In the wake of the National Folk Festival, the Lansing community is ready to unveil the Great Lakes Folk Festival.
For the past three years, the National Folk Festival called East Lansing home, but the festival has since moved on to Bangor, Maine.
But during its tenure, it built the foundation for the community to launch its own folk festival, hence the Great Lakes festival.
“Last year when the National Folk Festival was leaving people kept asking what was going to be next,” festival communications director Lora Helou said. “Well, we gathered sponsors and volunteers and put together this free three day event.”
The festival was organized by the MSU Museum’s Michigan Traditional Arts Program - a partnership program with the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, or MCACA. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday in downtown East Lansing and running through Sunday, the festival will feature more than 16 genres of music, 36 ethnic-food vendors, traditional games and storytelling.
Four stages - Abbott Stage, Dance Pavilion, City Hall Stage and Valley Court Stage - will be set up to showcase what Festival Director Marsha MacDowell, also the coordinator of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the MSU Museum, said are “the best traditional performances available.
“We’re going to the roots with this festival because we have musicians with original sounds,” MacDowell said.
This year’s lineup includes groups like the Howard Armstrong Trio (blues/jazz swing fiddle) and the Campbell Brothers (sacred steel guitar/gospel) and individual acts like Irish fiddle player Liz Carol, Irish singer Karan Casey, West African performer Mamadou Diabate, traditional Arabic artist Nadim Dlaikan and Mississippi blues artist David “Honeyboy” Edwards.
“I think people respond to the type of music we present because it’s authentic with high quality,” MacDowell said. “This type of music has meaning to the community.”
Lansing resident Sally Potter, former member of the folk group Second Opinion, said the local community provides strong support for folk music.
“One thing people should know is that the folk community here is strong and alive,” Potter said.
“We’re all about live performances and acoustic sounds.
“Basically, the musicians around here have a good relationship because this genre of music is important to us, and because the city is small enough that all of the artists can support and help each other.”
Elderly Instruments, 1100 N. Washington Ave. in Lansing, is where several of the local folk artists get their start.
“They come here because we specialize in alternative music that is hard to find in other places,” Elderly Instruments owner Stan Werbin said. “There’s a need for this type of place because the local acoustic scene started in 1972 and became very popular.”
Joe Bakaitis, bassist for local folk-band Hot-Toe-Mitty, said his interest in folk music developed at Elderly Instruments, where he works.
“Before I moved to the Lansing area I played in rock bands,” Bakaitis said. “But once I started working here at Elderly, I got into the folk scene. Basically, this place is a hub for folk and acoustic people to socialize.”
Besides Elderly Instruments, folk musicians can find opportunities to perform at the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner Road. and with the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse concert series, which is held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St.
Folk music doesn’t get a lot of air play in the area, but WKAR (90.5-FM) airs “Folk Tradition” at 6 p.m. Sundays. Bob Blackman hosts the program and said the genre has continued to gain popularity since the 1960s.
“People are drawn to folk music here because they’re tired of commercially packaged music,” Blackman said.
“This is a community where folk music is actively present and appreciated.
“We have a very strong folk-music scene here.”
Blackman statements are validated by simply looking at the attendance numbers from the National Folk Festival.
The event drew more than 120,000 people in 2000 and 2001.
MacDowell doesn’t expect the same figures for the Great Lakes Festival, but she does anticipate more than 100,000.
Meridian Township resident Robert Williams attended the National Folk Festival and plans to check out the Great Lakes Festival this year.
“I really enjoyed the different type of music and food they had last year,” Williams said. “But I’ve heard they’re changing a few things so it will be interesting to see what they’ve come up with.”
With the festival centered in downtown East Lansing concerns about traffic, parking and transportation were addressed to make things accessible to those attending.
Festival organizer Bill Mantt said Capital Area Transportation Authority will provide free parking and shuttle service. Participants can park in MSU Lot 91, located at the corner of Hagadorn and Service Road, and take a shuttle.
“It’s important to have accessible transportation because we’re expecting over 100,000 people to come,” he said.
Mantt said East Lansing residents should anticipate Abbott Road, Albert Avenue, Evergreen Avenue and Valley Court to be temporarily closed for the festival.
Potter said the festival should be great for everyone attending, though she said she’d like to see the festivalgoers get more involved.
“Although I think this festival is wonderful and ties into our folk community, I also think there should be an outlet for regular people to perform,” Potter said. “They could set up a tent where people showcase their talent.
“The next year’s challenge will be organizing something to get people out of their seats and get them playing or singing the music. That’s what the festival and acoustic music is all about, being a part of the community.”
