The 2010 Michigan Roots Jamboree
There is no better way to spend a weekend than relaxing in beautiful weather at the Michigan Roots Jamboree at the Riverside Park in Ypsilanti. Ice-cold beers and fresh snacks prepared by local brewers and food vendors made the festival better than ever. Building on the huge success of the very first Michigan Roots Jamboree in 2009, this year’s Jamboree has already grown from a simple music festival to a 2-day camping, leisure and relaxation experience.
Some of the greatest bands and musicians from Michigan performed on stage at this year’s Jamboree, searching to return to their “Michigan Roots.” The Jam and Blues band, MR.SHZ, opened the festival with enthusiasm, gathering people from the distant shade to the front of the stage. Tokyo Sexwhale heated up the audience with their unique instrumental style surf rock. Theo Katzman and his fellow musicians put on some sweet and soothing indie folk originals. To our enjoyment, great voices never gets old. The crowd was especially happy to watch the Director of the Jamboree, Don Sicheneder, rocking on stage with his band Dragon Wagon.
As a musician, Sicheneder was able to arrange a special 2-stage set-up for the Jamboree, allowing for optimal viewing. The musicians and bands can finally set up and adjust instruments comfortably without an anxious audience on their back, and in turn, the audience, can enjoy uninterrupted music throughout the entire festival.
Smokestack‘s reunion performance sure set the crowd on fire. The groove’s dynamic presence steadily increased as the band played from sunset till nightfall. With the exciting appearances of several special guests, the beloved Jazz Rock band The Macpodz successfully turned the entire open space into a huge dancing floor. The wild dancing and revelry carried on and reached its climax when the last band of the day Ekoostik Hookah rocked late into the night. At this point, I could hardly convince myself that I would have any energy left to return the following day for more…
The Jamboree continued on Saturday with a beautiful sky abovehead. As campers slowly returned to the stage side of the park, the performance by the roots/alt country band The Mayflys showed a promising beginning for day 2. The stage was then turned over to the funk band from Kalamazoo Funktion, followed by the 2010 Detroit Music Award Nominee Hullabloo and the rebel rootsgrass & reggae Folk-Blues band Rootstand. Dick Siegel did not disappoint, performing with his band some of their greatest songs. In the process, calming the crowd down with his gentle and soothing voice. Wayward roots picked back up the pace with their acoustic roots performance. The pleasantly aggressive folk duo Nervous But Excited performed some of their most popular songs – a carefully organized selection from their album anchors. Subsequently, loosening up the audience with their harmonizing voices and unique humor. Black Jake and the Carnies invited the audience to go upstage, transforming it into a carnival-inspired dance party. The afro-beat drum group, Tree of Life Drum and Life, began their passionate performances again at the Pavilion, giving the staff a short break from the 2 main stages.
Throughout the entire Jamboree, diverse local artists were given the opportunity to create their own art pieces live in between the 2 main stages while the musicians performed. It was not only an interesting experience for the audience to see the creation of art in conjunction music, but also proved an inspiring experience for the artists themselves. Artists Cora Thomason said to FORMzine, “the live music is very inspiring for the artists, it gets you into the groove.”
My curiosity peeked when the Ben Miller Band performed. Their unique instrumental inventions creating special effects that corresponded to their music. Toko from October Babies swept everyone off their feet with her enthusiastic stage performing and her distinctive voice. The audience sang along with the chorus, totally not worrying about the fact that most of the songs were in Japanese. Laith Al-Saadi continues to rock the stage as the sky turned completely dark. Starting at the same time, the street-style fire performers and the Ragbirds chose their own crowds. The vocals Erin Zindle showed off her talent switching between many different music instruments, including an African-styled drum in their last song. The progressive funk band Ultraviolet Hippopotamus took over the stage and rocked the last remaining energy out of the Jamboree goers. After some fantastic songs and wild dancing, they called for a great ending to this 2-day music festival.
Though this article is finished, this is by no means the end of our review on Michigan Roots Jamboree. Please stay tuned with FORMzine throughout the week for exclusive interviews with some of your favorite bands and musicians from the 2010 Michigan Roots Jamboree!
Interview Articles:
Nervous But Excited
Black Jake and the Carnies
The Ben Miller Band
Erin Zindle from The Ragbirds
Thanks so much for your amazing coverage of this event. You did a fantastic job on the photos, and I think the overview of the festival music and art is really thorough. I can’t wait to read more about your interviews with the bands and artists this week.
Great work!
Thanks for checking out my article and thank you for setting me up with those interviews, Dree