Dunegrass jammin’

The Dunegrass Festival overcame one obstacle after another yesterday to deliver yet another stellar evening of music. First, the power went out at 3:50 p.m., just as Rachel Davis was finishing her set (she went acoustic for the last song). The crowd chilled patiently for over two hours until the juice began flowing again shortly after 6. Subsequent bands limited their sets to 45 minutes apiece (and remarkably caught up to the schedule by 11 p.m.) But during Greensky Bluegrass’ set, the skies opened and dumped a couple 10-minute torrents of rain on the revelers below. Some headed for their tents, others stuck it out in front of the stage. By the time local favorite Steppin’ In It took the stage, followed by Rootstand’s closing act at midnight, Dunegrass was once again aglow in a happy haze of good vibes.

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Dunegrass got off to a great start last night (Friday, August 6) with a queue of Michigan bands, jamming and crooning the happy crowd. The temperature dropped considerably as dark fell, but K Jones and the Benzie Playboyz and Big Sam’s Funky Nation got us out of our sleeping bags and dancing in the beach sand in front of the stage.

Check out this video of Big Sam’s Funky Nation’s electric show last night:

And we got backstage into the VIP area and had a chance to chat with Big Sam — the dapper dude from the Big Easy. Listen to his thoughts on northern Michigan, Hurricane Katrina’s effect on the New Orleans artists, and David Simon’s new miniseries “Treme”.

Dunegrass focuses primarily on local Michigan talent, and that means the Earthworks Music Collective. Here’s a clip from Jen Sygit’s lovely set last night:

And here’s a sampling of photos from the scene last night: