Michigan Music Blog

THE DEAD • BOB DYLAN AND HIS BAND • THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT • WILLIE NELSON & FAMILY • THE BLACK CROWES • DAMIAN ‘JR. GONG’ MARLEY & NAS • STS9 • G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE • GOV’T MULE • BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE • YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND • THE DISCO BISCUITS • LES CLAYPOOL • COLD WAR KIDS • JOHN BUTLER • CHROMEO • ANI DIFRANCO • MATISYAHU • GUSTER • GIRL TALK • FEMI KUTI & THE POSITIVE FORCE • MSTRKRFT • MARTIN SEXTON • FLOGGING MOLLY • RAILROAD EARTH • THE HOLD STEADY • TOOTS & THE MAYTALS • RALPH STANLEY & THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS • BRETT DENNEN • ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA • GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS • SHPONGLE DJ SET • SON VOLT • JACKIE GREENE • LOTUS • SOULIVE • MAN MAN • PETER ROWAN BLUEGRASS BAND W/ TONY RICE • KING SUNNY ADE & HIS AFRICAN BEATS • KID CUDI • STS9 (LIVE PA SET) • THE GLITCH MOB • DAVY KNOWLES AND BACK DOOR SLAM • EOTO • PRETTY LIGHTS • MOSELEY, LAW, SIPE & DROLL • REBELUTION • QUANNUM ALL STARS FT. LYRICS BORN, THE MIGHTY UNDERDOGS, GIFT OF GAB & LIFESAVAS • TOUBAB KREWE • SAM ROBERTS BAND • HILL COUNTRY REVUE • KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH BAND • LIPP SERVICE + ELLIOT LIPP & MEMBERS OF PNUMA • 2020 SOUNDSYSTEM • BREAK SCIENCE FT. ADAM DEITCH • THE HARD LESSONS • THE LOW ANTHEM • UNDERGROUND ORCHESTRA • FUTURE ROCK • THE MACPODZ • STEPPIN’ IN IT • GIANT PANDA GUERILLA DUB SQUAD • CHRIS PIERCE • RACHEL GOODRICH • THE RAGBIRDS • FOUR FINGER FIVE

Additional artists to be announced …

Finally, we have some kind of solid news concerning Rothbury 2009 – the dates are set, and the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival will take place on July 2 – 5 of 2009! Of course we’ve been expecting it, but there has been talk of the fest possibly being moved a week or two ahead or behind. I’m just thankful we have some kind of official news, straight from www.rothburyfestival.com.

Mark your calendars now, and make your plans today to go to Rothbury 2009, July 2 – 5. I’ll be there for sure, partying it up with 40,000 of my best friends in the whole world!

In case you haven’t heard the status of the Double JJ Resort and the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival, it is official:

The exact 2009 Rothbury Dates aren’t set in stone, but it is expected to take place July 2 – 5. A lineup will be released soon, and tickets will be going on sale shortly, as well – make sure to have your cash ready, as they might just sell o*ut completely this year; especially with Rothbury 2009 rumors including The Dead and Phish. Keep it tuned here, to the Michigan Music Blog, or check out www.infobury.com for all of the latest breaking news about the Rothbury Festival 2009! Between the 2 sites, you’ll have all the information you could ever need!

***Update May 26th 2009***

Check our comments for the latest updates on Dunegrass 2009!

We’ve heard from Ted and here’s the news….

“Hello Michigan Music Blog and lovers of festival music.
I bear good tidings and news of Dunegrass 2009. The spirit and reality of Dunegrass lives throughout the land and in the hearts of many such as the wonderful people above me here, and it is being planned as I type this. A new site has been secured just outside of Empire. We are reviving the original recipe for Dunegrass and the response is wonderful.
Our new site is http://www.dunegrass3.org
Please be patient for complete info to be posted.
Thank you all for the spirit of DG.

Ted

Just so you know, Grass Roots Productions is not and will not be involved in any way.”

*****

Original post 1/8/2009

According to the Leelanau News, there is a strong possibility that the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival might not take place in Empire, Michigan in August of this year – and it might not take place at all. Dunegrass is a little-known festival that has been held in the Northern part of the Lower Peninsula for well over a decade now.

But the Leelanau News reports that Stephen Volas of Grassroots Productions, the company that runs and organizes the Dunegrass Music Festival is nearly a quarter of a million dollars in debt – and at this point it is unclear whether or not the Dunegrass 2009 festival will indeed go down as planned.

