Pages tagged “rothbury”

First up on Sunday’s bill was Ingrid Michaelson, a young songwriter whose handclapped single, “The Way I Am,” helped orchestrate a recent Old Navy commercial. Michaelson has a bright future ahead of her (one that does not involve discounted jeans and stylish sweaters), and she concluded her early summer tour with a set of quirky, coffeehouse pop/rock. Kudos go to two members of her band, especially the versatile Allie Moss, as well as Miss Michaelson herself, who raps a mean version of the Fresh Prince theme.

Following an Ice-Cream-Man-provided breakfast on Saturday morning, we reached the Ranch Arena, where Dead Confederate took the stage for an early-bird batch of haunted, shoegazing southern rock tunes. “Thanks for coming,” mumbled frontman Hardy Morris to the scattered audience. “We’re Vampire Weekend.”

Rothbury kicked into high gear on Friday, as Jakob Dylan ushered in the afternoon with a set of dusty Americana tunes. Sporting a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses that could've reflected a nuclear blast, Dylan looked like Sheriff Cooley from O Brother, Where Art Thou? while singing in a comfortable, cool baritone. “Let me be the first up here to say ‘Happy 4th of July,’” he said, drawing applause from the crowd of Wallflowers fans and wandering passerby.

It’s hard to find Rothbury on most maps. The tiny village is tucked away in a corner of West Michigan, where few people reside outside of the tourist season. Driving north on U.S. 31, your usual company consists of green hills, trees and families traveling to their summer homes on Lake Michigan. Detroit is a healthy three hours away, while Chicago requires a slightly longer journey (not to mention a jump from Central to Eastern Standard). A strange location for America’s newest festival? Sure, but strangeness is part of Rothbury’s charm.