Parking lots and seating areas were jam-packed Friday as Michigan’s Wheatland Music Festival launched three days of folk, roots music and more outside Remus. (Review, photo gallery, video)
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Not surprisingly, the skies parted for Wheatland on opening night.
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Granted, the unseasonably cool weather seemed almost more appropriate for Winter Wheat – held in January in Grand Rapids – but the mood among the 10,000-plus attendees at the sold-out folk and traditional arts festival near Remus on Friday was mostly upbeat, engaged and, well, Wheatland-like.
Even members of the Savoy Family Cajun Band, accustomed to much balmier temperatures in their home state of Louisiana, exuded that warm Wheatland vibe, although they were bundled up in winter-like garb.
“It’s a lot hotter where we live,” conceded guitarist Ann Allen Savoy, with a smile.
“I’ve been all over the world,” said accordion player Marc Savoy, who was sipping a warm beverage on stage to stave off the cold. “But I’ve never met nicer people than the people here in Michigan.”
That congenial, family-friendly vibe has been a staple of Wheatland’s 42-year history and it continued to permeate the event, though there were some unusual hitches on Friday, including surprisingly overcrowded parking areas as well as complaints posted on Facebook about some “troublemakers.”
But those exceptions didn’t faze most attendees, who celebrated the hospitable vibe and rootsy world-class musical entertainment led by Joshua Davis (backed by a full band), Bill Kirchen, Foghorn Stringband, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, Wild Ponies and Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys.
Take it from Dan McGuire, 65, who literally has served as a volunteer at the festival every year that it’s been held in Mecosta County’s Wheatland Township. He lives on a farm just 10 miles away and was working at the performers’ gate behind the Main Stage on Friday.
“It’s pretty chill,” McGuire said of the festival’s mood and, coincidentally, the temperature. “The atmosphere is so relaxed. The diversity of the music is cool, too. It really is a performer’s festival. The whole thing is to make it comfortable for the performers. When (they’re) happy, the crowd’s happy.”
No one could have been happier than Davis, whose Friday headlining set drew by far the biggest and most enthusiastic Main Stage crowd of the night, with campers literally flocking to the sprawling field in front of the stage to cheer one of Michigan’s favorite sons.
Indeed, if anything proves the surging popularity of this down-to-earth singer-songwriter from Traverse City after his much-talked-about run on NBC’s “The Voice” earlier this year it was the Wheatland multitude of thousands who squeezed a rare Wheatland encore out of Davis, not to mention the eager young autograph- and photo-seeking fans who greeted him back stage.
“There’s something so special about Wheatland,” said Davis. “It’s a big family.”
ROUSING OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCES ON SEVERAL STAGES
With a hefty boost from his all-star band – featuring Dominic John Davis, Geoff Lewis, Brad Phillips, Mike Lynch, Jen Sygit and Laura Ann Bates (with a guest appearance by Joe and Andy Wilson) – Davis delivered an impressive, strong performance of his rootsy folk-rock, from “The Workingman’s Hymn” to selections from his poignant album, “Miracle of Birds,” to Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.”
But Davis’ audience-pleasing set was just the tip of the Wheatland iceberg, which also boasted rousing performances by Toronto blues/roots/gospel act Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar (who followed Davis), Michigan bluegrass faves Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys, Wisconsin singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey, Portland Ore.’s old-timey/bluegrass group Foghorn Stringband (with North Carolina clogger Rodney Sutton, who has attended more than 30 Wheatlands), Los Angeles’ Blind Boy Paxton, Nashville alt-country trio Wild Ponies and renowned Austin rockabilly/country-blues guitarist Bill Kirchen, appearing at his first Wheatland and playing twice with his band on Friday night.
“It’s great,” Kirchen told Local Spins as he waited in line to buy a bratwurst, reflecting a common impression among performers. “It’s a wonderful festival.”
That was just opening night of the three-day festival, which continues today with a full slate of performances on several stages, workshops and children’s activities. Learn more about the festival and check out the schedule in this Local Spins feature. And return to Local Spins in coming days for an update and photo gallery from the remainder of the festival.
PHOTO GALLERY: Wheatland 2015 Opening Day
Photos by Anna Sink, John Sinkevics
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC