Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE PORCUPINE Mountains Music Festival featured three performing stages and a number of acts including The Steel Wheels, from left, Trent Wagler, Jay Lapp and Eric Brubaker, who were joined by other musicians on stage during their Saturday afternoon show. The three-day festival drew one of its largest crowds in its 10-year existence.
PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS - The twangs of banjos and bass drum stomps were sent throughout the Porcupine Mountains this weekend and heard by hundreds of people who sat on blankets, in fold-up camping chairs or beneath tents, under threat of rain from the gray skies above.
The 10th annual Porcupine Mountains Music Festival drew one of the largest crowds yet to the three-day event, which features a number of performers from all around the country and world.
The semi-circle of fans, which climbed high up the ski hill, centered around the main stage near the chalet at the state park's Winter Sports Complex on Saturday, as more people wandered off through the woods, following a trail that led to a second stage.
Cheryl Sundberg, who's been involved with the festival since the beginning, took over this year as festival director, following in the footsteps of Linda Kermeen.
"I can't make the music but I certainly can appreciate it," Sundberg said. "It's a labor of love and I love to see this."
Festival attendance has averaged around 1,000 people in the past, but this year was looking to be the highest yet, she said, pending the official ticket count sometime this week.
"Judging from the parking lots, we've filled the top lot before, but we've never filled the second," Sundberg said. "And this year the second lot is completely full and I believe the third lot is about full. So judging from that, I'd say we're looking good."
The festival had three separate performing areas: Peace Hill Stage, the main stage near the ski chalet; Singing Hills Stage, the second major stage off to the side accessible by a trail through the woods; and the Busking Barn.
Volunteer coordinator Angie Foley said busking is "the term for when you stand on a street corner and people throw money in your case."
Foley said she's been recruiting volunteers for the past three years as coordinator and this year there were about 120 who offered their help. The volunteers get a t-shirt and a three-day festival pass if they put in at least eight hours of time doing anything from pre-festival setup to selecting the musical acts.
"If you're on the coveted music selection committee, they get to do all their work ahead of time and then they get to enjoy what they pick," she said, but added "Everyone has a good time, even the volunteer. It's like there's no bad job."
Foley said the energy surrounding the festival is something that draws all types of people to the event.
"You get crazy old, you get young, I mean it's all sorts," she said. "It's just a people fest, it's just cool."
A lot of people stay at Union Bay Campground, which is just down the road from the ski hill, Foley said, "And that was how this all got started in the first place."
Members of Friends of the Porkies, the group that supports the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, thought up the music festival, and "in combination they planned this with the weekend they have the lowest amount of park attendance at Union Bay Campground," Foley said. "So now, this weekend, which was the least visited weekend, is now the highest visited weekend because of the music festival."
The festival also featured workshops, where musicians would sit down with fans or offer information on various instruments, as well as a kids' tent and blow-up bounce house.
Inside the chalet, food and assorted non-alcoholic beverages were sold, though people were allowed to bring their own alcoholic drinks to the festival.
More than 20 acts, including headliners like The Steel Wheels and C.J. Chenier Jr. & The Red Hot Louisiana Band, played the two main stages and another 20 or more performers entertained in the Busking Barn.
Sundberg said she's happy with how the festival has grown over the years and would like to see higher attendance numbers. Though, not too high.
"We would never have 10,000 people here. The facilities couldn't handle that," she said. "We would like to keep it intimate and get up to a nice number. The good thing is that people who come, they can't wait to come back and they usually bring a friend when they come back. So every year, a little bit, a little bit-it's a little bit bigger."
