National act Bill Kirchen and local faves Luke Warm & The Not So Hots, Rochelle & The Spoilers, Tony LaJoye Trio, Macpodz, Rootstand, Legal Immigrants, Big Dudee Roo, Afro Zuma and more will light up this weekend’s farm bash. Get the full schedule here.
Shaking Up Shagbark Farm: Cowpie Music Festival returns to southern Kent County this weekend. (Photo/Local Spins)
In a rolling pasture at Shagbark Farm in southern Kent County, where a herd of 100 Angus cattle normally make their home, work is nearly finished that will transform the vast open space into a diverse, two-day music festival this weekend.
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Luke Warm & The Not So Hots
“We’ve got a little more to do on building the stage, the parking lot is marked out, the pastures have been dragged, and we’re cleaning up fence rows and downed branches,” said “Farmer” John Crissman, owner of Shagbark Farm and Cowpie Music Festival organizer. “We’re well on our way.”
What started as a blues festival many years ago has now evolved into a weekend filled with a wide variety of performers. This year, those acts include The Macpodz, Rootstand, The Legal Immigrants, Afro Zuma, The Mainstays, Big Dudee Roo, Luke Warm & The Not So Hots, Rochelle & The Spoilers, and Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer-songwriter, Bill Kirchen, among others.
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“We’re pretty evenly spaced,” Crissman said of the genre span. “We’ve got jam bands, we’ve got Afro-beat, we’ve got big band supreme, we’ve got country, and folk, blues and jazz, and we’ve got rock ’n’ roll.”
New to this year’s festival is the Cowpie Stampede Run, a 5k footrace through some of the farm’s many terrains, including swamplands and woodlands, and “all over the pastures that the cows run on.” Other new arrivals consist of a beer tent that will feature local craft breweries, hosted by Caledonia’s own, Essential Bean, as well as a second stage added onto the main stage to cut down on transition times between bands.
Admission to the festival is $30 at the gate and includes camping privileges and the option to participate in the Cowpie Stampede Run. Children 14 years old and younger are free.
Despite being a somewhat under-the-radar festival compared to other West Michigan music gatherings, Cowpie has garnered praise from many and become a favorite for both attendees and artists alike.
Country-swing bluegrass band, Luke Warm & The Not So Hots will return to the festival this year and “are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.”
“We’ve always been a huge fan of Michigan music festivals,” said Clint Gitchel, who plays fiddle in the group. “The Cowpie is one of our absolute favorites because of the great people involved and the way we’re treated at the festival. They work very hard and go above and beyond in order to make the bands feel appreciated.”
Rochelle & The Spoilers
Grand Rapids blues band Rochelle & The Spoilers agreed that the festival’s atmosphere lends itself to an appreciation for its artists, saying: “We love the venue, being outdoors in the pasture, and we enjoy playing for a crowd who came to hear local musicians.”
After taking a hiatus in 2013, the festival resumed last year with the help of artists who volunteered their time to perform. This year, organizers are looking forward to hosting a near-identical lineup, while being able to provide compensation. (View 2014 video highlights below.)
“We’re really excited,” said Tony LaJoye, who books artists for the festival and will perform Saturday with the Tony LaJoye Trio. “Last year’s performers all agreed to play for donations to help the festival get back on its feet, so we’re excited that almost all but one band is able to come back this year, and we’re gonna give them money for playing.”
(LaJoye and his sister, singer-songwriter Jenny LaJoye, who also will perform at Cowpie, will be this week’s special in-studio guests for the 11 a.m. Friday edition of Local Spins on WYCE at 88.1 FM.)
Crissman said he is hoping for somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 attendees for the weekend and looks forward to providing the space for people to get away and have a good time.
“There’s a lot of people who tell me this is their one vacation of the year,” he said, “and I am more than happy to provide the joy and fun that they need to let loose for a weekend.”
Loving the Venue: Performers and fans alike relish the Cowpie experience. (Photo/Local Spins)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2014 COWPIE MUSIC FEST
CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM COWPIE 2014.
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC
