The 42nd Blissfest unfurled north of Harbor Springs last weekend, with performances by internationally acclaimed roots music stars and regional acts. Highlights, photos at Local Spins.
Blissful Weekend: The audience scene north of Harbor Springs at the Main Stage. (Photo/Nicholas James Thomasma)
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Another Blissfest is in the books.
This year’s 42nd annual Blissfest Music Festival featured near-perfect weather, a great selection of music from around the world and a few changes that made the weekend one of the most memorable festival’s in recent years.
A few highlights:
• The Opening Ceremony – This year’s opening ceremony kicked off the festival in a new way featuring a handful of speakers and a performance put on by a handful of artists that could typically be found at the drum kiva throughout the weekend. It was a little different than the norm, but a fine way to really bring the energy up on the Main Stage while showing off a little bit of what else you could find spread through the festival grounds.
• Detroit Takes Over – The entirety of the weekend featured performances from artists around the globe. However, a few notable performances came from acts out of the Detroit area. Mike Ward, Annie Bacon, Emily Rose, Audra Kubat, Annie and Rod Capps and more graced many of the stages and brought their own unique talents, stories and songs to Northern Michigan.
• The Badass Women Band – Alongside the Detroit area natives was, of course, the Badass Women Band with a special performance at the second stage on Saturday. The band featured Annie Capps, Fay Burns, Annie Bacon, Sara Gibson, Carolyn Koebel, Cori Summers and Julianna Wilson. Together, the ensemble shared many originals and favorite covers with a packed crowd.
A Festival Highlight: May Erlewine (Photo/Sean Miller)
• Other Michigan Artists – Blissfest always makes a conscious effort to include Michigan artists from across the state. Some of the standouts this year included Petoskey’s Levitator who rocked a third stage set Friday night, the Crosscut Kings that rocked the Blistrodome on Saturday and The Rebel Eves (featuring Michigan’s own Katie Peterson and Grace Theisen) who brought their powerful songs and harmonies to Sunday’s Main Stage. Other notable performances included singer-songwriters i.am.james, Eric Engblade, Mike Ward, Daniel Bracken, Nicholas James Thomasma and more at the Song Tree. (Scroll down for videos of The Go Rounds and Desmond Jones performing at Blissfest.)
• John Craigie and May Erlewine – California folk/Americana tunesmith John Craigie and northern Michigan’s May Erlewine both boasted individual sets that resonated with the Blissfest crowd. Craigie performed on numerous stages both solo and with his band over the weekend, while fans found May putting on a dance party at second stage on Saturday. However, a real highlight came when May joined Craigie on the Main Stage to close out his headlining set with a duet of “I Am California” on Saturday.
• Galactic Sherpas – A performance that some might have called “a tradition” was moved from Sunday night on the third stage to Friday night at the Blisstrodome with Galactic Sherpas. The entire woods was packed shoulder to shoulder to hear the reggae, jam and northern Michigan-based band. The forest rocked until late in the night, making it a definite highlight for many through the weekend.
A New Bliss Generation (Photo/Sean Miller)
• New Generation of Blissfest – Selfishly, I’ll plug my own three-month-old as it was her very first Blissfest. She seemed to really enjoy the Rebel Eves and May Erlewine, seeing all the colorful tapestries and lights and meeting all of the Blissfest staff, board, friends and Bliss family. However, it also seemed that she wasn’t alone. This year’s festival seemed to have more babies, kids and younglings than usual — a new generation of kids coming up through the festival that might one day help lead it.
(Grand Rapids singer-songwriter and Blissfest performer Nicholas James Thomasma, meanwhile, had another somewhat-unexpected highlight: “I was absolutely blown away by Taimane, a ukulele virtuoso from Ohau, Hawaii. Absolutely incredible.”)
Browse photos from the weekend festival below.
PHOTO GALLERY: Blissfest 2024
Photos by Nicholas James Thomasma, Sean Miller, Brian Haik and Melody Crane
VIDEO: The Go Rounds at Blissfest
VIDEO: Desmond Jones at Blissfest
Videos courtesy of Brian Haik
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