Tapping into the County’s music
By Ross Boissoneau
Sun contributor
Three diverse musical acts are among those on the horizon across the county in the coming weeks: upbeat reggae and country from the Sun Dogs, Cajun and zydeco from K Jones and the Benzie Playboys, and bracing brass traversing the musical spectrum, courtesy Bourbon & Brass Company.
What makes the Sun Dogs so, well, sunny? Look up in the sky on a clear day and you’ll see: the band relies on that giant glowing orb in the sky to power its equipment. It travels with its own solar generator to power its amplifiers and all its electrical equipment.
For singer and guitarist Brett Vredevoogd, it’s an extension of his day job. A Realtor in the greater Grand Rapids area, he specializes in energy efficient homes, including utilizing solar power. He figured, why not include that in his approach to music?
Through the eco-friendly approach, the band’s goal is “to promote a healthier, more efficient lifestyle with every note played.” So, what about those notes, you ask? Turns out the band’s music is just as sunny. The acoustic duo delivers soulful renditions of easy-to-listen-to classics by the likes of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and all the bluegrass greats. Vredevoogd says things really get going when his daughter picks up her acoustic bass and joins in.
The Sun Dogs play at Music on the Mountain at The Homestead Aug. 7. For ticket information, go to TicketTailor.com/events/MusicOnTheMountain.
Kirk Jones plays music from down home as well. Not his Benzie County home, where he and his wife Sharon have built St. Ambrose Meadery and Sleeping Bear Farms into a honey of a business enterprise. No, this goes back to his childhood in Louisiana, where Cajun and zydeco bands play the heady mix of blues, R&B, rock and folk music that are the base of Cajun and zydeco. Boasting both French and African origin, the music is heavy on rhythm, and typically features instruments such as button accordion, fiddle and washboard.
In the hands of Jones, Mark Stoltz on washboard (“frottoir” in French) and their bandmates on electric guitar, bass and drums, the music almost demands people get up and dance. In fact, the group came about when a friend of Jones’s requested he supply music for a Cajun dance party. “(He) wanted to call it a fais do-do,” says Jones, a dance expression in Cajun French. He enlisted the help of a friend who played guitar, he playing accordion and Stoltz, who’d grown up near Jones in Louisiana – but had never met till they both moved to Benzie County – played triangle.
That was the genesis of the band, which has been going strong for a quarter century, with Stoltz moving over to washboard. The group has since made recordings, studied the music with Cajun and Creole masters at “Cajun summer camp,” and played across the state and beyond. As Jones puts it, the band took on a life of its own.
K Jones and the Benzie Playboys perform Aug. 8 as part of Northport’s Friday Music in the Park series at Marina Park.
From the heart of bourbon country—Louisville, Kentucky—comes the Bourbon & Brass Company. The group will be filling the air with at the Old Art Building with classic brass music. Which means almost anything, so long as it is played by a brass quintet. Unless they break out into a trio, or quartet, or – you get the idea.
The group is featured July 31 as part of the Music in the Air series at the Old Art Building in Leland. Trombonist Carter Woolsley says any music is fair game, they just arrange it to suit their instrumentation: two trumpets, trombone, bass trombone and horn.
So, yes to traditional brass music. Also, yes to movie music. Classical? Sure. Jazz, rock, blues, pop? The correct answer is E, all the above. “It’s a variety. We don’t dabble in any one too much,” he says.
Woolsley says he’s been visiting the region for several years, and in 2022 visited Mackinac Island for the first time. He convinced his bandmates to come along for the musical ride. Last year the group built a mini-tour with stops around the region and the final show on Mackinac Island.
“This year we hit other spots, with six shows. It’s slightly shorter. That’s better for the lips,” he says with a laugh. He hopes to make the trek to northern Michigan an annual tradition for the band.
The shows at The Homestead, Northport and Leland all begin at 7 p.m.
