Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s weekend event boasts workshops and sets by May Erlewine, The Go Rounds, The Moxie Strings, Mark Lavengood Band, Channing & Quinn and more. See the full schedule.
Festival Closer: May Erlewine performs on the Kalamazoo Valley Museum Stage at 5 p.m. Saturday. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS AND WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Kalamazoo singer and guitarist Phil Barry calls the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival “a meeting place for the amazing community of instrument builders and sellers.”
The 2018 Schedule
It also happens to showcase Michigan’s “amazing community” of musicians, with 14 acts playing three stages on Saturday alone, plus a special Friday night opening concert by Kalamazoo’s Corn Fed Girls.
This weekend’s 2018 edition of the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival is also free, family-friendly and chock full of workshops, vendors and opportunities to chat with artists, vendors and luthiers.
Presented Friday and Saturday (March 2-3) at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum in downtown Kalamazoo, this year’s festival kicks off with longtime hometown favorites, The Corn Fed Girls, and continues Saturday with May Erlewine, The Go Rounds, The Green Valley Boys (Bob Rowe is ill and won’t perform), The Moxie Strings, Mark Lavengood Band, Delilah DeWylde, Joel Mabus and 2018 winners of the festival’s January play-in contest: Cosmic Knot and The Sarah Lynn Band.
Beyond the performances, what sets this free annual fest apart is the plethora of workshops, musical children’s activities and vendors galore from major Michigan-based retailers such as Elderly Instruments and Heritage Guitars to local luthiers and area music shops.
Graham Parsons of The Go Rounds (Photo/Anna Sink)
(View a complete list of musical vendors online here, with a workshop schedule below.)
Similar to years past those vendors and workshops will be spread throughout the museum, near the entryway, on the second floor and in the innovation lab, as well as next door in Anna Whitten Hall where one of the three performance stages will be set up.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their instruments with them as some of the workshops will have an opportunity for hands-on learning, as well if they would like to join in on one of the two ongoing jam sessions hosted by the Great Lakes Music Association and K’zoo Folklife.
FESTIVAL DRUMS UP NEW OFFERINGS
New for the 13th festival, according to Megan Osetek of Kalamazoo Valley Museum, will be a stronger focus on little ones.
Guitar Heaven: Displays and demos. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
The day will commence with a full Small Sounds band that will put on a performance for the kids and later an interactive workshop with families that will allow children the opportunity to play numerous different instruments and “hopefully leave families with a new appreciation and understanding and desire to bring music into their family life.”
“Also new, Heritage Guitar Co. is taking a little more of a step outside of the vendor world and will be doing some demonstration work with their techs throughout the day,” Osetek said.
“These will be led by luthiers from Heritage and be quick 20-minute information sessions for people who want to learn how to do basic maintenance and care for their instruments at home.”
Whether a musician or simply a fan of music, there are plenty of opportunities to learn from — and rub elbows with —
other musicians and instrument experts at the event, which runs from mid-morning to early evening at the museum and hall.
PERFORMANCES, NETWORKING AND WORKSHOPS
“Stacked with performances and workshops, the Fretboard Festival is also a meeting place for the amazing community of instrument builders and sellers that we have here in Michigan,” said Phil Barry who will be performing with the Corn Fed Girls to kick off the festival and then again taking the stage with Corn Fed bandmate Sarah Fuerst Saturday afternoon as the duo Thunderbolt & Lightfoot.
‘Amazing Community’: Thunderbolt & Lightfoot are part of that. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
One workshop in particular Barry said he was excited about was Joel Mabus’ fingerpicking style and approach session.
In addition to a variety of other forums geared toward guitar players, there will also be, among others, a session especially designed with the solo musician in mind as well as an interactive class for children where the kids can get hands-on with instruments.
A workshop that has Osetek excited is Mike Kriegelstein’s “Making Special Where Art & Music Meet” at 11:30 a.m. The Chicago educator, she said, will be doing a multi-media lecture that’s different from what’s been offered at Fretboard before. The lecture, according to the festival website, will explore the connections between art, music, musicians and society throughout the ages and hone in on the social and philosophical history of music and how we discover a deeper meaning in our own art.
Get more information about this year’s Fretboard Festival online here.
Joel Mabus (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Fretboard Festival Workshops and Special Events
*Coffee & Donuts with the Luthiers – 10:15 a.m.
Guitar Care and Maintenance – 11 a.m., 12:30 and 2 p.m.
Picking and Strumming for Acoustic Guitar: Matthew Borr – 11 a.m.
Making Special Where Art & Music Meet: Mike Kriegelstein – 11:30 a.m.
Fingerpicking Style and Approach for Guitar: Joel Mabus – 12:30 p.m.
Small Sounds’ Exploring Instruments with Your Kids! – 1 p.m.
Bluegrass and Flatpicking Guitar: Dan Geib – 2 p.m.
Basic Mechanics for Resonator Guitar: Allen Bates – 2:30 p.m.
Navigating the String Wall: Jonathan Moody – 3:30 p.m.
Expand Your Solo Act: Electronics for Music: Joel Coburn – 4 p.m.
* All Special Events will be held at Anna Whitten Hall with the exception of the luthiers’ event which takes place in Mary Jane Stryker Theater
Check out Local Spins coverage of the 2017 festival here: Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival strums up fan-pleasing performances for 12th celebration
VIDEO: May Erlewine, “Never One Thing”
VIDEO: Corn Fed Girls, “Take You With Me”
VIDEO: The Go Rounds, “Code (PYL Session)”
VIDEO: The Moxie Strings, “Eileen”
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC
