Greensky Bluegrass, Seth Bernard weave ‘magic in the woods’ as Hoxeyville opens

The charming music fest in the Manistee National Forest kicked off on Friday with one of its biggest crowds yet and another ‘grass-idelic’ display by faves Greensky Bluegrass. (Photo gallery)

 

Hoxey’s star shined brighter than it ever has on Friday night.

With an ebullient crowd of thousands on hand, the festival in the woods celebrated its 12th anniversary with stellar weather, an opening salvo of unforgettable performances and a feel-good vibe that makes Hoxeyville one of the most compelling, out-of-the-way and under-the-radar events of the summer.

“It’s like a family here, isn’t it folks?,” singer-songwriter and Earthwork Music collective founder Seth Bernard remarked from the stage while performing with his band as the sun bathed fans, dancers and hula hoopers.

Indeed, much of that feel-good vibe of Hoxeyville centers around the camaraderie and uber-collaborative demeanor of the musicians – most of them Michigan bred – who populate this annual celebration of the region’s burgeoning music scene, one that’s becoming the envy of the nation.

“It’s finally settling into what it is,” suggested Cadillac-area guitarist and bassist Frank Youngman, whose all-star band playing at noon Sunday will feature Bernard, Joshua Davis, May Erlewine, Drew Howard and others.

“That’s the beauty of Michigan. It’s a collaborative scene like I’ve never seen … supportive, collaborative beyond belief.”

Youngman noted that he played the first Hoxeyville a dozen years ago when there were “more people on stage than there were in the audience.”

That’s certainly no longer the case: Friday’s opening night turnout was more robust than 2014, with the main stage crowd growing through the evening for sets from Bernard & Friends (who inspired the usual sing-along and audience participation for “Turkeys in the Rain”), the Jeff Austin Band and finally, Kalamazoo’s Greensky Bluegrass, which delivered the expected jam-driven, light-enhanced “grass-idelic” spectacle that gleeful devotees relish.

Even the smaller, tented Mitten Stage attracted exuberant clusters of spectators who grooved to the folky psych-rock of Grand Rapids’ Big Dudee Roo and the bluegrass/Americana of Port Huron’s Whistle Stop Revue.

“People rage,” a sweaty, smiling Big Dudee Roo bassist and singer Max Lockwood said after the band closed out its set with a rambunctious rendition of Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me.”

And, he noted, Hoxeyville boasts “an incredible lineup” of Michigan’s best musicians.

Many of those musicians are close friends: The back-stage area was a constantly shifting scene of reunions and hobnobbing sessions, including Nashville-based bassist Dominic John Davis chatting amiably with Bernard and Greenky mandolinist Paul Hoffman and other players.

Of course, just like Electric Forest is the domain of String Cheese Incident, Hoxeyville in many ways is Greensky’s Michigan festival, with the progressive bluegrass band headlining two nights in a row for an absolutely euphoric fan base that delights in the band’s luminous performances set in the Manistee National Forest. Hoxeyville organizer and musician Jake Robinson even joined the band on stage Friday.

(Joshua Davis Trio headlines Sunday’s Hoxeyville lineup. See the full Saturday, Sunday lineup at hoxeyville.com. Performances start at noon Saturday with Rachael & Dominic John Davis, and noon Sunday with The Frank Youngman All-Stars.)

“We feel real comfortable playing for you people,” Hoffman declared midway through Greensky’s searing, upbeat set late Friday night. “Feels like home.”

It does for lots of Hoxey-ites. Patterned partly after the family-friendly, multi-generational vibe of Wheatland and Blissfest, Hoxeyville exudes its own smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-the-forest charm – a home-grown mentality married with a big-production feel.

As Bernard so aptly put it: “There’s a lot of magic in these woods.”

HOXEYVILLE DAY 1 PHOTO GALLERY: Photos by Anna Sink and John Sinkevics

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