheduling a variety of acts and genres to appease many different kinds of fans and that the event has been great for the community as it has grown throughout the years.

“It’s been great every year,” Zee said. “The acts just get better — they get really good names for this venue. You can’t get that any place else.”

Most of the buzz at Wednesday night’s event was about country star Eric Church performing on Thursday and Sublime with Rome capping off the festival on Sunday. Schumaker said Church is the performer he wouldn’t miss from the whole festival.

Lansing resident Amber Lott hoped to return for the Church concert, but was unsure if she’d be able to get another ticket. Lott was back at the festival years removed from her first time, when Common Ground was still in its infancy.

“Before, it was smaller and reminded me more of how East Lansing has its small craft fairs where there are (less well-known performers),” Lott said. “They didn’t have as many high-name bands, and it was a lot cheaper.”

Performer’s perspective
As Ian Graham walked out onto the Pearle Vision Pavilion Stage on Monday night, he was greeted with a crowd of many familiar faces.

Graham, vocalist and bassist for Lansing-based rock group Cheap Girls, was one of the first acts to perform at Common Ground this week, and he did so for an audience filled with family members and friends.

“It was cool to know that our parents were all able to see us, and some aunts and uncles,” he said. “Then you’d see some friends in the crowd whom you haven’t seen in years. That side of it was really fun.”

When band members first were asked to make an appearance at the festival, Graham said they were hesitant to accept the offer. But the group hadn’t performed locally since February, and Graham said they couldn’t pass up the chance to play for their hometown fans.

“With the focus of the festival not really having a lot to do with indie-rock bands, we didn’t know if it was a good fit for us,” he said. “But we realized we might as well take the opportunity to play another Lansing show.”

Looking back on their performance, Graham said he considers the show a success even though it was a fairly low-key event.

“It was a pretty mellow opening to the week,” he said. “We enjoyed ourselves. That’s kind of priority number one.”

Alternative attractions
Even though thousands of people flock to Common Ground every year because of the performers who play there, music isn’t the only attraction the festival offers.

Malinda Barr, media coordinator and spokesperson for Common Ground, said the weeklong event also features various activities in which attendees can participate.

Some of this year’s happenings included cooking demonstrations, games and a silent disco.

Numerous vendors selling food items such as fries, pizza, ice cream and hot dogs, and retail merchants offering products such as purses, jewelry and clothing also were set up throughout the park.

“(These attractions) give you a well-rounded festival,” Barr said. “Food and beverage automatically go with hospitality and entertainment, so that’s kind of the angle.”

After attending Electric Forest in Rothbury, Mich., last summer, hospitality business senior Shayna Blase also realized music festivals aren’t all about the music.

“It had nothing to do with the music,” she said. “It was mostly about the whole festival experience — that is the one thing everyone talks about.”

It was this revelation that inspired Blase, who currently interns at Meridian Entertainment Group, an organization that helps produce the festival, to create an Electric Forest-like display at this year’s Common Ground.

The decorated area consists of several trees from which Blase hung colorful embellishments that light up at night, representative of the luminous forest for which Electric Forest is known.

“It just builds on the music festival atmosphere,” she said. “It’s more than just music — it’s all about the atmosphere.”

Canton, Mich., resident Brittiny Zimmerman, who has seen many Common Ground concerts during the past few years, said although she has not participated in any of the activities available at the festival, she believes they are an efficient way to keep event attendees occupied between shows.

“I think it’s a good idea just because it gives people something to do while they’re here,” she said.