Two years after the music stopped playing at the Michigan Festival, the music will be heard once again in Lansing this week as the Common Ground music festival kicks off tomorrow and continues through Sunday.
The six-day festival, held at the Adado Riverfront Park in downtown Lansing, will have three music stages, an extreme sports area, a playground for children and a lumberjack show.
"Since the demise of the Michigan Festival two years ago, we felt there has been a void in town. So Kevin Meyer of Meridian Entertainment Group and I took on the responsibility of creating another music festival," said Peter Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities, about the conception of the Common Ground festival.
At the festival's core are the musical performances - they range from the classic rock group Styx on Tuesday, to pop-rock group Third Eye Blind on Friday and country star Martina McBride on Sunday.
"When we play great big arenas or festivals, it is like taming a great beast," said Splender frontman Waymon Boone, about his experiences playing in festivals like Common Ground vs. at a small club like Grand Rapid's Orbit Room, which Boone said is one of his favorites. Splender will be playing Friday night.
The festival is slated to have over 50,000 visitors during its six days. Festivalgoers will have a wide selection of music to choose from. Besides the main-stage performers, the festival will feature several local acts including The Lash and InSol. Local band Domestic Problems will be performing on the main stage Wednesday night.
Bob Fish, president of Beaner's Gourmet Coffee, one of the local companies that is sponsoring the festival, speculates the turnout for the weeklong festival will be high.
"The response should be pretty high considering the acts are quite good and the cost for the festival is great. I anticipate the festival will be well attended," Fish said.
The music could be the main draw to the festival, but it is definitely not the only activity happening at Adado Riverfront Park. Other events include a Yo Yo Show on Friday, Scheers Lumberjack Show Friday through Sunday and a Rockin' Scooby Show for children Saturday and Sunday.
"We wanted to have three main things at our festival-music, food, and fun outdoor activities," Sullivan said.
Festival patrons can not only watch performances, but participate as well. The festival will have an extreme sports area where people can rock climb, joust or take the challenge of running an obstacle course.
"We wanted to have fun participatory activities, not just clowns walking around or rides. We wanted fun interactive activities for everyone," Sullivan said.
With lots of things to do, the festival is gearing for patrons to stay on site for a while. One ingredient to help them is food court, designated "The Commons." This area will include such diverse fare as chicken kabobs and falafel.