While COVID concerns remain, more than 50 Michigan festivals plan to resume later this year, including the uber-popular, the traditional and some new events, too. The list at Local Spins.
Shining Once Again? Electric Forest is set to return in 2022 after a two-year hiatus. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our annual roster of Michigan music festivals represents information available at the time of publication on New Year’s Day. All festivals are tentative and subject to change. If you’re the organizer of a Michigan music festival and your event isn’t listed here, email details, dates and location to liz@localspins.com and info@localspins.com. Scroll down for the full list of 2022 festivals and a news update from an Upper Peninsula festival.
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Michigan’s music festival season hasn’t been the same since COVID reared its head in 2020.
Cancellations of popular music-centric celebrations over the past two years have ranged from some of the state’s largest such as Electric Forest and Mo Pop Festival to longstanding, iconic events like Wheatland and Earthwork Harvest Gathering to smaller boutique festivals starring local and regional acts.
But many festivals in Michigan’s great outdoors did return in the summer of 2021 as some capacity restrictions and health protocols were lifted.
And while concerns remain as the Omicron variant fuels COVID flair-ups, the outlook for 2022 seems cautiously optimistic with more than 50 Michigan festivals set to attract music-loving throngs again, including the return of Electric Forest, Mo Pop, Camp Greensky, Wheatland and the Michigan Irish Music Festival, among others.
Hopeful Return: Wheatland (Photo/Local Spins)
Organizers of the June 23-26 Electric Forest in Rothbury call their 2022 lineup “the soundtrack for our reunion” – a long-delayed celebration of the electronic music-hued festival’s 10th anniversary, with promises that the gathering will be filled with “magical musical moments.”
Of course, magical moments at numerous Michigan festivals induce devotees to return year after year, and 2022 boasts some tantalizing milestones to consider, including the final Cowpie Music Festival at the Caledonia-area Shagbark Farm in August and the much-anticipated revival of June’s Buttermilk Jamboree in Delton and July’s Blissfest near Harbor Springs, not to mention more remote events such as Beaver Island Music Festival and August’s Porcupine Mountains Music Festival in Ontonagon.
Speaking of milestones, Local Spins celebrates its 10th anniversary in May, kicking off the season with Local Spins Fest on May 21 in downtown Grand Rapids. (Stay tuned for more about that in coming months.)
Announcements of more festivals are likely in coming weeks as organizers finalize arrangements, not to mention updates on the impact that the continuing COVID pandemic might have on events already on the books.
With all that in mind, here’s Local Spins’ Michigan Music Festivals 2022 Guide to help ring in the new year and get you daydreaming about the musical magic that’s to come. Happy New Year!
MICHIGAN MUSIC FESTIVALS 2022
Jan. 28-29
Ann Arbor Folk Festival
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor
https://theark.org/folk-festival/
March 4-6
Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival
Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo
https://www.facebook.com/FretboardFestival/
April 28-30
Thornapple Arts Council Jazz Festival
Hastings
https://www.facebook.com/events/415008903414856/
May 7
Mitten State Music Revival
Historic Masonic Temple, Bay City
http://statetheatrebaycity.com/Events/view/301
May 21
Local Spins Fest (10th Anniversary Celebration)
Studio Park, Grand Rapids
https://localspins.com/
May 27-30
Buses By The Beach
Camp Blodgett, West Olive
https://busesbythebeach.org/
June 2-4
Camp Greensky
Location Still To Be Announced
https://www.campgreensky.com/
June 3-4
Summershine Music and Art Gathering
59932 Pemberton Road, Vandalia
https://www.facebook.com/events/975337739864319/
June 3-5
Festival of the Arts
Downtown Grand Rapids
https://festivalgr.org/
June 10-12
Nor-east’r Music & Art Festival
Oscoda County Fairgrounds, Mio
https://www.noreastrfest.org/
June 11-12
Hippie Fest
Treetoad Family Farm, 10834 W. Willard Road, Trufant
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hippie-fest-michigan-tickets-170330965503
June 17-19
Buttermilk Jamboree
Circle Pines Center, Delton
https://www.buttermilkjamboree.org/
June 18
Singin’ in the 60s
Four locations, Port Sanilac
https://www.facebook.com/events/sanilac-county-historic-village-museum/singin-the-60s-music-festival/480636962467516/
June 23-26
Electric Forest
Double JJ Resort, Rothbury
https://electricforestfestival.com/
June 23-25
Charlotte Bluegrass Festival – 50th Annual
Eaton County Fairgrounds, Charlotte
https://charlottebluegrassfestival.com/