We’ve all been waiting on pins and needles, but finally today the lease between AEG Live (the festival promoters) and the bank trustee has been approved by a Grand Rapids judge. For those of you who don’t know, this was the biggest obstacle in the way of Rothbury 2009 happening. Once the Oceana Township Board approves the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival, and once they secure they proper land permits, it will be all good to go. But these last 2 things should be a breeze, and I’m sure we’ll have a lineup and some news before long. Either way, stay tuned to Michigan Music Blog for all of your Rothbury 2009 News!

Well we finally have some news concerning the Double JJ Ranch and The 2009 Rothbury Music Festival, and from what the local press is reporting, the news is very, very promising.

It appears a lease has been signed for the promoters to continue with the Rothbury Festival 2009 at the Double JJ Resort, and there will be an emergency court hearing today. If all goes as planned, the judge should approve the signing and it won’t be long now before we’re all back at the ranch! Some Rothbury 2009 Rumors include Tom Petty, The Dead, Phish, and several more…stay tuned for any more news as soon as we hear it!

Well it doesn’t necessarily have to do with Michigan, but it is huge news in the music world – according to Rolling Stone magazine, sources close to the band Phish say that they will be playing in 2009 at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on the farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Many have been doubtful that Phish would play a music festival as they have been known in the past for hosting their very own multi-day fests, but with the recent announcement of a reunion tour in the works, this rumor may finally come to a reality in June of 2009. We’ll just have to wait and see…

According to event organizers, the 2008 Meadowbrook Music Festival was even more than a success, it was a milestone. In order to improve attendance, ticket prices were kept at an absolute minimum, even though the festival still featured some of the huge national acts on tour in 2008 – and it worked! This year’s festival attracted huge crowds, not only from the state of Michigan but from all across the country.

With a record number of sell-out shows, and near record attendance levels in general, you can bet that festival organizers will be looking to improve next year on what was already a great event.

Well I promised more news concerning the Double JJ Ranch and Resort and the status of the Rothbury Festival 2009, and well we have some already…and unfortunately, it’s not the best news. The judge denied approval of the sale of the resort to a company known as TIA2K, because not enough is known about them. What exactly this means for the 2009 Rothbury Festival dates nobody knows, but I was sure hoping to get closure on this whole thing one way or another. I guess it is still up in the air for now, however, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more.

A judge in the state of Michigan is expected to rule on the sale of the Double JJ Resort sometime today, which was the site of the 2008 Rothbury Music Festival. As you probably already know, the resort went into foreclosure when the owner at the time, Bob Lipsitz failed to pay back the construction loans that he had received. The bank held an auction, and the entire lot was bid on by a single bidder for somewhere in the ballpark of $10 million, quite a steal (with the exception of the golf course, which went to another bidder for $1 million). Anyway, look for more news on the auction and the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival as it comes in.

The auction at the Double JJ Ranch will be held today, at – you guessed it – the Double JJ Ranch in Western Michigan. For those of you who don’t know, The Double JJ played host to the Rothbury Music Festival over July 4 weekend of 2008, but now has been foreclosed upon by the bank and everything is up for grabs – including the multi acre resort itself. Fans of The Rothbury Festival are optimistic about the festival’s return in 2009 – there is a 3-year contract between Madison House and AEG Entertainment (those responsible for putting on the festival) and the Double JJ Ranch – but at this point the future of both the festival and the resort is anybody’s guess.

On the heels of the very successful Rothbury Musical Festival, the Double JJ Ranch has now been taken over by the bank is being auctioned off – piece by piece. Yup – everything is up for sale, the 18 hole golf course, the saloon, the waterpark – even the farm equipment, horses, sled dogs and longhorn bulls. It’s all for sale. And you can view it all online! The complete Double JJ Resort auction listing is available to view at www.maascompanies.com/response.asp?project_id=142 – very interesting stuff, though some of it no doubt is going to be priced quite expensively. The animals that don’t get sold will be donated to local charities and organizations – and that’s a really good thing.

The dates are set for the 35^th Annual Wheatland Music Festival, which will take place starting Friday, September 11, and ending on Sunday, September 13, 2009. As always, it will be held in Remus, Michigan.

