The third festival PunLive had the wonderful opportunity to attend this year was Hoxeyville Music Festival 2011. Located in Wellston, MI, in the middle of Michigan's own Manistee National Forest. Aug 19-21 marked the 9th year for the festival and the first time we had the opportunity to attend. Hoxeyville is a smaller festival that thrives on the smaller attendance number (3-5 thousand) and is home to local bluegrass legends Greensky Bluegrass. The great environment mixed with some awesome music made for a great weekend!
Getting There:
Luckily again this festival is only about a 2 hour drive. I took my good friend and videographer with me. It was his first festival and I figured what better way to introduce him than a nice laid back festival in our own back yard. We left a few hours later than we had wanted but the drive was easy and once we got the festival grounds it was hard to tell if we were pulling into a campsite or a festival. The place really is that small and laid back. What I liked best about arriving was there was literally no wait to get in. Never have a been to a festival where it was drive in, show em your credentials and bada-boom your camping without at least some kind of wait.
The Festival:
Hoxeyville really is a wonderful place. The grounds are so small that you can hear the main stages from almost any camping spot. There are only 3 stages at this festival in 2 locations. What I mean is one of the stages has an exact replica stage right next to it. This allows for artists to break down/set-up while there is a band playing on the other stage. It is an ingeniousness idea and allowed for seamless music all weekend. It allowed the scheduling to be great and almost impossible to miss an act.
There was one other smaller stage under a tent that featured many smaller acts over the weekend as well.
Camping was set up in sections. You could choose to walk in (away from your car) and set up camp, or camp next to your car in what they called "family camping". Each had their benefits. The walk in campers had a lot more shade and were in the wooded areas, while the car campers were out in a field in your normal style larger festival setup with more room to set up. It was nice having a choice as for medical reasons, camping next to my car (power source) is almost a must.
The festival featured a glow disc golf course put on by the Solar Glow Disc Experience. The first festival I saw this at was Electric Forest and by the time they got to Hoxeyville they really vamped up the experience. It was almost like a mini sherwood forest in there. One of their holes featured a giant screen and working Nintendo 64 set up to play a round of mario kart or something before moving on to the next hole. It was really something. Check out their pics on facebook!
What really needs to be conveyed most about this festival is the overall vibe. If I had to sum it up in a short phrase it would be "Chill and Family". It felt like everyone who was veteran status at this festival was happy, accepting of you, and excited it was your first time.
Most of the performing artists (especially band members of Greensky Bluegrass) could be found hanging out in the crowd at shows or just wandering around peoples campsites.
The small vibe and awesome atmosphere make Hoxeyville just magical. I don't know if it's Michigan festivals in general or the chillax environment, but Hoxeyville definitely has it's roots planted here. They love doing what they do so much that I don't think the festival organizers want a large crowd because something too large would only tarnish what Hoxeyville stands for.
The Music:
Hoxeyville featured roughly 25 artists this year. Headlining performers included a wide selection of music such as the quickly growing rock rooted jamband Umphreys McGee, bluegrass legends Greensky Bluegrass, Grateful Dead drummer The Mickey Hart Band, and many more. Here are the Punlive highlights of the weekend.
Umphreys McGee -
It was their first time playing Hoxeyville. It seems like every year Hoxeyville tries to bring a band that really changes it up a little. Umphreys played one of their best sets of the year. It was very energetic as the band had just taken a few weeks off before playing this show. The music was amazing and for sure the biggest crowd of the weekend.
Greensky Bluegrass:
This fine group of musicians hail originally from Kalamazoo, MI. They have been touring the country since 2000 and have played with some of the best around. I didn't realize at first that this festival was home to this band. They come here to party and to enjoy their festival family. They played an amazing set. It was my first time seeing them live and I must say I will be checking them out in the future.
This band came all the way from Louisiana to play at Hoxeyville and they sure brought the funk! Featuring two bass guitars. Their show had some of the most energy from the crowd. Everyone was dancing away!
This Michigan local band is really starting to sweep the festival circuit with their original compositions and personal sound. I would call them just a folk band but you can find the lead singer Erin Zindle playing many instruments ranging from the violin to the accordion to the mandolin. Their sound varies between songs, but overall they have the same homely feel. They just finished recording their new album (coming soon) and have been playing a lot of songs from it.
We always seem to catch good footage of these guys and at Hoxeyville we even had the chance to interview the band. Check out their new 4 track ep that just came out and 3d music video on their website.
Pun's Synopsis -
Overall I had one excellent time at Hoxeyville. I will be going back!. The place feels like home and being out in the middle of the national forest made things magical. We even got some northern lights and a view of the sky at night that was breathtaking. The family and chill atmosphere made this festival really one of a kind. I loved the connection between the musicians and the people as well. It was something that could not exist at a larger event. Don't let the smaller size of the place scare ya, it's really worth checking out!!! ~ Pun
Thanks Jenae for the use of a few photos.
Stay tuned for our highlight video coming soon!
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