June 25
Marshall Bluesfest
Marshall
www.marshallbluesfest.com
July 1-3
Smiling Acres Music Festival
Trufant
www.smilingacres.org
July 7-10
Big Ticket Festival
Otsego County Fairgrounds, 895 North Center Ave., Gaylord
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7364806721
July 8-10
Blissfest
3695 Division Road, Harbor Springs
https://blissfest.org/
July 8-9
Michigan ElvisFest
Wayne County Fairgrounds, Belleville
http://www.mielvisfest.com/
July 15-16
Upheaval Festival
Belknap Park, Grand Rapids
https://www.upheavalfest.com/
July 14-16
Beaver Island Music Festival
28599 Hideaway Trail, St. James, Beaver Island
https://bimf.net/
July 15-17
Faster Horses Festival
Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn
https://fasterhorsesfestival.com/
July 22-24
Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival
Marquette Tourist Park Marquette
https://hiawathamusic.org/about-the-hiawatha-festival/
July 22-30
Marshall Bluegrass Festival
Calhoun County Fairgrounds, Marshall
https://www.facebook.com/MarshallBluegrassFestival
July 22-24
Dunesville Music Festival
Harmony Pines Campground, Lake Ann
https://www.dunesvillemusicfestival.com/
July 23
Walk the Beat
White Lake/Whitehall
https://www.walkthebeat.org/
July 29-31
Farm Block Festival & Reunion
Allouez
https://farmblock.com/
July 29-Aug. 6
Baroque On Beaver
Various locations, St. James, Beaver Island
https://www.baroqueonbeaver.org/
July 30-31
Mo Pop Festival
Historic Fort Wayne, Detroit
https://mopopfestival.com/
Aug. 2-6
Milan Bluegrass Festival
KC Campground, Milan
https://www.milanbluegrassfestival.com/
Aug. 4-6
Cowpie Music Festival
Shagbark Farm, Caledonia
https://www.facebook.com/cowpiemusic
Aug. 6-7
Port Sanilac Blues Festival
Waterfront, Port Sanilac
https://www.facebook.com/portsanilacbluesfestival/
Aug. 10-13
Unity Christian Music Festival
Heritage Landing, Muskegon
https://www.unitymusicfestival.com/
Aug. 12-14
Jamboree at the Oaks
7800 Cutler Road, Munith
https://m.facebook.com/events/810651949887700
Aug. 13
Walk the Beat
East Side of Grand Haven
https://www.walkthebeat.org/
Aug. 13
Oscoda Rock Fest
Furtaw Field, Oscoda
https://oscodarockfest.org/
Aug. 13
Phil Denny’s Armory Smooth Jazz Fete
330 Marshall, Lansing
https://www.facebook.com/smoothjazzfete/
Aug. 9-13
Frankenmuth Summer Music Fest
Heritage Park, Frankenmuth
https://frankenmuthfestivals.com/summer-music-fest
Aug. 19-21
Hoxeyville Music Festival
Manistee National Forest, Wellston
https://www.hoxeyville.com/
Aug. 19-21
Fest of All
Bent Arrow Deer Ranch, Holton
https://www.facebook.com/Festofall
Aug. 19-20
Tie Dye Music Festival
Howard City
https://www.facebook.com/tiedyemusiccelebration
Aug. 26-28
Holler Fest
Frog Holler Farm, Irish Hills
https://hollerfest.com/
Aug. 26-27
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival
Winter Sports Complex, Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon
https://www.facebook.com/porkiesfestival/
August 26-28
Forest Trail Music Festival
352 W. Forest Trail Rd., Free Soil
www.ForestTrailMusic.com
Aug. 27
Walk the Beat, Albion
https://www.walkthebeat.org/
Aug. 27
Burning Foot Beer Festival
Pere Marquette Beach, Muskegon
https://www.facebook.com/burningfootbeerfest/
Sept. 2-5
Art, Eats & Beats Festival, Royal Oak
http://artsbeatseats.com/
Sept. 3
Thumbfest
Tierney Park, Lexington
https://www.facebook.com/Thumbfest
Sept. 9-10
Emerald Isle Irish Fe’ile, Beaver Island
https://irishfeile.com/
Sept. 9-11
Wheatland Music Festival
Pierce Road & 30th Avenue, Remus
https://www.wheatlandmusic.org/
Sept. 16-17
Fallfest, West Michigan Bluegrass Festival
4H Youth Fairgrounds, Lowell
http://wmbma.org/
Sept. 15-18
Michigan Irish Music Festival
Heritage Landing, Muskegon
https://michiganirish.org/
Sept. 16-18
Earthwork Harvest Gathering
Lake City
https://earthworkharvestgathering.com/
FESTIVAL NEWS UPDATE: Jan. 1, 2022
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival (Photo/Local Spins)
The Friends of the Porkies has been awarded a grant of $24,000 from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) for the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival scheduled for Aug. 26-27 at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park’s Winter Sports Complex in the Upper Peninsula’s Ontonagon County. Organizations receiving a MCACA grant award are required to match those funds with other public and private dollars. Local support of the project includes festival sponsors, program guide advertisers and private donations. The music festival also receives significant volunteer support from the community. On hiatus since its 15th anniversary in 2019 due to COVID-19, the festival was one of 594 applicants considered for fiscal year 2022 funding through the MCACA Peer Review Process, which uses a panel comprising in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences.
Copyright 2022, Spins on Music LLC