If you have ever been to a Wheatland Music Festival before, you already know that you can expect to have one of the best times of your life. This festival attracts people from all over the country for a celebration of bluegrass / folk music / Americana that you can only find at the Wheatland Music Festival. Start making your plans now – this is a festival not to be missed next year!

I’ve managed to get a hold of some promising news concerning the Rothbury Music Festival 2009 in Michigan. While the auction of the Double JJ ranch is still set to take place on October 30, and of course anything can still happen after that, there have been dates leaked for the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival (well sorta).

According to the security team of 2008’s Rothbury Festival (the same security team who does Bonnaroo in Tennessee and a number of other festivals around the country) have announced horseback training for their officers specifically for the Rothbury 2009 Music Festival, which according to their website is set to take place on July 2 through the 5 of 2009. Stay tuned here for more information as it breaks.

The resort is expected to be auctioned off to the highest bidder by  October 30, for repayment of loans that were taken out to build the water park, as well as for other construction expenses (apparently the owner, or former owner now, didn’t give the millions of dollars made from the fest to the people he was suppose to). As of right now, the Double JJ Ranch is shut down, except to those who have private residences there and a select few employees to take care of their animals that remain at the ranch.

Besides the Rothbury Music Festival, The Double JJ Ranch has hosted hundreds, if not thousands of events, gatherings and private parties over the years. Hopefully this whole mess can get settled in time for Rothbury 2009. In any event, stay tuned here for more information to come.

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Unfortunately, I just couldn’t make it this year – but I’m envious of all that did. There’s no doubt they’re all on the grounds right now, celebrating the 35^th annual Wheatland Music Festival. Oh well, I’ll make it this next year, no doubt. But damn do I miss those pancakes-and-sausage-on-a-stick, and the hempzels…ahh now I’m hungry!

Anyway, besides the bands on the stage there are a lot of things going on – arts and crafts, instrument lessons and workshops, and more. Also, you never know when, or even where you’re going to see your favorite Wheatland performer in an impromptu jam-session – so to everybody who is there – have fun, and be safe! See you all when ya get back in town!

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As I mentioned before, there is a little bit offered at the Wheatland Music Festival no matter what your tastes. Here is the complete main stage performer’s schedule:

FRIDAY

6:00-6:40 PM - Pine Leaf Boys

7:00-7:40 PM - Tim Graves and Cherokee

7:55-8:35 PM - David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards

8:55-9:35 PM - Sole Impact

9:55-10:35 PM - The Freight Hoppers

10:55-11:35 PM - Slide (Ireland)

SATURDAY

12:00-12:40 - Tim Graves and Cherokee

12:55-1:35 - Tarbox Ramblers

1:50-2:30 - Pine Leaf Boys

2:50-3:30 - The Chicken Chokers

3:50-4:30 - David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards

4:50-5:30 - Slide (Slide)

6:30-7:15 - Dale Watson

7:35-8:20 - Cheryl Wheeler

8:35-9:20 - Bichini Bia Congo Dance Theater Company

9:40-10:30 - The Refugees

11:00-11:45 - Crooked Still

SUNDAY

10:30-11:30 - Gospel Sing

11:50-12:30 - The Refugees

12:50-1:30 - Dale Watson

1:45-2:25 - Cheryl Wheeler

2:45-3:25 - The Chicken Chokers

3:45-4:25 - Crooked Still

4:45-5:30 - Sole Impact

5:50-6:30 - The Cherryholmes Family

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http://www.wheatlandmusic.org/
For those of you who like to stomp your feet while getting down to some good old fashioned bluegrass music, Wheatland is the place you need to be this weekend. Of course, if you live in Michigan, you probably already know that. The Wheatland Music Festival is now in their 35th year, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Located in Remus, Michigan, The Wheatland Music Festival offers camping in a friendly and lively atmosphere, with a huge stage, a dance hall, restaurants, a kid’s playground and a lot more. There is a little bit here for everybody to enjoy – I hope you all got your tickets!

–ᵯᵯᶀ

I can’t believe local residents in Michigan complain about music festivals that take place near them! They get to enjoy a free show (many times those exceptionally close to these festivals are given free tickets) but if not, they can hear it from there house no problem, and sometimes see it, too. I guess this is the problem for some, but I don’t know – I’d be thrilled to have a music festival next to my house. Well, maybe not if its country music, but anything else would be just fine! Again, I kid – country music has its place…but I guess I would be one of the complainers if that place happened to be next to mine.

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