The seven-day Kalamazoo music festival closed Sunday after a week featuring more than 40 Michigan bands and solo artists. The recap and photo gallery at Local Spins.
Luminous Festival Encore: The Go Rounds on the Bronson Park stage Sunday night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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Call it yet another perfect day of music for Kalamazoo’s Sounds of the Zoo.
The seven-day music festival lighting up multiple Kalamazoo venues closed with an epic day of performances at Bronson Park amid sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.
Southwest Michigan’s Samuel Nalangira launched the afternoon with his world-music cast of musicians, followed by Chesaning psychedelic folk outfit The Rupple Brothers (in a rare full band outing) and Grand Rapids funk/soul/hip hop ensemble DaVeonce & DaFunk Gang.
Kalamazoo’s own rock heroes The Go Rounds — with both Charlie Millard and Mike Savina on board — closed it all out with special guests Elisabeth Pixley-Fink and Sam Cooper, regaling fans well beyond the scheduled end time to put an exclamation point on a perfect week of music. (View coverage of opening day here, with photo galleries from Days 2-6 in the Local Spins weekend roundup.)
“There was a noticeable shift in both the energy and attendance this year. More people seemed to recognize and connect with what Sounds of the Zoo is trying to accomplish — not simply as a festival, but as a growing platform for music, community and the Michigan music industry,” said festival founder and executive director Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert.
“I felt a real sense of appreciation from the audience. People seemed to settle in, embrace the experience, and recognize the importance of having something like this in our community. Watching that awareness grow from year to year has been incredibly rewarding.”
Among the week’s many highlights: the overall energy and commitment from artists (“a different level of passion and commitment”), Americana artist Myron Elkins’ Friday headlining set and Heritage Guitars collaboration (“seeing him bring the horns and deliver such a powerful performance was a real highlight”), and the closing Sunday lineup at Bronson Park (“that level of excitement was something I won’t forget” making for “a powerful way to close the weekend”).
“It left me incredibly hopeful about where Sounds of the Zoo can go from here,” Hudson-Prenkert added. “I hope this is just the beginning.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Sounds of the Zoo – Day 7
Photos by Derek Ketchum
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