TRAVERSE CITY — When Megan Lavell, executive director of the Thornapple Arts Council of Barry County, started assembling Hastings’ first-ever Fair Ground Festival with the help of The Accidentals’ manager, Amber Buist, pieces fell into place quickly.
“When things come together that easily, I think it means there is a hunger and a need for that in the community,” she said. “I think we had the right people in the right place at the right time, and now we’re hosting a kick-ass music festival in little ol’ Hastings.”
That one-day festival on Aug. 27 at Barry Expo Center at Barry County Fairgrounds unfurls an all-star cast of female-driven acts, led by Traverse City alt-folk heroes The Accidentals.
The lineup also will include JOSEPH, a folk trio of sisters from Portland, Ore., Grand Rapids folk-rockers The Crane Wives, award-winning national blues artist Ruthie Foster, rock’s Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps and Nashville-based singer-songwriter and activist Kyshona.
“The goals of the festival are to create Fair Ground for all musicians, supporting women in the music industry, support and stimulate the Hastings and Barry County economy, and support rural placemaking in our community,” Lavell said.
“The mission behind these artists is to support and uplift women in music. This year’s performers are all female-led groups. We want to provide Fair Ground for diverse musicians and audiences. We are a female-led organization in Barry County supporting a female-led festival. We want to uplift the idea of diversity and be women who support other women.”
General admission tickets are $50 adults, $25 4-14, are available online at mynorthtickets.com/events/the-fair-ground-festival-8-27-2023. There also are $125 and $250 VIP options. Parking is $5.
“I’m so stoked about this one,” Buist said of the first-ever festival that boasts “a lineup not seen anywhere else.”
“Our goal is to create a really successful event that both performers and festival lovers wants to return to for years,” Lavell added. “We hope this festival will help put Barry County/Hastings on the map in a good way.”
Lineup reveals for two other Michigan music festivals came on the heels of the Fair Ground Festival
Holler Fest, taking place Aug. 25-27 at Frog Holler Farm in Brooklyn in Jackson County, will spotlight Grand Rapids rock/blues duo Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, Detroit soul/R&B band Laura Rain & The Caesars, northern Michigan folk faves Breathe Owl Breathe, Kalamazoo indie-rock band The Go Rounds and Ohio-based Americana group Shannon Clark & The Sugar, with more than 80 other acts on the jam-packed schedule.
The festival, also known for its locally sourced food, workshops and children’s activities, will also feature sets by Desmond Jones, Wilson Thicket, Dick Siegel, Charlie Millard, Billy King, Yellow Room Gang, Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful, Donya Kiana, Jive Colossus, Peter Madcat Ruth and Buffalo. View the complete lineup at hollerfest.com.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Irish Music Festival returns to Heritage Landing in Muskegon Sept. 14-17 with Seamus Kennedy, SLIDE, Socks in the Frying Pan, Doolin’, Eileen Ivers, Sharon Shannon, Paddy Keenan, One for the Foxes, The Tossers, MALINDA (Malinda Kathleen Reese), The Moxie Strings, Tallymoore, Colm & Laura Keegan, Blackthorn, Ian Gould, Kennedy’s Kitchen, Brother Crowe, Conklin Ceili Band, Black Murray, Enda Reilly, CrossBow, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, The Barley Saints, Uneven Ground, Chelsea House Orchestra and Toby Bresnahan, as well as various dance troupes. Get details at michiganirish.org.
