The Crane Wives cranked out an energetic set on the Tripolee Stage. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)
The sun was searingly hot and the crowd was small when The Crane Wives kicked off their set Sunday afternoon on the Tripolee Stage at Electric Forest, but by the time the Grand Rapids folk-rock phenoms had wrapped up their rambunctious 50-minute set, the audience had grown and hardcore devotees and brand new fans were frolicking and spiraling to the energetic strains with abandon.
The rousing chorus of cheers and applause proved The Crane Wives had made their mark, and well, earned their wings at a music festival with a big national following held since Thursday at Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, north of Muskegon.
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“It was awesome,” banjo player Tom Gunnels said afterward. “The crowd felt large even if it wasn’t. The energy was amazing.”
Emilee Petersmark
The same might be said for the five-piece band – Gunnels, guitarist-singers Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury, drummer Dan Rickabus and bassist Ben Zito – which thundered, folk-wise, through new material from an upcoming album and songs from its much-acclaimed “Safe Ship, Harbored” debut.
They leapt, they twirled, they pounded the stage and Rickabus even toppled his cymbals and stands, a la, Keith Moon, when it was all said and done.
An impressive Electric Forest debut for a band on the rise, to be sure.
Read more about The Crane Wives and the weekend at Electric Forest, along with more photos, in my story on Monday at GRNow.com.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
