Take it from veteran performers and first-timers: There’s nothing quite like the Wheatland Music Festival in Remus when it comes to passing on roots and folk traditions. And this year’s lineup ranges from stars such as Bela Fleck to emerging Grand Rapids bands Blue Molly and Bennett.
40-year Tradition: Wheatland brings roots musicians together again for a celebration of American traditional arts/folk.
Veteran West Michigan bassist Mark Schrock hasn’t missed Wheatland in 32 years, and thrills to “see the next generation carrying on the roots tradition.”
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Michigan native Dominic John Davis, who plays in Jack White’s band and Steppin’ In it, calls Wheatland “the granddaddy of all of the Michigan traditional festivals.”
And for up-and-coming Grand Rapids singer Molly Bouwsma-Schultz, who fronts blues-soul’s Blue Molly and who plays Wheatland with her band for the first time this weekend after years of attending the event, it’s “a huge milestone” and “a rite of passage.”
Dominic John Davis
Welcome to the 40th Wheatland Music Festival, a landmark Michigan folk festival that commences Friday on a 160-acre slice of meadows, woods and hay fields near Remus in Mecosta County, with thousands of returning devotees and a healthy gaggle of newcomers anxious to embrace the top-notch musicianship and late-night jams hosted by the Wheatland Music Organization.
Although big stars of American roots music such as Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, La Bouttine Souriante, The Boxcars, The Duhks, The Revelers and Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys are in this year’s lineup, the long-running weekend-long festival is as much about spotlighting regional artists, teaching musicians and songwriters through its workshops, and generally, inspiring families and other participants to embrace the “traditional arts.”
The Duhks
Wheatland Music Festival
Friday-Sunday
$80 by phone (through 4 p.m. Wednesday): (989) 967-8879 or (989) 967-8561
$100 at gate on Friday ($10 vehicle parking permit)
$25 Sunday-only tickets at the gate
Wheatland Township, Mecosta County (Remus)
Details online at the Wheatland website.
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“They’ve got it figured out,” says Davis, who’ll travel from his home in Nashville to perform with Michigan’s Steppin’ In It at 9:45 p.m. Friday on the Centennial Stage. “There’s always an amazing lineup and turnout, and they do so much outreach and year-round activities in the community. … Wheatland is a special one for all of us. It’s where I first saw touring acts playing on a high level, but also was our first stage to show what we were doing with a few years of touring under our belts.”
Mark Schrock
Davis’ wife, singer-songwriter Rachael Davis, who hosts a songwriters’ workshop at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, hasn’t missed a Wheatland weekend since she started attending the festival many years ago – something in which many seasoned attendees take great pride.
“It’s hard to put into words what the Wheatland experience has meant to me and family,” says Schrock, who first played the fledgling festival with Cabbage Crik in 1976 and who’ll perform a swing dance show with Jive at Five at 9 p.m. Friday. “I haven’t missed a festival since 1980 and I’ve played every Wheatland Traditional Arts weekend since 1992.”
He’s passed that tradition and “fabric of life” on to his sons – regular attendees Andrew and Jasen – who’ve “grown up with the Michigan roots community” and perform at the Sunday morning gospel hour every year.
Adds Davis: “Wheatland is very much like a family reunion, the kind where everyone in your family plays a fiddle.”
Schrock, who plays with a host of regional artists, including Drew Nelson and Peter “Madcat” Ruth, says Wheatland resonates with a new generation of musicians embracing rootsy, acoustic music that’s influenced a host of popular genres. “Roots and traditional music strikes a chord because it’s real music, made and played by hand,” he offers.
“Led Zeppelin toted around mandolins and The Kinks had their fair share of jug-band tunes,” says Davis. “People just keep digging back and finding out where their favorite music comes from.”
Molly Bouwsma-Schultz
Bouwsma-Schultz says Wheatland was the first real music festival she ever attended as a teen. “It’s always been a dream of mine to perform at Wheatland. I’ve been singing folk tunes around the Blue Water Ramblers tent and during the gospel hour on Sundays for a few years now, but this is thrilling,” the singer says of Blue Molly’s 11:15 p.m. Friday set on the Centennial Stage. “The importance of tradition and community that are reflected in the festival year after year makes Wheatland a one-of-a-kind experience.”
The honor of being asked to play the festival isn’t even lost on first-timers such as emerging Grand Rapids folk trio Bennett, which performs on the Centennial Stage at 10:40 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re absolutely floored,” says band violinist Nick Rolls. “Just knowing the incredible artists who have played and will be playing this year is extremely humbling. It’s going to be an incredible learning experience for us being surrounded by such talent.”
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
And that, in a nutshell, may be the overarching goal of Wheatland: Passing on what’s become an inspiring roots music tradition.
“Steppin’ In it is a big product of what Wheatland does for the community,” says Davis. “We learned to play a pile of traditional instruments going there year after year.”
Says Bouwsma-Schultz: “Performing at Wheatland is a great opportunity for Blue Molly and any musician or group that plays there because it gives you an opportunity to get to know other artists and listeners in a natural way. … It’s exciting to be performing on a stage where other artists who have had such a great deal of influence on you have also performed.”
For the full Wheatland schedule, click here.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
