Soundtrack to the Film Festival Musical acts add a second ?festival? to this week?s events

July 24, 2011

Soundtrack to the Film Festival Musical acts add a second ‘festival’ to this week’s events
By Robert Downes
One of the summer’s largest music festivals takes place this week in
Traverse City, providing a supporting role for the glitz & glamour of the
Film Festival.
That’s because approximately 200 artists making up 78 acts will perform
during festival week at Clinch Park, the Open Space, Lay Park, the film
venues and at festival events and parties.
“It’s really like a Traverse City Music Festival when you think about it,”
says Mike Sullivan, guitarist/vocalist with The Wild Sullys and Song of
the Lakes, who serves as entertainment manager for the Film Fest. “We
musicians provide support for the films, but I like to think of it as a
symbiotic relationship because we support each other.”

CLINCH PARK CONCERTS
Sullivan says a major new event this year will be at the former Clinch
Park Zoo.
“We’ll have five days of music at the park and it will all be free of
charge to attend,” he says. “We’re really hoping to get the word out
because this is a completely new event.”
The Clinch Park concerts will run from noon to 7 p.m. this Wednesday
through Sunday with 25 acts performing on a stage to be set up by West Bay
(see sidebar list of performers).
Sullivan says the Clinch Park concerts will benefit filmgoers as well as
the musicians who will get a chance to strut their stuff.
“By having the Clinch Park concerts we’ll be able to give the musicians a
chance to show filmgoers what they can do with an hour-long set while
giving the audiences a chance to stretch out between films and catch some
music by the bay.”

FOR THE RECORD
As in the past, the Film Festival is also issuing a CD featuring 20
artists. The TCFF 2011 album will be available at the film venues and the
box office. It will also be offered as digital downloads at
tcff2011.bandcamp.com at a discount, including a limited number of free
downloads.
“During the first year of the festival we had to prime the pump to get
musicians to submit songs for the CD, but this year we received over 60
tracks for consideration and it was a difficult selection process,”
Sullivan says. He adds that songs not included on the CD will be
available for downloads on the musician bio squibs on the Film Festival’s
website.
Filmgoers will find many new faces and younger performers at this year’s
festival, including the bluesy ballads of Samantha Crawford, high school
bandmates Seldomtone, Benzie County singer-songwriter Hannah Rae Beale,
the classics-meet-pop of White Wolf Black Bear, the family harmonies of
Summerson and the alternative rock of Ratone. Old faves such as Song of
the Lakes, New Third Coast, Ron Getz and Miriam Pico will be on the scene
and there will also be an international flavor with Milagros from
Argentina, Henry Sparks from the United Kingdom, and Mr. Thunderclap from
Canada.
Sullivan, assistant entertainment manager Teresa O’Hara and assistant
Kathy Wilson spend months lining up the music talent, reviewing
applications and making tough choices on who gets to play and where.
“I’ll bet we put in a good month of full-time work into arranging the
musical acts but it’s worth it,” Sullivan says. “It’s one of those
exciting things with the intensity of Christmas.”


The Clinch Park Concerts
The site of the former Clinch Park Zoo is rapidly becoming a favorite
place for events in Traverse City, thanks to its pleasant location next to
the city marina and West Bay.
A new venue for the Film Festival, the stage at Clinch Park represents a
virual mini music fest with 25 acts performing throughout the week from
noon to 7 p.m., all free of charge to filmgoers and the general public.
Following is the lineup of who’s playing when:


Wednesday
12:00 Aurorealis
1:00 Emma Cook
2:30 Ruby John
4:00 Hipps N Ricco
5:30 New Third Coast

Thursday
12:00 Katie Holt
1:00 Milagros
2:30 Medicinal Groove
4:00 SweetWater Blues Band
5:30 Bo Bossa

Friday
12:00 Jenny Thomas
1:00 Acoustic Dynamite
2:30 Hannah Rae Beale
4:00 Seldomtone
5:30 Injured List

Saturday
12:00 Samantha Crawford
1:00 Song Of The Lakes
2:30 Cherry Blossom Ramblers
4:00 Summerson
5:30 Ratone

Sunday
12:00 Matt Smith
1:00 lac la belle
2:30 Cabin Fever
4:00 Brett Mitchell
5:30 Wild Sullys


Music at the Parties
You’ll find many of the Film Festival’s premier acts performing at various
parties before, during and after the event. Here’s a rundown of what to
expect:

• Friends Party: Backroom Gang Ragtime, Dances of the Rising Phoenix
• Founders Party: Neptune Quartet
• Opening Party Downtown TC:  Mulebone, Luke Winslow King, K Jones and the
Benzie Playboys
• Filmmakers Party:  Keytronic, Schwarma Quintet
• Closing Party: Good Harbor, Swallowtail, Celtic music Crispin Campbell &
Kate Gordon

Open Space Performances
Numerous acts will rev up the crowd prior to the free films at the Open
Space on Traverse City’s bayfront. The music begins at 7 p.m. and
continues until showtime.
Following is a list of who’s performing. You can learn more about the
performers by going to the Film Festival’s website:

Tuesday, July 26 • Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back - The Tongue Family
Band - Irish tunes; Jimmy Olson - keyboard fusion; Jeff Gibbs - keyboard
composer

Wednesday, July 27 - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Deborah Wyndham - ragtime pianist; Barbara Faith Jordan -
singer-songwriter, folk, pop & jazz; Miriam Pico and Love Fest w/David
Chown - pop & jazz standards

Thursday, July 28 •
Mrs. Doubtfire
Milagros - Argentine soul; Hannah Rae Beale - folk singer-songwriter

Friday, July 29 • The Dark Knight
White Wolf Black Bear - indie/alt folk; Andrew Sturtz - edgy
singer-songwriter; Summerson - family harmonies

Saturday, July 30 • Tangled
Seldomtone - high school rock & blues; Taylor Fernandez - 15-year-old
songstress; Jenny Thomas - folk singer-songwriter; Ratone - rootsy
alt-rock