Farmfest and Hoxeyville

Aug. 5, 2016

Two More for the Musical Road

Got time for a little more music? August offers up two major music festivals here in northern Michigan, so you’d best get out there while you still can. Whether you choose Farmfest’s countryside cool or Hoxeyville’s forest festivities, you’ll find plenty of great performances and fun amenities.

Farmfest

August 11–14

Stacy Jo’s Farm, 1865 Roby Rd., Johannesburg

Chill, earthy, friendly, and actually set on a real 110-year-old homestead farm site, Farmfest has been called both a “magical moo-sical happening” and a “musician’s playground” — nods to both the festival’s farmland origins and to the fact that so many of the performers on the schedule often end up collaborating and jamming with each other.

The fest’s main stage, acoustically and visually striking, is at the bottom of a natural amphitheater and was constructed of recycled wood from the barn that once stood on the property. Other on-site venues include the second stage (home to the fest’s wildly popular open mic show), the dance pavilion, the fire circle, drum kiva, and parking lot, where the legendary Parkin’ Lot Pickin’ jams take place.

The rest of the festival site is quite an experience as well. Vendor booths sit tucked beneath the boughs of pine trees, while the Feedbag Cafe and Pub offers food and drinks in a rustic ambiance, all of it feeling like you’ve both stepped back in time to the ’60s and arrived a lot farther out in the country than Farmfest’s actual location, which is just east of the town of Johannesburg, south of Gaylord.

For the 2016 fest, the lineup features many of the folk-spirited acts for which Farmfest has become known.

Local/regional acts include Grayling guitar and loop pedal performer Adam Hoppe and duo A Brighter Bloom; Traverse City Band The Brothers Crunch; and Gaylord’s hit dance group The Cookies.

Imported performers include those from nearby Grand Rapids (acoustic-Americana act the Barbarossa Brothers and Irish-gypsy-punk act The Waxies); Kalamazoo (world music singer Carolyn Koebel and twang-rock band The Go Rounds); and Detroit (hip-hop group Feral Ground and blues musician John Latini.)

Other highlights on this year’s lineup include bluegrass/fusion singer Mo Zowayed from Bahrain and festival favorite Seth Bernard.

On-site rustic camping is available if you don’t want to miss a minute — or if you simply want to make sure you’re around for the morning yoga sessions and breakfast granola.

Tickets and more information: farm-fest.com

Hoxeyville

August 19–21

Manistee National Forest, Wellston, ¼ mile west of the intersection of M-37 and Hoxeyville Road

Whether you listen from a prime spot directly in front of one of the two stages or from a distance while resting your dancing feet in a public hammock, Hoxeyville is sure to treat your ears with its carefully selected lineup of national touring artists paired with standout Michigan talent.

Hoxeyville’s headliners this year are a quintuple threat: big-time Michigan-founded Americana bluegrass act Greensky Bluegrass (performing two shows); New Jersey roots and jam band Railroad Earth; transcendental Colorado folk outfit Elephant Revival; North Carolina folk duo Mandolin Orange; and Traverse City singer-turned- TV star Joshua Davis.

The secondary stages and support acts are also poised to draw plenty of fans, from the new-Americana sounds of former Traverse City artist recently transplanted to Nashville, guitarist Billy Strings; Cadillac native, now New Orleans guitarist Luke Winslow King; the triple-vocal threat of Sweetwater Warblers, featuring May Erlewine, Lindsay Lou, and Rachael Davis (Lou’s other outfit, The Flatbellys, also will perform); Grand Rapids indie-folk band The Crane Wives; and progressive act Whistle Stop Revue.

If you need a break from the concert scene, you can step out into the wooded regions surrounding the festival grounds to mountain bike, paddle, fish or hike. Kestelwoods campground, party store, and restaurant are nearby for your convenience.

But chances are, near the stages is where you’ll really want to be most of the time.

With attendance limited to 3,000, Hoxeyville sports a close-knit crowd of real jamband fans who make for an enthusiastic and appreciative audience.

On-site camping is the lodging of choice of most Hoxeyville attendees — tents and RVs are welcome — and off-site camping is available at Kestelwoods and Coolwater campgrounds. Several hotels and resorts are also nearby.

Hoxeyville will round out its offerings with vendors offering up an array of Michigan foods, products, and microbrews, and additional diversions like glow-in-the-dark disc golf, jugglers, and a puppet troupe on the kids’ stage. Tickets and more information: hoxeyville.com