The season-starting version of Hoxeyville unfurls for the first time this weekend, with Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon and regional favorites Luke Winslow-King, Sweet Water Warblers & more.
Hoxeyville Spring Headliner: Dark Star Orchestra closes out the Saturday night schedule. (Photo/Steve Baran)
SCROLL DOWN FOR FESTIVAL SCHEDULE, VIDEOS
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It’s billed as an early start to the summer festival season and “a weekend of music, camping and immersion in the great north woods.”
Hoxeyville Presents – which has long hosted August’s popular Hoxeyville Music Festival in Wellston amid the Manistee National Forest – will debut “Hoxeyville Spring” at the same location this weekend (May 31-June 2) with a lineup that features a who’s who roster of national acts.
Uber-popular Grateful Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra will lead the charge, along with The Allman Betts Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country.
Regional favorites will round out the lineup, including The Sweet Water Warblers, Airborne or Aquatic, Susto, Luke Winslow-King, Jen Sygit and Hannah Rose Graves.
The debut of the early-summer festival actually was inspired by Greensky Bluegrass and Hoxeyville Presents’ Camp Greensky festival, last staged on the site in 2019.
Luke Winslow-King: Returns to the Hoxeyville stage on Friday boasting a new single. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“After the decision to no longer produce Camp Greensky after the 2022 rendition, we decided there was still a good opportunity to bring another event back into the market,” said Jake Robinson, of Hoxeyville Presents and Robinson Enterprises.
“The intention was to bring something to the table with a shorter show run and allow folks more time to enjoy the Pine River, partake in workshops and other activities the area has to offer while still getting eight to nine hours of world-class music each day.”
Robinson called it “a diverse bill” that features everything from Southern rock’s Allman Betts Band to bluegrass- and jam band-driven staples such as the Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon and Yonder Mountain String Band to “some great local acts.”
“We were very lucky on talent booking for this event,” he said.
That talent includes a Michigan homecoming for Cadillac native Luke Winslow-King, who plays Hoxeyville Spring at 4:15 p.m. Friday promoting a brand new single, “If I Were You,” after signing with Bloodshot Records. (Scroll down for lyric video.)
“It’s a three-album deal with worldwide distribution. We’ve already recorded the first album (“Flash-A-Magic”) and it’s set to drop on Sept. 1,” Winslow-King told Local Spins. (Winslow-King also plays Holland Park Theatre on Thursday, May 30, with guitarist Roberto Luti.)
Weekend tickets for Hoxeyville Spring that include camping are $175 for adults; day passes are $80. Tickets for children 5-15 are $75 for the weekend or $25 per day. Get details and tickets online at hoxeyvillepresents.com.
Fan response to the new festival from fans has been solid, Robinson said, with 2,000 to 2,500 campers expected for Hoxeyville Spring.
He added that there will be no “no major changes” to the festival site located west of M-37 off W. 48-1/2 Road, with one stage supporting all the acts for the three-day event.
HOXEYVILLE SPRING: THE SCHEDULE
VIDEO: Luke Winslow-King, “If I Were You”
VIDEO: Dark Star Orchestra
VIDEO: The Allman Betts Band with Billy Strings, “Midnight Rider”
Hoxeyville Music Festival
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