The Fretboard Festival’s return this weekend to Kalamazoo Valley Museum features returning veteran artists as well as fresh musical faces, along with guitars, vendors and more.
Fretboard Fest Regulars: Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association hosts jams throughout the day. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE, VIDEOS
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Officially, the annual Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival at Kalamazoo Valley Museum “celebrates the city’s stringed-instrument legacy and musical heritage” — not surprising, considering Gibson Guitar’s robust manufacturing history in Kalamazoo.
Also not surprisingly, the free event attracts hundreds of visitors who stroll displays by guitar and other stringed-instrument vendors, attend workshops on banjos, Dobros, ukuleles and more, and get up close and personal with performers who embrace that legacy, often in acoustic fashion.
But over its 18-year history, the festival also has showcased diverse, emerging regional acts who test various musical margins, from blues to rock to soul to gypsy jazz.
That’s certainly the case when it comes to Saturday’s day-long lineup of artists which includes Kalamazoo’s funky alt-pop band Basic Comfort (11 a.m. on the Anna Whitten Hall stage), instrumental whiz and folk icon Joel Mabus (4 p.m. on the Mary Jane Stryker Theater stage) and Ann Arbor swing, manouche and gypsy jazz favorite Djangophonique (5 p.m. at Anna Whitten Hall).
The Mickeys: Performing Saturday at Fretboard Fest. (Courtesy Photo)
Then there’s Southwest Michigan’s The Mickeys, who aim to push the boundaries of their own music by adding elements of funk to their repertoire when they play Anna Whitten Hall at 1 p.m.
Led by twin sisters Amy Sherman and Julie Peebles, the four-piece band will showcase plenty of frets for the audience, including the Dobro and banjitar.
With their unique blend of folk and blues, The Mickeys plan to offer up a wide selection from their writing — including new and old tunes which all rely on harmony-driven, string-heavy, gospel-influenced stylings that have become their trademark. Peebles joked that they’re “typical musicians who can’t say they are one genre or another.”
After a hiatus from playing due to family obligations, The Mickeys are excited to add elements of funk to their hour-long set which will feature a new bass guitarist who joined them about a year ago. (Scroll down to listen to a new Mickeys track.)
“When we don’t play music for too long, you start to not feel like yourself,” Sherman said. “There’s a sense of doing something good for yourself when you play.”
Peebles added that performance opportunities “bring the energy,” something with which The Mickeys are familiar after mounting two European tours and performing numerous times in the Kalamazoo area. “Fueled by new music,” The Mickeys also will be playing ThunderBird River Ranch in Kalamazoo on March 22 and at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids on July 30.
Djangophonique
The 2024 Fretboard Festival actually begins at 7 p.m. Friday with a kickoff concert featuring El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil Mariachi in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater, with a second performance at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, doors open at 9:30 a.m. at the museum, 230 N. Rose St. Live music starts at 10 a.m. with the Grace Theisen Band on the theater stage and continues until 6 p.m. Pop-up performances from special guests will also take place on the second floor of the museum.
Free workshops at Anna Whitten Hall will include everything from overviews on the banjo, ukulele and bass to sessions about “fretboard chord sound recognition” and “preamplification plectrum techniques.” Get a detailed schedule and more information about the workshops online here.
Local Spins also will once again have a booth at the Fretboard Festival, so fans are encouraged to swing by for stickers, guitar picks and more. And check out coverage of the 2023 festival here.
LISTEN: The Mickeys, “Smoke & Mirrors”
VIDEO: 2023 Fretboard Festival
Copyright 2024, Spins on Music LLC
