Shagbark Music Festival simmers on Day 1

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The musical celebration on Shagbark Farm in Alaska, Mich., uncorked funk, Americana, Celtic and reggae strains amid sultry weather on opening day. Recap, photos, video and radio show podcast.

Rocking the Main Stage: Myron Elkins headlined Thursday’s Shagbark lineup. (Photo/Anna Sink)

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY, LOCAL SPINS ON WYCE RADIO SHOW PODCAST

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Americana recording artist and Allegan County native Myron Elkins — who headlined Thursday night’s main stage at Shagbark Music and Arts Festival — aptly represents the heart and soul of this rootsy, Michigan-centric celebration in southern Kent County.

Amid a lineup filled with hardworking, dedicated bands who shower their fans with original songs while happily rubbing elbows with fellow Michigan musicians, Elkins’ gritty background and inspiration might best be reflected on “Wrong Side of the River,” unleashed during his set:

“Grandpa taught me to strum, and I’d play ’til my hands were numb; writing stories, songs for him.”

Gleeful Shagbark Crowd: Dancing to Flexadecibel. (Photo/Anna Sink)

Elkins, and the rest of the opening-day roster of performers on two stages (The Ol’ Microtones with Don Julin, Flexadecibel and Belfast Gin) also clearly revel in writing and playing songs for rapt fans — passion that clearly oozed through Thursday’s heat and sultry humidity.

And while parts of Grand Rapids got drenched on Thursday, Shagbark Farm endured only a brief drizzle, with the sun bursting through the clouds before the end of Muskegon funk/rock band Flexadecibel’s main stage set.

After Belfast Gin warmed things up with lively Celtic strains amid overcast skies to kick things off for a small, early-arriving crowd on the Haywagon Stage, Flexadecibel almost instantly instigated a dance party with its horn-infused strains.

“I love Shagbark. It’s my favorite music festival without a doubt,” said lead singer Marshall Sarber. “I have so many good memories here.”

FROM REGGAE TO ROCK-FUELED AMERICANA

The cozy, Day 1 turnout of fans certainly will leave Shagbark with memories of the sweaty-but-fun set from The Ol’ Microtones (featuring Traverse City mandolinist Don Julin), an all-star band that churned out head-bobbing, skank-inspiring reggae, something Julin said the group has been unfurling off and on since the early 1980s.

Appropriately, the sun beamed down through the group’s set on the Haywagon Stage, creating a steamy island-like milieu.

Elkins and his top-shelf band – who’ve toured the country as well as Spain this past year – closed out the evening on the main stage in front of the largest crowd of the day with Southern rock-propelled alt-country and Americana tunes that showed off Elkins’ plucky, forthright songwriting and his soul-infused, country-saturated voice. Pal, Dobroist and “artist at large” Mark Lavengood even joined in the fun on a few tunes.

Belfast Gin: Getting it all started. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)

In the end, Shagbark 2024’s opening foray accurately reflected the lines from one of The Ol’ Microtones’ jauntiest numbers: “We’re gonna have a soul shakedown tonight.”

That they did.

The festival continues today and Saturday, with Nathan Walton & The Remedy, Covert Operations, Stormy Chromer, Full Cord, Desmond Jones and more. Check out the Local Spins festival preview here, and scroll down for the daily performance schedules. Friday and Saturday passes are $40 each; details here.

A Shagbark-themed segment also kicked this week’s Local Spins on WYCE radio show into gear, spotlighting bands performing Friday and Saturday at the festival — Covert Operations, Round Creek String Band, Pocket Watch and Chirp — as well as debuting new music from other Michigan artists: Knee Deep Shag, Nicholas James & The Bandwagon, Low Phase, Tony Manfredonia, Left Hand Daisy, Signal Quartet, Mellow Thief, Rachel Brooke and The Reverend Jesse Ray. Listen to the podcast below.

PHOTO GALLERY: Shagbark Music Festival Day 1
Photos by Anna Sink