Among the music festivals of note taking place in Michigan this summer are Blissfest, the Flint Folk Music Festival, the Great Lakes Irish Music Festival, the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, Bluegrass in the Park, Riverfolk, and the Great Lakes Folk Festival.  Capsulized information about them appears below.

Blissfest

July 11-13, 2008

Festival Farm

3695 Division Road

Harbor Springs, MI

www.blissfest.org/festival 

Now in its 28th year, Blissfest features an eclectic array of acoustic-based music – including traditional and contemporary folk, bluegrass, blues, Cajun, Celtic, folk, jazz, Latin and world music, as well as dance.  The Dukhs, The Horse Flies, Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Rukanas, Ember Swift and Natalia Zukerman are among the artists slated to perform. Instrumental workshops, songwriter sessions, drum circles, open mics, old-time jams, a juried arts and crafts show, organized children’s activities and a variety of food concessions will add to the weekend of musical bliss.

Flint Folk Music Festival

July 19, 2008 – Noon-9:30 p.m.

Kearsley Park Pavillion

Flint, MI

www.flintfolkmusic.org/fest08

Presented by the Flint Folk Music Society, this one-day festival, now in its 9th year, will feature Dave Barrett, Jim Bizer, Annie Capps, Kitty Donahoe, Four Shillings Short, Mustard’s Retreat and Matt Watroba.  Held in conjunction with a free art fair in the park, the Flint Folk Music Festival opens with a children’s set from noon-12:30 p.m. and also will include several hour-long music workshops.

Great Lakes Irish Music Festival

July 19, 2008

Fifth Third Ballpark

Comstock Park, MI

www.greatlakesirishmusicfestival.com

Irish-American singer Cathie Ryan, button accordionist David Munnelly and his band, Dublin-bred duo Stephen’s Green, traditional Irish musicians and sean-nos singers Fenian’s Players, and local Celtic rock band Craic Wisely are slated to perform during this one-day festival, along with comic George Casey and a local Irish dance troupe. 

Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival

July 18-20, 2008

Tourist Park

Marquette, MI

www.hiawathamusic.org

Presented by the nonprofit Hiawatha Music Co-op and now in its 30th year, this annual event in the Upper Peninsula features performances in an array of traditional music styles that include bluegrass, old-time, Cajun, Zydeco, acoustic blues and folk – including singer-songwriters – and dance.  Among this year’s Mainstage acts are Guy Davis, The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Duhks, Connie Kaldor, Joel Mabus and a number of local and region performers.  Also scheduled are a Friday night dance, workshops, open mics, and special organized activities and performances for children and teens. 

Bluegrass in the Park

August 1-3, 2008

Briley Township Park

Atlanta, MI

www.bluegrassinthepark.com

Billed as a festival for musicians, this free weekend event features individual competitions in banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin; a band scramble; open jam sessions; featured evening performers; and parking lot pickin’ all weekend.

Riverfolk Music & Arts Festival

August 2, 2008

Carr Park

Manchester, MI

www.riverfolkfestival.org

“Chamber folk” singer-songwriter Vienna Teng and Celtic band MacTalla Mor are the featured performers during this one day festival that also includes an old-time fiddle contest and special activities and entertainment for kids.  It will be preceded by a Friday night “Party in the Park” featuring Breaux Bridge, Louisiana’s Corey Ledet & His Zydeco Band and the Cuban rhythms of Tumba Bravo.

Great Lakes Folk Festival

August 8-10, 2008

Downtown East Lansing, MI

www.greatlakesfolkfestival.net

Produced by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the Michigan State University Museum, this free festival of music, dance and culture from across America and around the world is designed to help encourage cross-cultural understanding of our diverse society.  Nearly 100 musicians and dancers will perform in various groupings on five performance stages over the course of the weekend.  Among the performing artists are Cephas and Wiggins (Piedmont blues), Mamadou Diabate (Malian kora), Wayne Henderson (finger-style guitarist from Virginia), Reveillons (Quebecois), Sones de Mexico, April Verch (Ottawa Valley fiddler) and Wylie & The Wild West (cowboy/western swing).  There also will be crafts demonstrations, a crafts marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, and a children’s folk activities area.