Earthwork musicians in concert. Front row, left, is Earthwork founder Seth Bernard. Courtesy photo.
By Carmelitta Tiffany
“There is healing work to be done. We’re here to help.” –Seth Bernard
LUDINGTON ‒ All an-star line-up of 18 musicians will take the stage at Ludington Center for the Arts, 101 S. Harrison St., beginning at 4 p.m., April 23, as part of the “Earthwork Spring Tour”.
Earthwork began 22 years ago with a fall music festival called Earthwork Harvest Gathering founded by Seth Bernard on his family’s farm in Lake City. The music collective of independent musicians also created its own label.
“Earthwork music (collective) member Ben Traverse approached us as a stop on their tour,” said LACA Executive Director Andrew Skinner, “and I jumped at the opportunity to have this amazing group of artists perform at LACA.”
Besides Traverse, Earthwork featured artists include songwriters and musicians Dede Alder, Seth Bernard, Ralston Bowles, Sari Brown, Sarah Cohen (The Antivillains), Samantha Cooper, Chris Good, Jordan Hamilton, Amber Hasan, Josh Holcomb, Audra Kubat, Elisabeth Pixley-Fink, Dan Rickabus (The Crane Wives), Vince Russo (The Appleseed Collective), Mike Savina (The Go Rounds), Jo Serrapere (Stella!) and Nicholas James Thomasma.
Seth Bernard is looking forward to bringing his vision out of the doldrums of the recent pandemic.
Calling the series of concerts “the most ambitious collective tour to date,” the Earthwork press release stated that its members will be performing songs and telling their stories, weaving their musical styles and backing each other vocally and instrumentally.
“We love to do tours where we can share our art, lift each other up, and share that uplifting community spirit with audiences as well,” Bernard said,adding, “…over the years we have done a great deal of work supporting youth education, local food and farms, and causes and campaigns supporting social justice and the environment.”
Musicians Ben Traverse, Amber Hasan, and Nicholas James Thomasma are excited to be a part of the Earthwork Spring Tour.
“It’s hard to pin down one thing that I most enjoy about being a part of the collective,” Traverse said. “I love the collaboration-over-competition mentality. I love the people. I love the work we do, and the art collective members create, to make that work happen. It’s rare to find a group of people so dedicated to community, equity, art, and education that follow through with it in a tangible way.”
Amber Hasan got involved with Earthwork after meeting Bernard at a Water Justice Symposium in Flint in 2018. He invited her to participate in the Earthwork Harvest Gathering, a music festival, later that year. She has been active ever since.
“What I enjoy most about being involved is having the support and collaboration of a diverse group of artists from different musical genres,” Hasan wrote in an email. “I am a Muslim mother, wife, Traditional Folk Medicine Practitioner, community organizer, Author, and Exploratory Hip-Hop Artist. My music is Hip-Hop fused with … any other genre to help tell an authentic narrative of being and becoming from my perspective as a black woman.”
Nicholas James Thomasma started attending the Earthwork Harvest Gathering after meeting Seth Bernard in 2005-2006. As an annual volunteer for the festival, he came to know a lot of the Earthwork crew and officially joined the collective in 2016 when his band, Nicholas James and the Bandwagon, released their album, “Tall, Tall Tales”.
“Being a part of a collective has its challenges, especially when it comes to organizing and scheduling, but anytime we get together it is pure magic,” Thomasma said. “Earthwork Music is composed of some of the nicest humans on the planet who also happen to be some of the most humble and accomplished musicians. We have created a culture of mutual admiration and respect within the collective and when we are together the joy is boundless and the music is otherworldly.”
Bernard summed up the Earthwork vision.
“We believe in the intrinsic power of music to raise both community and self-awareness. We encourage cooperation and collaboration. We use music as a tool to serve, heal, inspire and empower. We believe that coming together as a community is more important now than ever.”
Additional Earthwork Spring Tour stops and dates include:
-The Dormouse Theatre, Kalamazoo, 4/19
-20 Front Street, Lake Orion, 4/20
-Midtown, Grand Rapids, 4/21
-The Alluvion, Traverse City, 4/22
Tickets to the Ludington performance are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, and are available online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/549646917727 or in LACA’s art shop during normal business hours.
Carmelitta Tiffany resides in Mason County, where she spent the last 30-some years enjoying the blessings of rural life. She is a semi-retired journalist who serves those needing “wordy” advice through her business, West MI Editorial Services.
