The new music fest on a Sidney farm will host performances by a dozen regional acts, including Red Legs, Nicholas James Thomasma, Eric Engblade, Patty PerShayla, Deerfield Run and Stovepipe Stover.
In a land where music festivals are abundant, taking place nearly every weekend around the state from May till mid-fall, Michigan is home to both blossoming and burgeoning festivals alike.
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This weekend, Willowsong Music Festival will join a vast network of independent Michigan music gatherings, with hopes to use its smaller footprint to its advantage.
“My wife and I bought 20 acres almost three years ago specifically with the concept of a music festival in mind,” said Eric Raby, festival organizer and owner of Willowsong Farmstead. “We have both gone to numerous other festivals for years and I’ve played music and run sound for years and it has always been a dream to start our own.”
The inaugural one-day festival will take place Saturday (Sept. 30) at Willowsong Farmstead in Sidney (about 50 miles northeast of Grand Rapids) and will boast performances by Michael Riley, Nicholas James Thomasma, Eric Engblade, Stovepipe Stover, Red Legs, Chain of Lakes, Matt Churchill, Pink Sky, The Sadie Hawkins, Deerfield Run, Patty PerShayla and Adam Geoffry Schmidt. (Tune in to Local Spins on WYCE at 88.1 FM at 11 a.m. Friday when Kyle Rasche of Chain of Lakes will be the special in-studio guest.)
Gates open at 11 a.m., with music beginning at noon. Performances will continue all day until late evening. Attendees are then invited to camp on the festival grounds for the night. Tickets are $40 and children younger than 12 are free. Pre-sale tickets come with a free swag bag of Willowsong merchandise. The festival will proceed rain or shine, according to its website. More info online at willowsongfestival.com.
“There is no event like this in the immediate community,” Raby said. “The closest festival is Wheatland which has grown to such an immense size that many people are intimidated by the crowds and vastness of it all.
CREATING AND CULTIVATING ‘POSITIVE ENERGY’
“This festival is unique in its size. It is our goal to create and cultivate the positive energy and environment that you find at any of the other festivals but on a micro, intimate scale. On a property of this size we can only host so many people and the distance from the farthest campsite to the stage is a fraction of that at other events.”
Raby noted only a few obstacles about getting the festival off the ground, including recruiting artists and vendors willing to take the risk of working with a first-year festival. He is however optimistic about a successful first year and already planning to continue the event as a yearly gathering.
“We absolutely intend on this being the first annual event. This year with one stage, twelve bands, one day of entertainment and one night of camping and next year growing it to two nights of camping and music, then year three to be a full weekend Friday to Sunday (festival).”
Willowsong Farmstead’s mission is “to create and maintain a harmonious space” in hopes to cultivate an environment that strengthens the positive energy of individuals.
“The festival is an extension of that,” Raby said. “We want to bring people together and leave the negativity of much of the outside world at the gate and focus on sustainability and creativity through the mediums of music and art.”
The festival will also feature food from Wyoming-based Dallas Deli as well as creations from a handful of artist vendors including Stovepipe Soaps, Memory Lane Pottery and Splash of Ginger.
Additionally, Est’age, Inc. will lead a Sunday morning yoga class before attendees depart. Get more information online here.
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC