Some of the state’s most highly touted roots acts will share the spotlight in this festival nestled in the Manistee National Forest. Save the full schedule on your smartphone.
By John Sinkevics
LocalSpins.com
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Hoxeyville organizers like to think of their music festival in the Michigan woods as “a testament to pure north country peace and celebration.”
Mid-Michigan singer-songwriter Seth Bernard, who has performed at every Hoxeyville, calls it a musical adventure unlike any other.
“I love the setting, the memories, the spirit of collaboration and the sense of musical adventure that Hoxey has come to represent to me,” says Bernard, who’ll play Hoxeyville this weekend with his wife, May Erlewine, and with the Michigan band Airborne or Aquatic?, which officially releases its new album Friday. “I love seeing all my friends on that big stage with great sound.”
Indeed, set amid more than 85 acres of farmland within the Manistee National Forest near Wellston, west of Cadillac, Hoxeyville has come to symbolize friends and family.
Greensky Bluegrass mandolin player Paul Hoffman raves that playing Hoxeyville is like “coming home again.”
“It’s all of our close friends and Michigan family,” says Hoffman, who has taken part in all but one of the Hoxeyville festivals with the Kalamazoo bluegrass band since the inaugural event 11 years ago. “A lot of the Hoxeyville crowd has been supporting Greensky for a long time.”
After taking 2013 off, this year’s festival sheds the spotlight almost entirely on Michigan’s music community, with Greensky Bluegrass headlining a roster of more than 20 bands who represent the crème de la crème of the Great Lakes State’s roots music scene.
Event co-founder Jake Robinson said organizers took a year off so they could step back and re-evaluate festival priorities and give Hoxeyville “a little breath of fresh air” for 2014. Part of that involved “going back to a real Michigan-based format” by booking predominantly local and regional acts.
That hasn’t hurt the event’s popularity: Ticket sales, says Robinson, have been “real comparable” to the 2011 and 2012 festivals, and the weather forecast for the weekend looks favorable.
A REAL BLAST: IT’S A FESTIVAL ‘FAMILY’ ON STAGE
New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band is one of the few non-Michigan entries on the bill, but they’ve played Hoxeyville before so are considered part of the festival “family.”
“The last time the Dirty Dozen Brass Band came up, they sat in with us and it was a real blast,” recalls Bernard, who recently released an acclaimed new folk-rock album, “Reconciliation & The Mystical Beyonda.” Bernard also will perform this weekend as a trio with Hoffman and Traverse City singer-songwriter Joshua Davis, as well as taking the stage with Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys.
The three-day festival kicks off about 3 p.m. Friday and continues until 9 p.m. Sunday, with performers playing two stages in the remote outdoor venue with a capacity of about 3,000. Tent and RV camping is available on-site, along with food and craft beer vendors. (Get more info and directions at hoxeyville.com.)
Other popular performers on the bill include Billy Strings & Don Julin, The Accidentals, Steppin’ In It, Luke Winslow King, Rachael Davis, The Crane Wives, Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, The Go Rounds, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, Rootstand, Fauxgrass, Nicholas James & the Bandwagon, Gifts or Creatures, Roosevelt Diggs and others.
The down-home vibe remains the same as previous years’ festivals, organizers insist. “It’s still kind of a local run, very grass roots, volunteer-based situation,” says Robinson, who also plays in the all-star band Airborne or Aquatic?
Many of the musicians sit in on each other’s sets creating unique performances only found at Hoxeyville, and late-night campground jams are common.
Greensky Bluegrass plans to release a new recording, “If Sorrows Swim,” next month, so Hoxey-ites can expect some live renditions of new material from the upcoming album. (Check out a video of one of the new songs being played by the band below.)
“There are a lot of places out there that feel like home. Hoxey is an important one,” Hoffman says. “We are looking forward to it for sure. We missed (having) it last year, so it’s even more special this year. I guess that’s why we’ll headline two nights. We have got some making up to do.”
For the first time, Local Spins will have a presence at Hoxeyville, working with The Stage Couch TV to interview performers during the festival. Get more information at thestagecouchtv.com. Some videos of performances and interviews will be posted on that site by early September.
Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
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