MICHIGAN MUSIC FESTIVALS 2021

The contagion COVID-19 made a mockery of last year’s Michigan music festival schedule, with large gatherings curtailed or banned across the state.

Now, despite the hope of multiple vaccines in 2021, this fickle virus continues to meddle with our festival plans. Some early festivals not impacted last year already have canceled for 2021 (Winter Wheat, Great Indoor Folk Festival, Perrin’s Ice Jam) or have gone virtual (Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival).

Some festival organizers with later events are setting dates, securing bands and selling tickets, pandemic be damned. But buyer beware:  Even the most honest of festivals may not be able to pull off an event this year due to the capricious nature of this horrible virus and uneven attempts to quash it.

Local Spins checked with festival organizers, websites, events pages and more to come up with this list. Please note: Even if a festival is listed here, it could be canceled, postponed or changed at any moment. Keep checking this site and festival links, especially as the date draws near. 

If we err in 2021, let’s err on the side of optimism and hope for a fantastic festival season. May your campsite be dry, your totems fly and your ears be filled with the joy of music in Michigan. Email liz@localspins.com  for festival updates or additions to this list. And email john@localspins.com for advertising opportunities.

MICHIGAN MUSIC FESTIVALS 2021
NEWS & NOTES

SCROLL DOWN FOR A FULL LISTING OF 2021 FESTIVALS

The Hamtramck Music Festival has been canceled.

Big Ticket, a Christian music festival, has changed its dates from Sept. 3-5 to July 9-11 at the Otsego County Fairgrounds in Gaylord.

Beaver Island Music Festival is moving ahead with plans for the July 15-17 festival in the middle of Lake Michigan. Should that not be possible, the festival is urging donations to the nonprofit Patrons of the Arts in Rural Communities (PARC). See the PARC Facebook page for more info.

Electric Forest’s dates are still up in the air. “Forest HQ is currently considering options … we are holding to our typical June timeframe.” The Forest Family abides.

Forest Trail Music Festival, which hosted a socially distanced inaugural event in Freesoil last year, is seeking musicians and vendors for its Aug. 27-29 event. Contact organizers at ForestTrailMusic@gmail.com or 231-510-3056.

Arts Eats & Beats in Royal Oak, sponsored by Soaring Eagle, together with the Oakland County government raised more than $400,000 to support musicians. See The Detroit News story.

The classical music festival Baroque on Beaver reports that it received a grant from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation to pay for a new website and branding.

The Great Indoor Folk Festival, which opted out of the popular winter event for 2021, said “we look forward to being back in the saddle 2022” in its announcement on Facebook.

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MICHIGAN MUSIC FESTIVALS: THE LIST

Jan. 29-30
Ann Arbor Folk Festival
Live-stream Event

CANCELED
March 4-6
Hamtramck Music Fest
Trixie’s Bar, Hamtramck

March 6
Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival
Virtual

May 22
BBQ Bluegrass and Blues
Whirlpool Centennial Park, St. Joseph

May 21-23
White Birch Music Festival
Morelands Motocross Park, Stanton

May 28-31
Buses By The Beach
Camp Blodgett, West Olive

May 29-31
Movement Music Festival
Hart Plaza, Detroit

June 5
Hippie Fest
Kalamazoo County Fairground, Kalamazoo

June 3-5
Camp Greensky
Hoxeyville Festival Grounds, Manistee National Forest, Wellston

June 4-6
Festival Of The Arts
Downtown, Grand Rapids

June 11-13
Nor-east’r Music & Art Festival
Oscoda County Fairgrounds, Mio

June 17-21
Cedar Polka Festival
Tennis Courts, Cedar

June 18-20
Buttermilk Jamboree
Circle Pines Center, Delton

June 18-19
Summer Solstice Jazz Festival
Downtown East Lansing (Bailey Parking Lot, Albert-Division intersection), East Lansing

June 24-26
Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
Eaton County Fairgrounds, Charlotte

June 24-27
Electric Forest
Double JJ Ranch, Rothbury

June 26
Marshall Blues Festival
Downtown Marshall

July 9-11
Blissfest
3695 Division Road, Harbor Springs

July 9-11
(RESCHEDULED FROM SEPT. 3-5)
Big Ticket Festival
Otsego County Fairgrounds, Gaylord

July 9-10
Michigan ElvisFest
Wayne County Fairgrounds, Belleville

July 16-17
Upheaval Festival
Belknap Park, Grand Rapids

July 15-17
Beaver Island Music Fesitval
28599 Hideaway Trail, St. James, Beaver Island

July 16-18
Faster Horses Festival
Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn

July 16-18
Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival
Marquette Tourist Park Marquette

July 25-31
Marshall Bluegrass Festival
Calhoun County Fairgrounds, Marshall

July 30-Aug. 7
Baroque On Beaver
Various locations, St. James, Beaver Island

July 23-25
Dunesville Music Festival
The Harm Farm, Lake Ann

Aug. 6-7
Port Sanilac Blues Festival
Waterfront, Port Sanilac

Aug. 3-6, 2022
Milan Bluegrass Festival
KC Campground, Milan

Aug. 11-14
Unity Christian Music Festival
Heritage Landing, Muskegon

Aug. 12-15
Farmfest
1865 Roby Road, Johannesburg

Aug. 14
Flint Drop Fest
Buckham Alley, Flint

Aug. 14
Phil Denny’s Armory Smooth Jazz Fete
330 Marshall, Lansing

Aug. 10-14
Frankenmuth Summer Music Fest
Heritage Park, Frankenmuth

Aug. 14-16
Hoxeyville
Manistee National Forest, 11130 W 48 1/2 Road, Wellston

Aug. 27-29
Blues By The Bay
East Tawas Harbor Park, East Tawas

Aug. 27-29
Forest Trail Music Festival
352 West Forest Trail Road, Freesoil

Aug. 27-29
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival
Winter Sports Complex, Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, Ontonogan

Aug. 27-29
Willowsong Music Festival
Sidney

Aug. 28
Michigan MetalFest
Leila Auditorium, Battle Creek

RESCHEDULED TO JULY 9-11
Big Ticket Festival
Otsego County Fairgrounds, Gaylord

Sept. 3-6
Art, Eats & Beats Festival
Downtown Royal Oak

Sept. 10-12
Wheatland Music Festival
Pierce Road & 30th Avenue, Remus

Sept. 16-19
Michigan Irish Music Festival
Heritage Landing, Muskegon

Sept. 17-19
Earthwork Harvest Gathering
Mud Farm, Lake City