Featuring Michigan bands and solo artists, the intimate gathering on the Smiling Acres festival site outside Trufant will attract VW bus owners and music lovers. View the full schedule at Local Spins.
Pumped to Play Next Weekend’s Bus Benefit: Stanley & Quiggle (Photo/Adam Briggs)
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With more than a dozen performances by regional acts on two stages over the Memorial Day weekend, Buses by the Beach’s 2025 Bus Benefit outside Trufant gets the summer started with plenty of cozy musical camaraderie.
And take it from Big Rapids indie-folk duo Stanley & Quiggle, who are playing the festival for the first time: There’s nothing like launching the summer in Michigan’s great outdoors.
“We are absolutely pumped,” Owen Stanley told Local Spins, noting the duo will unfurl
“a nice relaxing acoustic folk experience with a mixture of original songs and some stripped-down covers” when they play the Woods Stage at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
The musical entertainment gets started at 7 p.m. Friday (May 23) with Grand Rapids folk-rock band Cold Leather Seats, followed by Nicholas James & The Bandwagon, which traditionally closes out the first night of the festival staged by the Buses by the Beach organization as a fundraiser for the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors.
Musid Fest, Family Reunion & VW Camper Meet-Up: Bus Benefit (Photo/Local Spins)
Live music continues Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of other activities on tap as well, including children’s games, open-mics for adults and kids, merchandise vendors, a silent disco, craft activities, yoga and a silent auction. Of course, Volkswagen bus owners will also spend plenty of time catching up with friends and comparing notes on their classic vehicles.
Derek Reed, vice president of the Buses by the Beach board, noted that the Bus Benefit is special “because it is not just a music festival. It is a family reunion, a fundraiser and VW camper meet-up in addition to being a music festival. It’s kid-friendly and kind.”
And 100 percent of earnings from the weekend event will be donated to Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors.
Get more information and tickets ($123.40 for an advance weekend pass with camping) online here.
Save the image of this schedule on your smartphone to take along to the festival.
VIDEO: Buses by the Beach Bus Benefit 2024 – Day 1
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