The June 20 street party also features Elephant Revival, Gringo Star, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Devin & The Dead Frets, Organissimo and FBC All-Stars. Advance tickets go on sale April 17.
Happy Throngs: Last year’s Founders Fest drew more than 6,000 people. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
As festival director and Founders Brewing vice president of retail operations Mark Dorich puts it, the goal of the annual Founders Fest is “enjoying the summer day on the streets surrounding the brewery, beer in hand and dancing shoes on the feet.”
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Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The 2015 edition of the massive Grand Rapids street party will certainly accomplish that with New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Oregon’s Nahko & Medicine for the People headlining the festival that attracts more than 6,000 revelers every year.
Beyond the brass-band wallop of the historic Dirty Dozen Brass Band and “acoustic thump-hop” of the Nahko crew, the musical lineup announced by Founders today also includes Colorado folk ensemble Elephant Revival, Atlanta garage-rockers Gringo Star, Traverse City bluegrass phenoms Billy Strings & Don Julin, Grand Rapids rock band Devin & The Dead Frets, organ jazz trio Organissimo and, as usual, the FBC All-Stars, featuring Founders Brewing staffers.
Bands will once again alternate between two stages set up on streets blocked off outside Founders, at 235 Grandville Ave. SW in downtown Grand Rapids.
“As for a particular vibe, the goal is simply to put together a lineup that will help contribute to a fun, enjoyable day,” Dorich told Local Spins, “as that is what Founders Fest is all about.”
Soul Man: Charles Bradley performing at Founders Fest 2014. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Tickets for Founders’ “biggest party of the year” are $20 for mug club members and $25 in advance for non-members. The advance discount tickets go on sale at Founders on April 17. Tickets are $30 the day of the festival, which runs 3 p.m. to midnight on June 20. This is a 21-and-older event.
Get details online at foundersbrewing.com.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, founded in 1977, has not only released more than a dozen albums of its own, but appears on a host of other artists’ projects, including acts such as Modest Mouse and Widespread Panic. The band follows its Founders Fest show with an appearance at the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Ottawa, Canada.
Nahko & Medicine for the People, which is currently touring Europe, is a trail-blazing band that bridges cultures musically, led by Nahko, who grew up amid a mix of Apache, Puerto Rican and Filipino backgrounds.
Playing what’s become one of Grand Rapids’ most prestigious outdoor summer events has Devin Weber of the Dead Frets pumped up. “I literally can’t even tell you how excited I am,” he gushed.
Check out a wrap-up, photo gallery and videos from the 2014 Founders Fest at Local Spins.
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC
