Live music in the great outdoors took different forms across the region — from Benton Harbor to Grand Rapids to a farm east of Gaylord, with performances by Mark Lavengood, Jenna Mammina and others.
Bird’s Eye View: The scene at Thursday’s Listening Lawn show at Studio Park. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The weekend started early with the bluegrass strains of the Mark Lavengood Trio and a solo performance by Patty PerShayla on the piazza at Grand Rapids’ Studio Park for Thursday’s latest “Listening Lawn” concert.
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About 180 miles to the north, it continued throughout the weekend as volunteers closed out their days of work with a smattering of live music on a Johannesburg farm that would have hosted dozens of performances as part of Farmfest 2020, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic that forced cancellation of the festival.
And the weekend finished up 86 miles to the south with Benton Harbor’s Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College hosting its first-ever drive-in concert starring Jenna Mammina, The Andrew Fisher Quartet and Mike Struwin. Local Spins was there to capture all of it in images for our first Weekend Photo Gallery roundup in months.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mark Lavengood, Patty PerShayla for Listening Room’s Listening Lawn
Photos by Anthony Norkus
MINI-FARMFEST FOR VOLUNTEERS (Johannesburg)
It was more like a work bee than a music festival.
Still, about three dozen volunteers — from Farmfest veterans to first-timers — descended over the weekend on Stacy Jo Schiller’s Johannesburg farm during what would have been this year’s edition of Farmfest, until it was canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
After days spent weeding and completing other work on the farm, a small group of musicians — including Sandra Kennedy, Johnathon Berke (Bon Jerk), Bandura Gyspies, The Pond Hoppers, Abstract Generation, Joe Kincaid, BEANS, Trembling Earth, BEANS and Beaver Xing — kept the festival dream alive with performances Friday and Saturday nights, as well as early Sunday. A late-night bonfire topped things off on Saturday night.
Everyone pitched in to catch up on work that’s usually done by festival volunteers. Though the pastures were emptier this year, the Farmfest magic was still in the air, with fans looking forward to the festival’s official return in 2021. Check out images from the weekend courtesy of Local Spins photographer Anna Sink.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mini-Farmfest 2020
Photos by Anna Sink
PHOTO GALLERY: Drive-In Concert at The Mendel Center
Photos by Derek Ketchum
