Michigan’s summer festival season shapes up as the busiest since 2019’s pre-COVID days. Check out lineups for three returning festivals, plus details about applying for June’s Festival of the Arts.
Ready to Smile on Trufant: Smiling Acres Music Festivals returns in July. (Photo/Anna Sink)
VIEW A FULL LIST OF FESTIVALS IN LOCAL SPINS’ MICHIGAN MUSIC FESTIVALS 2022 GUIDE
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Several music festivals are heating up the drab days of February by announcing lineups and details for summer 2022, including the second-year Smiling Acres Music Festival near Trufant and the long-awaited return of the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival which hasn’t fired up since 2019.
Meanwhile, Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts – which also has been silenced since 2019 – is cautioning that the deadline for performers and artists to submit applications is Monday (Feb. 28).
Back in June: Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts (Photo/Kendra Petersen-Kamp)
The long-running downtown festival renews its celebration of the arts with hundreds of performances on several stages June 3-5, as well as art displays, food booths and vendors.
Bands, solo artists and dance groups must apply online by Monday (Feb. 28) in order to be considered for performance slots. Apply online here.
A member of each performing group must be a resident of an eight-county area (Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Berry, Montcalm, Newaygo, Ionia, Muskegon). As part of the application, performers must submit a link to a performance on YouTube, Vimeo or Spotify for a festival jury to review.
This year, festival is waiving its usual $20 application fee, though organizers are encouraging donations to Festival of the Arts. Applicants will be notified about performance slots by March 30.
Check out Local Spins’ coverage of the 2019 Festival of the Arts.
SMILING ACRES MUSIC FESTIVAL
Billed as a Wheatland-inspired event, Smiling Acres Music Festival will return outside Trufant July 1-4 with headlining sets by Erin Zindle & The Ragbirds, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Deepfall, Seth Bernard and Desmond Jones.
Patty PerShayla (Photo/Anna Sink)
Staged for the first time last July, the cozy and well-organized festival on a 40-acre site 37 miles northeast of Grand Rapids will also feature a bevy other popular Michigan acts, including Barbarossa Brothers, Jen Sygit, Earth Radio, Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps, Mark Lavengood Band, Full Cord, Lady Ace Boogie, The Bootstrap Boys and more.
See the full lineup here.
Tickets ($75 for an adult weekend pass) are available online here.
PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS MUSIC FESTIVAL
After a two-year hiatus, Porcupine Mountains Music Festival in the Upper Peninsula is set to return as a two-day festival with headlining sets by Ireland’s JigJam and “the much-beloved” Slambovian Circus of Dreams.
“We’re really excited,” said principal organizer Cheryl Sundberg, noting that New York’s Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams — headlining on Saturday — was a past favorite at the festival. “For the comeback, it was a no-brainer. They’ll make people feel good whether they’re young or old.”
In addition to the award-winning JigJam, bluegrass band Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, guitarist Ariel Posen and singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza will perform on Friday.
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival (Photo/Local Spins)
Oregon’s The Talbott Brothers will join the Slambovian Circus of Dreams as part of Saturday’s lineup.
The festival held since 2005 in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park near Ontonagon this year has pared back from three days to two, and Sundberg cautioned that those interested in camping at the state park should make reservations quickly because sites are filling up well in advance. In addition, a state Recreation Passport is required for entry to the park.
Festival tickets ($80 for a two-day pass) are available online here. (Ticket prices go up on July 1.)
View Local Spins’ coverage of the 2019 Porcupine Mountains Music Festival.
MILAN MUSIC FEST
Once known as the Milan Bluegrass Festival, the Milan Music Fest will return to the KC Campground in Milan, Mich., Aug. 2-6.
Performers will include Lonesome River Band, The Grascals, Special Consensus, Larry Stephenson Band, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Alex Miller, Jim Hurst, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, Dave Adkins, Larry Efaw & The Bluegrass Mountaineers and many more performing over five days.
Get more details online here. Tickets and camping passes go on sale April 1.
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