After a two-year hiatus, the diverse three-day festival on Shagbark Farm will end its long run with Tunde Olaniran, Desmond Jones, Lady Ace Boogie, Dixon’s Violin, Sophistafunk and dozens more.
Going Out With A Bang: The final Cowpie before rebranding boasts a robust roster of performers. (Photo/Anna Sink)
SCROLL DOWN FOR LINEUP, COWPIE 2022 POSTER
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It’s been a long time coming, but the “final” Cowpie Music Festival is set to unfurl in August with bass phenom MonoNeon, Michigan fave Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, jam band Mungion and Flint pop/rap/dance star Tunde Olaniran.
After being scuttled by COVID-19 for two years in row, the three-day festival on Shagbark Farm in Alaska – northeast of Caledonia – will return with more than two dozen regional and national acts and “some special surprises.”
Tickets for the Aug. 4-6 festival ($175 adult general admission) already are on sale here.
Organizers have touted the 18th edition of the event as the last Cowpie before the festival is rebranded as a new arts and music festival for future years.
Lots of Memories: The crowd at Cowpie 2019. (Photo/Anna Sink)
In addition to a “mystery headliner” yet to be announced, the 2022 lineup boasts a bevy of artists familiar to Michigan audiences: Desmond Jones (who’ll play two nights), Dixon’s Violin, Lady Ace Boogie, Sophistafunk, Motor City Josh, J.Rob, Stormy Chromer, Melophobix, Flexadecibel, Chirp, Cabildo, Earth Radio, Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps, Biomassive, King Possum, Pink Sky and many more.
“We feel like this is our most diverse lineup we’ve ever had,” said Travis Compton, the festival’s lead organizer. “As a festival that likes to celebrate all things musical, we booked acts ranging from country to hip hop.”
See the full roster of bands announced thus far online here or scroll down to view the 2022 poster, with more acts to be added in the future, according to organizers.
“We wanted some artists of international level notoriety and performances that will be truly special due to the fact that we rarely see these artists in this area,” Compton said. “We patiently worked with artists such as (Prince bassist) MonoNeon (aka, Dywane Thomas Jr.) and Tunde Olaniran so that we could showcase their incredible talent.”
Compton added that Grand Rapids hip hop artist Lady Ace Boogie collaborated with Cowpie for a “tent takeover,” procuring “all the artists that will be performing on that stage Friday night.”
RETURNING SOME FAVORITES, CLOSING THE FINAL CHAPTER ‘IN STYLE’
Several performers booked for the festival’s three stages this summer are the same that were initially announced for Cowpie 2020 before it was canceled due to the pandemic: Tunde Olaniran, Dixon’s Violin, Desmond Jones, Mungion, Lady Ace Boogie, Motor City Josh, Sophistafunk, Chirp, Earth Radio, The Bootstrap Boys, Flexadecibel and others.
“The level of local talent is almost overwhelming in the Grand Rapids area, so we tried to showcase as many different local acts as we could support and bring back as many different Cowpie favorites as possible,” Compton said.
“Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers are a fantastic example of this. They have grown as Cowpie has grown but they are still hometown favorites. We are so excited to bring them back for two full hours this year, their longest ever Cowpie set.”
Back for 2022: Joe Hertler on the Cowpie stage in 2019. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Compton said the “next chapter” for Shagbark – which has consistently added infrastructure to handle bigger events, including last summer’s three-night-stand by Greensky Bluegrass – will further enhance its mission of showcasing talent, something founder “Farmer” John Crissman has always promoted for a festival that attracts thousands of attendees.
“The next incarnation of the festival will still have a lot of these principles at its core, but we plan on making some pretty big changes and it really will feel like an entirely different event in some ways,” Compton said.
“Out of respect for what Cowpie has meant to so many in the area, we wanted to close the chapter on it in style and start a new one entirely.”
In that vein, the final Cowpie will boast a special “American Bandstand/Soul Train/Midnight Special” theme “touching on American musical variety shows.”
“We want people to dance till the cows come home,” Compton insisted. “We plan on taking our fire performances to a whole new level this year and adding some special surprises into the mix as well.
“We want people to reminisce and share with us the memories that we would have helped create in the pasture. At the same time, we want to create new memories and give a sense of closure for all the people that have enjoyed what we feel is a truly unique and spectacular event.”
View coverage of past Cowpie Music Festivals at Local Spins here.
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