Michigan’s fast-growing Blissfest shows ‘respect for roots traditions’ but open to boundary-pushing genres

The 34th annual Blissfest north of Harbor Springs fires up this weekend with more than 50 acts, from New York’s Donna the Buffalo to Michigan’s Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers.

 

By David Specht
LocalSpins.com

You know a festival is special when a musician makes a point to return, year after year, for more than 30 years, like Mark Schrock of Madcat Midnight Blues Journey, a veteran musician from Fennville who has long embraced Blissfest Music Festival.

“I love the spirit of Blissfest,” said Schrock, bassist for the Ann Arbor-based blues outfit. Schrock played the inaugural Blissfest in 1981 with the band Iowa Rose ‘N’ Riff Raff. “They have great respect for roots traditions, but are open to folks who are expanding roots genres.”

This weekend’s 34th annual celebration of music, art, culture and community takes place once again at the picturesque Festival Farm just north of Harbor Springs. The rural northern Michigan festival grounds feature three stages and more than 50 performing artists throughout the weekend.

According to Executive and Artistic Director Jim Gillespie, organizers aim to showcase a wide range of sounds for Blissers.

“We encourage innovation and we really try to program for the diverse types of music that is going on these days,” said Gillespie, who founded the festival at the age of just 29. Initially, the festival was strictly focused on old-time music and bluegrass, but now includes Cajun to electronica.

“It’s really an amalgamation of styles, and that’s also one of the unique features of American-based music. The United States is the home of blues and jazz and rock ’n’ roll and all of these other styles coming together, so we try to perpetuate that in our program. We’re based on bluegrass, old-time and Americana, but we’re not a slave to it.”

Just as the organizers work to incorporate more genres, they also draw in a mix of artists from West Michigan and out of state. Many are from New York, including Andrew & Noah Band, Brown Rice Family, Mulebone and Donna the Buffalo. Featured act Rusted Root, meanwhile, is from Pittsburgh, The Duhks are from Canada and Felix Y Los Gatos is from New Mexico.

“I think the unique part of Blissfest is that we’re at a point in our development that we can afford to bring in national and international acts, so that’s kind of a special feature of our programming,” Gillespie said.

SPREADING IT OUT MUSICALLY, WITH PLENTY OF MICHIGAN BANDS

“Brown Rice Family from Brooklyn, that combines reggae with hip-hop; Donna The Buffalo, a roots-based jam-band we’ve had for several festivals; our legendary act this year, Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, who played with Jerry Garcia. We really spread it out and have something for everybody since we have a cross-section of people at the festival.”

Also appearing, of course, are plenty of established Michigan acts such as The Accidentals, Airborne or Aquatic?, Billy Strings & Don Julin, DarlenYa, Fauxgrass, The Appleseed Collective, Bennett, Joshua Davis, and recent Electric Forest performer Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, who look to put a slight spin on their tunes.

“With all of the festivals this summer, we’ve changed up the sets a bit,” said Joe Hertler, lead singer and guitarist of the ultra-energetic, Lansing-based jam-band with folk and rock textures that will play Blissfest for the first time ever. The group plays the Second Stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ll play some extended jams, and we’ve always packed a couple special tricks to bust out on stage as well. It’s cool because last summer we weren’t really playing anything festival-wise. That said, we’re really grateful and having an incredible time right now, so we try to make the sets unique and give them a little bit more than we normally do.”

Hertler and his crew aren’t the only ones switching things up this summer. Blissfest Music Festival has grown from an audience of just 300 in 1981 to more than 3,000. So organizers are constantly looking to bring in new attractions, such as this year’s custom-brewed beer, the cleverly titled Bliss Stout (Bliss-ed out). But new features or not, the annual celebration has gained a dedicated following.

“We have so many people who have been coming up here for years,” Gillespie said.

“I have friends who were involved long ago, and now their kids are involved. Multiple generations are involved in the planning and performing, so it’s quite a homecoming.”

Tickets for the festival – ranging in price for adults from $33.50 for a Sunday pass to $126.50 for the weekend — are now only available at the Blissfest Main Gate. Performances begin at 2 p.m. Friday. Get the full schedule of bands online here, with details and directions at blissfest.org.

Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
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