Dunegrass Festival builds bridge to Woodstock ‘69

By Corin Blust
Sun contributor
Just about everyone in town welcomes the flood of partygoers and spirited souls flowing through the streets of Empire during the first weekend in August, and no one can argue with the premium, diverse musical talent that Grassroots Productions has gathered from across the country for this year’s (sixteenth!) Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival, to be held Thursday, July 31 until Sunday, August 3.

“I’m thrilled that we have a big roster of women this year — Rachel Davis, Donna the Buffalo, Daisy May, Breathe Owl Breathe, the list goes on,” said Stephen Volas, owner of Grassroots Productions and executive producer of Dunegrass. “Last year was more male-dominated, but this year there is a strong female presence,” something that many festivals often lack.
Other big acts this year include Buckethead, Peter Rowan, Bela Fleck and the ageless folk artists Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie (Read an exclusive interview with Arlo Guthrie on our website only at www.glenarborsun.com.)
As far as excellent local talent goes, the opening day on Thursday will feature a performance by Empire’s own ABNC. Amelia, Brandon, Nick and Chris will play “space punk,” free-form psychedelic punk music, homegrown at the Blue Heron school, gallery and studio on Front Street. ABNC will perform in the Mike Vanderberg Dance Tent, a new addition to the festival.
Empire local Vanderberg founded the Dunegrass Festival in 1993 and held the first celebration in the field across M-72 from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters, where the New Neighborhood now sits. His family epitomized the free spirit for which the festival is known. Vanderberg passed away a year ago, just days after the 2007 Dunegrass Festival.
“We will have a special Mike Vanderberg Dance Tent this year, which will expand the festival to five stages,” said Volas. “It’s going to be about 60 feet by 200 feet, with a stage at the north and south end. We are going to have lots of headlining acts in there in the name of Mike.”
The tent is a small way that Volas and other festival organizers, including the Vanderberg family, plan to pay tribute to the festival’s father and founder. He will be sorely missed this year.
In the August 23, 2007 edition of the Glen Arbor Sun, F. Josephine Arrowood wrote about Mike Vanderberg: “Doug Chapman of Cedar is one of the core Dunegrass volunteers who worked with Mike since the festival’s second year; along the way, the two kindred spirits became ‘dear friends. He had a thousand friends and his family became my family.’ He describes Mike as ‘a freethinking engineer of the creative force. And yes, he was an anarchist against the dark force that tried to stop the flow.’ Each year, it seemed that the festival would founder under the weight of disapproval from village administrators and irate neighbors of the original site on M-72, across from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters. Yet somehow, each year, Mike and Carol magically managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat, and Dunegrass played on again.”

[caption: Looking northeast, this spectacular evening aerial shot of Empire shows the Dunegrass Festival north of town. The Glen Lakes are to the north, and South Bar Lake and Lake Michigan fill the frame. Empire’s lovely beach park is in the lower right of the photo.]
Arrowood concluded: “Perhaps Mike’s greatest gift was his ability to provoke others into new thoughts and untested actions, then calmly ride the waves of strong opinion and stormy opposition to a place where people could come together, to make a stronger community that is friendly, family-oriented and fun. Like the famous anchor on the beach, he remains one of Empire’s most stalwart symbols.”
“There will certainly be something about Mike in the program, and I’m sure there will be lots of thoughts about Mike in everyone’s heads,” promised Volas. “Maybe even a moment of silence.”
But after we take a moment to commemorate Mike Vanderberg’s hand in starting this beautiful festival, Mike would have wanted us to enjoy great music and have a good time. Friday features an awesome lineup, including moe., a jam band in the tradition of Phish, which has performed at major festivals across the country since 1990. Best experienced live, moe.’s improvisational rock has garnered critical acclaim and attracted a loyal group of followers.
“I’m really curious to see Buckethead,” said Volas. Considered one of the best guitar players of all time, Buckethead performs an incredibly diverse range of avant-garde guitar styles while wearing his signature, quirky wardrobe that features a KFC bucket as a hat.
Perhaps one of the most well known female performers in the Friday lineup is Donna the Buffalo, a zydeco and reggae infused bluegrass band from New York. Donna the Buffalo manages to combine great dancing music with socially and politically aware lyrics that makes for a powerful combination.
Ann Arbor’s My Dear Disco will also rock out on Friday. These incredibly talented young musicians are known for their unique combination of funky rock infused trance and electro beats punctuated by singer Michelle Chamuel’s dreamily smooth voice. Don’t miss them if you love to dance.
On Saturday the incredible music will continue, featuring a lineup so stellar that many of us will question whether we want to leave the festival long enough to go for a dip in Lake Michigan. “It’s all really solid,” said Volas. “All around we are doing really well.”
Highlights on Saturday include Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Air Force, the progressive bluegrass of Cornmeal, a performance from blues singer Larry McCray and the incredible U.K. reggae band Steel Pulse.
The critically acclaimed Richie Havens, who performs on Sunday, has been a popular and renowned figure in the folk scene for decades. He played at Woodstock in 1969 and has never looked back. Another key performer at Woodstock 1969 who will grace this year’s Dunegrass Festival is the folk icon Arlo Guthrie, who will play solo on stage for the first time in decades, something he has not done since the 1960s. The appearances of Havens and Guthrie should be shining moments at this year’s festival.
And finally, a Bluegrass All Star Jam will end the festival with a bang on Sunday night. Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, Chris Thile and Vince Herman will all perform on stage together for a mind-blowing appearance. What a way to end such an incredible weekend of great music!
“The whole thing is maintaining and evolving into even more of a limelight. It’s really a beautiful thing,” said Volas.
(Editor’s note: Glen Arbor Sun founding editor Jacob Wheeler met his fiancé, Beulah native Sarah Eichberger, at the 2000 Dunegrass Festival, and as such, they’d like to thank Mike Vanderberg for providing the setting. The couple will wed this fall near Glen Arbor. Read all of our tribute to Mike in the archives at www.glenarborsun.com/archives/2007/08/mike_vanderberg.html)
The Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival will be held from July 31st through August 3rd on the field off of LaCore Street, and next to the St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Empire. More information is available at www.dunegrassfestival.net. Tickets can be purchased on the website or at the gate during the festival. Prices range from $48.50 for a one-day pass to $138.50 for a full-weekend pass with on-site camping. Parking is also available, as are Eco-tix, carbon-offset tickets to help the environment, for an additional $5. See you there!