One of the favorite summer festivals for Michigan musicians heats up Manistee National Forest this weekend on two stages for three days and 30-plus performances. Hoxeyville has grown up.
Double Headliner: Greensky Bluegrass, pictured here at Hoxeyville 2014, returns to the festival this weekend. (Photo/Anna Sink)
At 18, Graham Parsons of The Go Rounds attended his first Hoxeyville music festival in 2005, getting a chance to see soon-to-be-famous Greensky Bluegrass and Joshua Davis “playing for maybe 150 people” amid the Manistee National Forest.
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Loving Hoxey: Graham Parson of The Go Rounds. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“Hoxey has grown, but it still feels intimate,” says Parsons, whose Kalamazoo band plays the festival near Wellston this weekend.
“It has the big production and professional vibe without being too inaccessible. … We love us some Hoxey!”
Suffice to say, Traverse City’s Davis, who earned widespread accolades while finishing third on “The Voice” this season, and Kalamazoo’s Greensky Bluegrass, which has soared to national prominence on the progressive bluegrass and festival scene, will perform this weekend in front of a few thousand at Hoxeyville, which is celebrating its 12th year.
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“Hoxeyville is certainly special to us, having played all but the inaugural festival, recording two albums in Hoxeyville, and being surrounded by friends and family who have supported us from inception,” says Paul Hoffman, mandolinist for Greensky Bluegrass, which headlines the festival Friday and Saturday night, with the Joshua Davis Trio headlining Sunday.
“We know nearly every musician performing at the festival – some of them friends like Josh, Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, The Go Rounds or all the other ones. And it’s exciting to have some of our friends from elsewhere coming to visit our little slice of forest heaven: Jeff Austin, Hard Working Americans, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. Greensky can’t wait.”
Beyond national acts such as Hard Working Americans and the Jeff Austin Band, Hoxeyville this year boasts dozens of well-known regional acts, such as Billy Strings & Don Julin, Rachael and Dominic John Davis, Red Sea Pedestrians, Big Dudee Roo, Lincoln County Process, Luke Winslow King and the Ben Daniels Band. Billy Strings (William Apostol) even plays a special Sunday set with his father.
Over the years, even as it’s grown, festival founder Jake Robinson has maintained the event’s rootsy attitude while fashioning a diverse lineup of regional and national acts who embrace the woodsy environs.
“The grounds are right in the middle of the Manistee National Forest and the Pine River,” says Max Lockwood, bassist for Grand Rapids’ psychedelic folk-rock band Big Dudee Roo. “We love taking a break from the festival to take a dip and refresh ourselves in the icy water there.”
But that setting takes a back seat to the performances, and Big Dudee Roo is “pumped to return to play this Friday evening for folks who are ready to rock,” Lockwood says. “And then of course, we get to spend the weekend hanging with some of our best friends, who just happen to be in some of our favorite Michigan bands.”
He adds: “You come to Hoxey to see the best original music that Michigan has to offer. As always, the lineup reads like a mid-summer all-star game weekend of the best folk, rock, bluegrass and roots artists in the state and beyond.”
Rocking the Woods: The festival’s main stage in 2014. (Photo/Local Spins)
For Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds, the weekend is even more special because the twangy indie-rock band is on the cusp of releasing its much-anticipated new album, “Don’t Go Not Changin’,” which the band has made available this month at its live shows and which has received an “overwhelmingly positive” response from fans.
“I do think this is the best thing we’ve ever done,” Parsons says, adding that the new songs have sparked “smiles and dancing and an understanding that we’re working incredibly hard, all the time, just like them (fans) and everyone else. We’re so grateful for all the encouragement we’ve received.”
After Hoxeyville, The Go Rounds will play a series of CD-release shows, including one at 8 p.m. Aug. 26 at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series.
For more information about Hoxeyville, directions and ticket details, go online to hoxeyville.com.
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC
