After a hectic summer of live music, there are still more than a dozen Michigan music festivals unfurling before the end of August, including Saturday’s inaugural HeartsTown fest. The lowdown at Local Spins.
August’s Musical Heat Wave: Fervent festivalgoers still have a lot to look forward to across Michigan. (Photo/Eric Stoike)
As August enters its final weeks, Michigan will uncork a flood of music festivals to close out one of the busiest summers for live music in recent memory.
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Since May, the state’s music lovers have flocked to more than 50 music festivals – some of them brand new – and a dozen more will unfurl before the end of the month, even as youngsters across Michigan head back to school.
While on the subject of new festivals, the biggest by far happens to be former Traverse City resident Billy Strings’ first-ever Ionia Freak Fair being staged on the Ionia County Fairgrounds not far from his hometown of Muir.
More than 27,000 revelers are expected to invade Ionia for the sold-out Aug. 28-29 spectacle that will features sets by a bevy of bluegrass powerhouses – Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, Sierra Hull, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Full Cord and Lindsay Lou. (Lindsay Lou, a native of Michigan, just released a new studio album, “Bluegrass Women,” and will be featured at Local Spins later this week.)
Freak Fair Host: Billy Strings (Photo/Steve Baran)
The event will also feature a heavy metal tent hosted by The Pyramid Scheme starring Bane, For the Fallen Dreams, Heartsick, Cryptopsy, Flesh & Blood Robot and See You Next Tuesday. (Return to Local Spins for a feature on Cryptopsy later this month.) Many fans expect to see the bluegrass guitar host join some of that metal shredding over the weekend: Billy Strings played in metal bands as a teenager and joined Flesh & Blood Robot on stage at Grand Rapids’ The Pyramid Scheme in March 2024.
In addition, the farmers’ market pavilion in Ionia will host a local bluegrass event on Thursday, ahead of the Freak Fair, with vendors on Main Street in Ionia. Learn more about the “Pickin’ Under the Pavilion” event here.
Another first-time festival takes place in Homer, Mich., this weekend – a one-day celebration hosted by the soulful and rootsy The War & Treaty, a band which got its start in Albion just a few miles from the site of the inaugural HeartsTown Music Festival, described as “a weekend of storytelling, love, community and the kind of music that brings people together.”
The Saturday (Aug. 22) lineup at this sold-out event led by Michael and Tanya Trotter of The War & Treaty will feature a roster of Michigan-based artists (The Gasoline Gypsies, Abigail Stauffer, DuPont Phillips, EON and DJ Bigman Terrell) and Nashville acts (Brittney Spencer, Blank Page, Kentucky Gentlemen and Jordan Babbs).
“We love Michigan,” Tanya Trotter said of moving back recently to the state where the band got its start. “I just thought it was a great opportunity now that we have this land to open it up — an area where our fans could feel like they’re coming to a family reunion, because that’s kind of how it feels when they come to our festivals. We wanted it to feel like a big family reunion.”
(Read a complete Local Spins Q&A with Tanya Trotter here, with details about their latest album and upcoming touring.)
DuPont Phillips: Planning a full-band show. (Photo/Heather Nash)
For Ypsilanti singer-songwriter Chris DuPont and Kylee Phillips, the festival represents an opportunity to regale fans with a full-band, “high-energy set” at 3:40 p.m. Saturday – described as “a dynamic hour of cathartic songs, tight vocal harmonies and deeply personal lyrics.”
“We are both incredibly excited to be on the lineup for this festival. It’s been a busy year for the DuPont-Phillips camp, and we’ve found that some of the finest moments are at festivals in our home state,” DuPont said, noting that Phillips releases a full-length solo album in October.
“It’s a great way to introduce ourselves to new listeners, and spend quality time with musicians we wish we could hang with more often.”
Trotter said HeartsTown is “a place for people that want to accept each other and love each other and love good music and want community. … I’m really excited to just see it come to life and to see a vision take legs and grow. Then, hopefully, this will be something we can do every year.”
Eastern Michigan’s The Gasoline Gypsies are equally thrilled to be part of the inaugural HeartsTown.
The War & Treaty’s latest album
“We were absolutely honored when Tanya and Mike reached out and invited us to be part of the inaugural festival at their ranch. It means a lot to be included in something like this, and we couldn’t be happier to spend the day making music,” the band wrote on Facebook.
The festival takes place the same day as Albion’s afternoon Walk the Beat festival just nine miles away – an event headlined by The War & Treaty in 2025.
Northern Michigan boasts its share of late August celebrations, too.
Meadowfest, taking place Friday and Saturday (Aug. 21-22) at 3992 Mt. Bliss Road in East Jordan, will feature 18 performers, including Silver Creek Revival, Jack Elliott, Foolish Fox, Michael Rosteck, Radio Vision, RIBO, Woodcarver, Ghost Orca and more.
Camping is available at the all-ages festival which also features a “full gourmet kitchen,” field games, disc golf and other activities.
The Forest Trail Music Festival returns to Free Soil Aug. 28-30 with an impressive array of Michigan acts, including Desmond Jones, The Rebel Eves, Billy Gunther & The Midwest Riders, The Smokin’ Dobroleles, 1000 Watt Prophets, Manitou Truckin’ Co., Wild Honey Collective, The Rupple Brothers, Seth Bernard, Cold Mountain Child and others.
Get ticket information and details online at foresttrailmusic.com.
That same weekend, Aug. 27-30, Cedar once again will host its annual Cedar Polka Fest with upwards of 10,000 people enjoying a weekend of polka music, food, a car show and parade, and an arts and crafts show. Bavarski, The Diddle Styx, Polka Generations and Dynabrass are among the bands slated to perform. Learn more at cedarpolkafest.org.
Farther north, the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival fires up again at the Winter Sports Complex amid Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Ontonagon Aug. 28-29. The 20th edition of the Upper Peninsula festival will feature sets by The Steel Wheels, Southern Avenue, Blair Crimmins & The Hookers, Charlie Parr, The Fretliners, Felix y Los Gatos and more. Details available online at porkiesfestival.org.
Other August festivals to check out:
• Aug. 20-22 – Tie Dye Festival at Burley Park in Howard City
https://www.facebook.com/events/1513715296951135/
• Aug. 21-22 – Fishstock Americana Festival at Fish Ladder Park, Old Town, Lansing
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530827271730994/1530831405063914/
• Aug. 22-23 – Return to the River Festival in the Monroe North District, Grand Rapids
https://downtowngr.org/
• Aug. 22-23 – Grateful Bear Campout Music Festival at Smiling Acres in Trufant
https://www.facebook.com/GratefulBearCampoutMI
• Aug. 28-30 – Blues by the Bay in Harbor Park, East Tawas
https://bluesbythebaytawas.org/
• Aug. 29 – Burning Foot Beer Festival at Heritage Landing, Muskegon
https://burningfoot.beer/
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