The “family reunion” Farm Block festival held in July in the far reaches of the U.P. boasts familiar Michigan acts; Cedar Springs Brewing to stage a one-day “beer tent” fest on April 2.
‘Family Reunion’ in a Beautiful Place: Graham Parsons of The Go Rounds has organized the 9th edition of Farm Block. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Graham Parsons likes to refer to the annual Farm Block festival on the Keweenaw Peninsula as “a family reunion” – an intimate affair with familiar Michigan acts supporting a good cause.
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Family Farm: The festival takes place on the Keweenaw Peninsula. (Photo/FarmBlockFest.com)
“That means we see a lot of the same faces every year on the stage,” the frontman for Kalamazoo’s The Go Rounds said of the July 29-31 festival held on the Upper Peninsula farm where Parsons grew up.
“The Keweenaw is on the way to nowhere, if you know what I’m saying. It’s a destination, not a stop along the way. It’s one of the ends of the earth and one of the most pristine and beautiful places in the world. The fest takes place a mile away from the shores of Lake Superior.”
The ninth edition of the festival will feature returning acts Kansas Bible Company, M. Sord, Divino Nino, The Go Rounds, The Macpodz, The B.E.A.T. and Olivia Mainville, with first-timers Vox Vidorra, Anna Ash, Abigail Stauffer and Lalo Cura.
Farm Block 2016 takes place July 29-31.
In addition to live music, camping, food and art vendors, the festival raises money for The Dan Schmitt Gift of Music and Education Fund, a nonprofit organization Parsons and his family started five years ago to provide instruments and lessons to youth in Kalamazoo, the Keweenaw Peninsula “and beyond.”
Others performing at the 2016 festival include Matt Jones, Misty Lyn, Heavy Color, The Antivillains, Big Dudee Roo, Charlie Millard, After Ours, Fauxgrass, Less is More, Steve Leaf & The Ex Pats and others.
Weekend tickets are $75; day passes are $25 Friday, $35 Saturday and $20 Sunday. Get the full lineup and more details online on the event’s official Facebook page and at the farmblockfest.com website.
BIG DUDEE ROO TO HEADLINE FIRST STARKBIERFEST
Big Dudee Roo (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Four months after swinging opening its doors, Cedar Springs Brewing Co. has announced its first outdoor beer festival to take place in early April in downtown Cedar Springs.
Grand Rapids psychedelic folk-rock band Big Dudee Roo will headline the Starkbierfest on April 2, with German/folk artist Dave Slavinski also performing.
The event, to take place in the Cedar Springs Brewing parking lot from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. that Saturday, will also feature the release of six new beers: Holzweizenbock, Weizenbock, Pale Bock, Tim the Enchanter, Enchanter 1.0 and Enchanter 1.1. Sausages of all kinds also will be available.
Admission to the 21-and-older event is free. Get more details online at csbrew.com.
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