Round Up time at the Hayloft
Photo courtesy of David Fox
By Mary O’Neill
Sun contributor
“Ignore my fingers. I work on an organic farm and was pruning tomato plants. It turns your fingers black.” Tyler Bradley holds up his hands to show his darkened fingers. “It’s hard to get off, but don’t worry, I washed my hands.”
He’s in front of the crowd at the Hayloft Inn on a recent Thursday evening, getting ready to play a few songs on his guitar. But before Bradley starts to play and right after the black-finger explanation, he asks, “What time is it?”
“It’s Round Up time!” the crowd responds, enthusiastically and in pretty good non-rehearsed unison.
Most Thursday nights for the past decade, the Round Up Open Mic has been a welcoming forum for musicians of every age and skill level to showcase their talents starting at 8 p.m. at the Hayloft Inn, located on M-72, five miles west of Traverse City.
“Over the years, we’ve hosted more than 500 shows, thousands of performances and people from everywhere, like China, Africa, Japan, Germany, Australia,” said Bill Dungjen, founder and host of the Round Up Open Mic. “It’s been a blast.”
The Round Up is part Hee-Haw, part Prairie Home Companion and part Roy Rogers. Bluegrass house band Sour Mash opens and closes each show, and members often join other musicians on stage to provide back up. There’s the Longest Drive Contest where the audience member from the furthest distance wins a “fabulous prize.” A crowd favorite is Dungjen’s reading of the Dispatch Blotter from the Leelanau Enterprise.
The Round Up’s even got its own loosely formed “theatre company,” a revolving group of local performers known as the Round Up Repertory. And, finally, there’s the Pile On, where musicians are invited to join Sour Mash on stage at the end of each night.
But mostly, it’s the place for budding musicians like Tyler Bradley to get in front of a crowd, and where better-known local musicians like Blake Elliot, Billy Strings and the True Falsettos occasionally pop in to perform.
“We get kids from Interlochen and musicians traveling through town who are here to perform at other venues,” said Dungjen. “A few weeks ago, we had someone who’d been on ‘The Voice’.”
You never know what you’re going to get at the Round Up, and that constitutes a great deal its charm. Hayloft Inn owner Marion Peplinski rarely misses working behind the bar on Thursday nights for that very reason.
“I won’t let anyone else bartend on Thursdays because I enjoy working them so much,” Peplinski said. “Every week is different. That’s what makes it fun and interesting.”
Peplinski can take credit for some of that. Her Hayloft is the perfect venue for the Round Up. Right across from Grumpy’s Mobil on M-72 heading into Traverse, the Hayloft is what corporate bar/restaurants like Friday’s try to fashion themselves after. Ancient farm tools and household implements, old beer signs and movie posters hang from the walls and ceiling. Mounted moose and deer heads watch over patrons. Framed photos and old-timey prints crowd the walls. Twinkle lights draped between the heavy barn-style beams add to the atmosphere. Pickle barrels serve as legs for a large table. Every Thursday night the Hayloft runs a special, hamburger and fries only $5.95, grilled by chief cook Dollie and served by Peplinski’s daughter-in-law, the venerable Dawn, who also has rarely missed a Thursday nights over the past 10 years.
“I really like all the regulars,” she said. “But, then I also love the surprises.”
Dungjen as emcee introduces each one of the performers, who are required to sign up on a white board to the right of the “stage.” He assembles the portable stage on the hardwood dance floor every Thursday. A half-circle of red velvet curtains serves as the backdrop for the musicians. A standup bass and guitars, banjos and mandolins in stands dot the stage. An old upside-down galvanized washtub corners the left side of the stage. On top of it sits the “Fabulous prize box,” a corrugated cardboard box (on which either a child or a mildly intoxicated adult scripted “Fabulous prize box”). A music stand holds a well-worn homemade applause sign, created using Magic Markers and also on a piece of corrugated cardboard.
Performers gather around a single condenser microphone, a style of microphone designed to best capture the sounds of more than one performer and most often used in studio recording settings. In fact, Dungjen records each evening’s performances for broadcast on WNMC 90.7 FM, Northwestern Michigan College’s radio station.
“We edit the best nights down to a one-hour format and that’s what gets aired,” said Dungjen, who with the help of volunteers uses a computer software program to do it. “Anyone can do it. I’m always looking for volunteers.”
The Round Up also takes to the road for specially produced one-hour shows that are recorded and aired on Interlochen Public Radio, 91.5 FM. In the Glen Lake area, Cherry Republic, Old Settlers and Laker Shakes have been venues for the show. The Round Up road shows include Sour Mash, the Longest Drive Contest and the Round Up Repertory, and features the best of local talent as well as regional and national touring acts. Guests have included the Tin Cup Rattlers, The Accidentals, Louan Lechler and Billy Strings and Don Julin.
So, if you’re looking for an authentic local musical experience, be sure to check out the Round Up, every Thursday night at the Hayloft Inn starting at 8 p.m., where no matter what time the clock says, “It’s Round Up time!”
To find out more, visit RoundUpontheRadio.com or like them on Facebook.
