Saturday’s day-long event at Kalamazoo Valley Museum boasted sets by more than a dozen acts (with some unusual twists), instrument vendors and workshops. The recap, photos and video highlights.
Saturday Highlight: Elisabeth Pixley-Fink and her all-star band. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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The 21st Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival boasted some impressive firsts on Saturday.
For the first time, the festival featured a national touring artist from New York City — cinematic surf-rock trio Big Lazy — to close out a day of performances at Kalamazoo Valley Museum and Anna Whitten Hall, with the band delivering its atmospheric and twangy instrumentals as the sun peeked through outdoors on the first full day of spring.
And for the first time, the festival featured the experimental strains of the Kalamazoo Drone Society, which unleashed its improvisational and moody soundscapes in a packed classroom on the third floor of Anna Whitten Hall, courtesy of several guitarists, effects pedals and electronics.
Firsts aside, there were plenty of familiar features at the free festival, too, with crowds browsing instrument vendors, attending workshops and sitting through more than a dozen performances on three stages — performances that included the return of annual fixtures such as the Kalamazoo Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra, guitarist Joel Mabus and folk ensemble Luke Lenhart & The Green Valley Boys.
Jam Sessions: Picking was plentiful at Saturday’s festival. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
“Everyone’s loved the music,” said Bryan Heany, producer of the annual festival, noting that things ran smoothly with all of the performances on multiple stages. “I’ve gotten a lot of comments on quality sound, so I’m really happy for that. My sound crew people are doing a good job.”
Families, music lovers and musicians wandered from stage to stage, with acoustic jam sessions upstairs at the museum along with pop-up shows by The Incantations, Benna, Jessi Phillips and Zondo.
“I don’t have any turnout numbers, but every room for musicians (performances) has been full,” Heany noted.
That certainly was true for one of the highlights sets of the day, with Ann Arbor rock and folk singer-songwriter Elisabeth Pixley-Fink playing the Anna Whitten Hall stage backed by an all-star band that included members of Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds.
Check out video highlights and photo galleries below. The festival also featured a Friday night kick-off performance by iconic rock and blues guitarist Billy Davis, a Detroit native who was a longtime member of the band Hank Ballard & The Midnighters.
PHOTO GALLERY: Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival at Kalamazoo Valley Museum (Saturday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum
PHOTO GALLERY: Billy Davis at Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival (Friday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum
