The granddaddy of Michigan music festivals unfurled over the weekend, dodged a little rain and fired up fans with help from The Go Rounds, Molly Bouswma Schultz, Mike + Ruthy, drum circles and more.
Firing Up Wheatland: Molly Bouwsma Schultz of Vox Vidorra joined Graham Parsons and The Go Rounds for the band’s Wheatland debut on Saturday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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Narrow, winding roads snake like a river through the farmlands and woodlands of Michigan’s North Country. With each bend, clusters of trees, weathered farmhouses and pre-harvest fields stretch gently across wide-open land.
There’s a calming essence to this kind of country, and on the second weekend of September for the past four decades, it’s this landscape that has welcomed the masses traveling to Wheatland Music Festival.
Main Stage: Wheatland attracts thousands of music lovers and dancers each year. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“Wheatland has been around for a really long time. There are people who have been putting their love and energy into this place for 43 years. They’ve been coming since they were kids, before they were in any way participating in the organization of it,” said Josh Dunigan, a member of Grand Rapids Afro-beat ensemble Afro Zuma who led drum workshops at last weekend’s three-day festival outside Remus.
“Just the fact that it has that level of longevity and sustainability is huge to me.”
That love and energy was clearly evident on Saturday, when near-perfect whether greeted the festival’s second night, after midday rains gave way to clear skies and brisk autumn-like temperatures. Along with dusk came captivating performances from Charlie Musselwhite, Asleep at the Wheel, The Black Twig Pickers, Mike + Ruthy and Kalamazoo’s own The Go Rounds.
Charlie Musselwhite and band rocked both the Main Stage and Centennial Stage, boasting a huge blues-rock sound led by Musselwhite’s booming harmonica.
Later, The Black Twig Pickers, armed with traditional folk instruments, conjured an energetic, foot-stomping set, while The Mike + Ruthy lit things up with fiery, soulful refrains.
As always, venturing away from the formal performance areas, countless jam sessions emerged along Wheatland’s many trails and pathways. Small jam sessions quickly turned into raging drum circles of 30 people, pulsating for hours on end till the first signs of daylight.
NEW VENUE FOR DRUM CIRCLES AND WORKSHOPS
New to the festival this year was a permanent, covered stage and mini-amphitheater, built specifically for organized drum circles and workshops. Tucked away in a clearing, surrounded by towering pines, the brand new structure stood prominently with natural wooden beams and stone columns.
About 20 African drums lined the perimeter of the sprawling stage floor.
Drums, Banjos and More: Formal and informal jamming is part of Wheatland. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“I’m a pretty lucky guy. I get to do a lot of workshops and festivals and Wheatland is just the friendliest place in the state,” said Dunigan, as he sat at the edge of one of the stage’s built-in wooden benches.
“For me, it’s about the open drums jams. We bring in people to make sure it moves in a forward and musical direction, instead of being chaotic and noisy. I love that people come here willing to play and to learn. I think here at Wheatland, it’s part of the core mission. … They’ve welcomed and embraced drum music.”
Making their Wheatland debut with a highly anticipated set, The Go Rounds gave an electrifying performance for a sea of eager fans at the Centennial Stage. Playing songs from both their most recent album and a brand new EP, the Kalamazoo-rockers had no reservations about delivering an audacious rock ’n’ roll set amid a land of folk and Americana, and much to the audience’s delight.
The already-wild crowd exploded into even more of a frenzy when Vox Vidorra’s Molly Bouwsma Schultz made a guest appearance for “Make it Sweeter.”
The two West Michigan indie icons, both known for their entertaining on-stage moxie, danced wildly as they belted out the grooving, upbeat number.
Nearing the end of the set, the band delved into an animated cover of Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend” and stirred up the crowd for an exuberant encore, ending Wheatland’s second night in a dazzling, explosive fashion.
“It’s just a great atmosphere. You cannot beat the quality of the music, and it’s just everywhere,”
said Kevin O’Hara of Suttons Bay. “You can’t take it all in. You try, but you can’t.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Wheatland 2016
Photos by Anna Sink
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
