The Memorial Day weekend festival along Lake Michigan in West Olive boasted performances by more than a dozen Michigan acts amid glorious summer-starting weather. Photos, video.
Communal Holiday Celebration: The weekend’s Bus Benefit. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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West Michigan's music scene
“Super chill.”
That was one attendee’s description of this year’s Bus Benefit music festival hosted by Buses by the Beach over Memorial Day weekend at Camp Blodgett in West Olive.
With performances by more than a dozen Michigan artists, the three-day affair also boasted the casual camaraderie of hundreds of Volkswagen bus owners and the beauty of the Big Lake’s shoreline.
In short, it was an all-ages, all-species event that drew an enthusiastic crowd that filled every campsite with dogs, humans, buses, vans and songs.
Crowd Favorite: Roosevelt Diggs on stage Sunday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Community vibes were high all weekend with communal food fries and impromptu cocktail hours amid row upon row of decked-out VW vans, with proceeds from the event supporting the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors.
Musicians’ spirits were high, too, judging by opening night sets from The Junky Swinger and Nicholas James & The Bandwagon. “It was probably the best Bandwagon set ever,” Thomasma said afterward.
That uplifting atmosphere continued through a weekend of music that included everything from the upbeat Celtic strains of CrossBow and the bluegrass romp of Full Cord to a crowd-pleasing, energetic, Americana-propelled Sunday night performance by Bus Benefit regular Roosevelt Diggs.
Check out a photo gallery and video below, with opening night coverage here:
PHOTO GALLERY: Bus Benefit 2023 at Camp Blodgett, West Olive
Photos by Anna Sink
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