For 45 years, this venerable bluegrass festival held at the Eaton County Fairgrounds has hosted national stars and weekend jams as “the home of parking lot pickin’.” See the 2017 lineup.
Back to Charlotte: Rhonda Vincent plays the Grand Ole Opry this week, then heads to Michigan for the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival.
It’s a year older than Wheatland Music Festival – considered the granddaddy of Michigan music celebrations – and currently ranks as the second-longest-running bluegrass festival east of the Mississippi River.
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The 2017 Lineup
And the revamped, 2017 edition of the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival which busts out of the gates this weekend (June 22-24) on the Eaton County Fairgrounds about 21 miles southwest of Lansing promises to uncork an energizing hootenanny of impressive proportions with performances by award-winning bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent, David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers and more.
Some attendees literally have reveled in this charming annual event for 45 years, but for those that haven’t yet experienced this festival, chief organizer Wes Pettinger assures them they will be impressed by not only the bluegrass and Americana stars on stage but by impromptu jams that have earned the event a label as “the home of parking lot pickin’.”
“It used to be one of the staple bluegrass festivals in the state,” said Pettinger, noting the event’s popularity waned over the years and hit another hurdle when longtime promoter Jim Wilder died in 2012. Pettinger took over in 2013 and has been upgrading the event ever since.
“We’re trying to bring it back to what it was. It’s beautiful grounds to camp, with oak trees with nice shade. We have beautiful sound and a beautiful stage, and our artists really like to play behind it. There’s a newer look to the festival. We’re trying to reach out to local people not only in Charlotte but getting a lot of people from Traverse City, Alpena, Escanaba and people from across the country.”
ALL-STAR LINEUP AND A MIDNIGHT JAM
The festival runs Thursday through Saturday, with uber-respected, well-known acts such as singer and multi-instrumentalist Vincent (who has a new album and performs this week with Daryle Singletary at the Grand Ole Opry), Parmley and the “red hot” Mullins performing, as well as Volume Five, New Country Grass, Edgar Loudermilk Band featuring Jeff Autry, Nothin’ Fancy, Bankesters, Sugar Creek, Full Cord, Harbourtown, Michigan Mafia, Bluegrass Volunteers, Hammertown and Corn Fed Girls.
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
The second annual “Moonlight Midnight Jam” will take place Saturday night after the main stage concert is completed. The jam will feature musicians who performed earlier in the day. “Last year … it went till about 3 a.m. and was a great success,” Pettinger said.
The festival, he said, also is moving to expand its offerings to get Americana, rockabilly, folk and swing “intertwined into the festival,” which plans to have a separate Americana stage in 2018.
Many returnees to the family-friendly festival first met at the event in previous years, Pettinger noted, and appreciate the reunion-style atmosphere. Pettinger himself grew up with the festival and plays banjo with Loudermilk’s band.
“This is part of my heritage and why I’m playing music is because of this festival,” he said in explaining why he took over the event. “If this was to end, it was like a piece of me that goes with it. That’s how felt about it. … People have made comments that this feels like the old Charlotte (Bluegrass Festival).”
Get the full schedule and more details online at charlottebluegrassfestival.com.
VIDEO: Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
VIDEO: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
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