The Spirit of the Woods Folk Festival logo of a cicada was created by Harvey Hespa. Image courtesy of Spirit of the Woods Music Association.
BRETHREN – The 46th annual Spirit of the Woods Folk Festival will strike multiple high notes when seven sets of performers take turns sharing the main stage from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday, in Dickson Township Park, 14279 Coates Highway.
Music will launch on the main stage with northern Michigan songwriter Lynn Callihan. The percussive guitar player is known for his “unique style of a dark Americana, Alternative Folk and Blues.”
His performance will be followed by Warren & Flick at 1:10 p.m., Tula at 2:20 p.m., Mady Kouyate at 3:30 p.m., Stella! At 4:40 p.m., Luca Ciarla at 5:50 p.m. and Song of the Lakes at 7 p.m.
A second stage will give audience members a chance to participate with performers such as Deep Blue Water Samba, a Traverse City community drumming group performing Brazilian parade music, and Heather Kingham and TC Sings.
Later, listeners can try performing some Karaoke and hear Agnes Su, a 14-year-old songwriter and guitarist, performing with the band The Northern Lights. Su has made music her career since she was 5 and regularly plays with the band Hammer’d.
Kids’ activities, such as face painting and crafts, will take place 12-5 p.m. under the pavilion and elsewhere. A schedule will be posted in the pavilion.
Craft vendors will be on hand, and The Arts and Culture Alliance of Manistee County will offer food for sale.
This year’s t-shirt design of the long-awaited cicada is by Harvey Hespa and will be available for sale during the event. Trevor Hobbs designed the poster.
This year’s main stage performers will offer a diverse selection of musical styles.
Warren & Flick is a “two-person ensemble” performing original songs and standards. Instruments include double bass, violin, tenor guitar and nyckelharpa. They have recorded two albums, “Kestrel” and “Waxwing”. Their sound is a blend of their backgrounds, one in classical music, the other in bluegrass and jazz.
Tula, formerly known as Tula Skylark, will perform folk, jazz and roots music billed as “fresh and sultry.” The northern Michigan trio consists of Sue Wood on keyboard, Andylynn on guitars and Lisa Johansson, of Song of the Lakes, on flutes and whistles and on all vocals.
Mady Kayoute, originally from Sengal, began playing the kora, a 21-stringed West African harp, at age 16, continuing a long line of Manding traditional lore shared for centuries. By 19, he was performing professionally with virtuoso Toumani Diabate and others and toured West Africa. He followed that tour with a U.S. series of performances with the Ballet Afrique Noire. In 2004, he released his first album, “Kelemagni”. Of the album, reviewer Steve Leggett (AllMusic.com) has said, “… his rapid, bright lead lines literally shimmer like Coltrane-inspired wind chimes against the basslines Kouyate sets up as a rhythmic foundation with his other hand.”
Stella! is an American roots trio from southeast Michigan known for three-part vocal harmonies; original, country-roots songwriting; and stringed instrumentation. Jo Serrapere, its founder, plays guitar and percussion. Jen Sygit adds acoustic and electric guitars and banjo. Julianna Wilson performs on upright bass and ukulele.
Luca Ciarla is described as a “creative and surprising” violinist said to strike the “perfect balance between written compositions and improvisation, traditional and contemporary sounds.” He has performed in jazz, classical and world music festivals and concert series in 70 countries.
Song of the Lakes has been a northern Michigan favorite for decades, offering everything from maritime ballads and shanties to instrumental interludes. They have played on tall ships and accompanied symphony orchestras, serenaded wedding audiences and wowed attendees of the Montreaux Jazz Festival. Band members are Lisa Johansson, Mike Sullivan and Ingemar Johansson. They will be joined by percussionist Rob Mulligan of Grupo Aye for their performance.
Spirit of the Woods Music Association, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, relies on donations from individual festival-goers and others to present the annual folk festival. This year’s sponsors include Mary Sturdevant Insurance Agency-State Farm Insurance of Manistee, the Bill and Alice Edwards Legacy, Jack Buchanan, Lakeview Habitats and Upland Meadows.
