Attendance was down a bit, but the music was just as hot with The Go Rounds and FBC All-Stars representing Michigan during the ninth annual day-long street party.(Photos, video)
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After a crowd-pleasing, steamy and rousing set of heavy blues rock, People’s Blues of Richmond bassist Matthew Volkes was beaming from ear to ear backstage at Founders Fest on Saturday evening.
“It’s awesome,” Volkes said of the Grand Rapids audience’s exuberant response to the Virginia power trio’s Founders Fest debut. “This band’s never had a bad time in Grand Rapids. This city is similar to Richmond. It’s got a good vibe: a lot of people who appreciate good beer and good music. We’re grateful to be here.”
Thousands of folks reveled in good beer and good music Saturday, though not as many as the 6,000-plus who attended Founders Fest 2015.
Perhaps the sizzling hot temps that hit 90-plus degrees or competing events such as Grand Rapids’ Pride Festival on Calder Plaza diminished the turnout, but those that swarmed the streets surrounding Founders Brewing in downtown Grand Rapids certainly seemed to enjoy the top-drawer bands from around the country — and from Michigan — who performed on the event’s two stages, not to mention the blue skies and summery conditions.
Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds kicked the day off with their high-energy indie-folk/rock for a small but growing mid-afternoon group of attendees at the ninth annual edition of Founders Fest.
SPECIAL MUSIC, FUN MILIEU
As festivalgoers settled in, Chicago’s Dos Santos: Anti-Beat Orquesta jammed to its psychedelic cumbia and Latin dance music, getting the sparse crowd to clap along.
The FBC All Stars, a “super-group” featuring Founders employees, returned to the festival’s biggest crowd of the day for an entertaining set of covers by bands such as No Doubt, The Cure and the Bee Gees.
Chicago’s The Main Squeeze followed with a fountain of funk, followed by the uber-energetic country blues of Indiana’s The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.
“Come on, don’t be shy!” The Main Squeeze frontman Corey Frye yelled at one point, urging the audience to come closer to the stage. The Chicago-based band woke the crowd up with its funky rock and soulful vocals.
The engaging musical assault continued with the surprisingly loud and bracing People’s Blues of Richmond, the vintage R&B of North Carolina’s Lee Fields & The Expressions and the dance-funk-jazz spectacle of Colorado’s The Motet to close out the evening.
“The music is definitely my favorite part,” said festivalgoer Olivia Korte, attending her second straight Founders Fest. “The festival just wouldn’t be special without it.”
Even the festival’s first-time performers – all of whom had previously played Founders’ taproom – were impressed.
“It’s a good operation,” gushed Reverend J. Peyton, of The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band as darkness fell and The Motet launched into its party-fueled set. “It’s fun.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Founders Fest photos by Anna Sink
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