The first wave of headliner announcements boasts some traditional mainstays as well as emerging roots artists. Tickets for the September festival go on sale to members on April 2.
Wheatland Debut: Nora Jane Struthers will play the September festival. (Photo/SpitzerJason86)
Focusing once again on traditional roots music – as well as emerging acts with deep ties to tradition – the 2018 edition of the Wheatland Music Festival will boast headlining sets by Nora Jane Struthers, Town Mountain, John McCutcheon, Joe Hall & The Louisiana Cane Cutters, Front Country and Detroit’s own Thornetta Davis.
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Detroit Blues Queen: Thornetta Davis will perform at Wheatland 2018. (Photo/Taylor Mansen)
The headliner announcements represent the first wave of bookings for Wheatleand, with more artists expected to be revealed in the near future.
The 45th annual Wheatland – the granddaddy of Michigan music festivals – will unfurl outside Remus Sept. 7-9, with tickets ($65-$95) going on sale to Wheatland Music Organization members on April 2. Tickets ($75-$105) go on sale to the general public on May 1. Get details online here.
• Americana and country singer Nora Jane Struthers has earned widespread critical acclaim since release of her self-titled 2010 album, giving old-time music a new sheen. In 2017, she released “Champion,” which No Depression magazine listed among the best albums of the year.
The 45th Festival: Wheatland Music Festival unfurls outside Remus in September. (Photo/Anna Sink)
• Described as a “hard-driving Carolina string band,” Town Mountain also boasts a “honky-tonk edge” and “plenty of swagger,” something that surfaces on the group’s five recordings, which are steeped with traditional bluegrass flavors.
• Folk singer John McCutcheon, meanwhile, has released more than three dozen albums since 1975, often focusing on socially and politically conscious material. The multi-instrumentalist is also known as a storyteller.
• California’s Front Country, meanwhile, has drawn attention for its acoustic-based roots pop and progressive bluegrass music. The San Francisco group is touring behind its latest album, “Other Love Songs,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. The band is actually making a Michigan tour stop this week, playing Otus Supply in Ferndale on Friday night (March 30).
At Wheatland and Otus Supply: Front Country is making Michigan stops.
• Award-winning Detroit blues singer Thornetta Davis has worked with the likes of Bob Seger and Kid Rock while cultivating an audience for her own R&B and blues music. Her latest album, 2016’s “Honest Woman,” earned her multiple Detroit Music Awards in 2017 (including “outstanding blues album”) and was nominated for a national Blues Music Award.
• Spotlighting the Zydeco music side of things, Joe Hall & The Louisiana Cane Cutters “continue the Louisiana French traditional music of Creole and Lala house dance music” and happen to feature Michigan’s own Mark Stoltz (K. Jones & The Benzie Playboys).
Irish traditional band Altan, country singer Charley Crockett, singer-songwriter Darrell Scott and East Los Angeles Chicano band Las Cafeteras will also be on the bill for Wheatland 2018. Get more info online at wheatlandmusic.org.
Check out Local Spins coverage of Wheatland 2017 here: Wheatland Music Festival 2017 – Rocking sets, an electric, unforgettable atmosphere and ‘a lot of love’
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