From teen-adored alternative groups like Vertical Horizon and Third Eye Blind to crooning country start Martina McBride, organizers of last weeks festival said the event hit several sweet notes.
The six-day festival ended Sunday night with the sounds of country stars Charlie Daniels and Martina McBride.
"Everything ran smoothly, (with) no major glitches and we've had a tremendous, incredibly positive response," said Raul Alvarez, spokesman for the event.
The festival started Tuesday and concluded yesterday. It featured much more than music, including an array of food and entertainment. Attendees could from food like corn on the cob, to cheesecake on a stick and falafel, then watch anything from the Yo Yo show to the Scheers Lumberjack Show.
The music wasn't anything to forget. On any given night, a random person could be asked what they were there for, and the answer was to see the band playing onstage.
"We came to see Third Eye Blind, baby.and we came to have fun," a group of teenagers screeched, while crowding the stage Friday.
Teenagers weren't the only age group who had a chance to see their favorite bands- older generations had their turn as well.
Common Ground organizers booked bands for every age group, reaching back to the 1960s with The Beach Boys, Styx in the 1970s and Loverboy from the 1980s.
"I think the Common Ground festival is a good thing, getting a lot of people together to see a lot of good bands," said Corey Clouse, 21, of Vermontville, Mich.
National acts didn't steal the show. Many local acts had their chance to stand in the spotlight, especially the Grand Rapids-based band Domestic Problems. On Wednesday night, Domestic Problems took the main stage to perform as the opening act to one time local band-turned rock stars, The Verve Pipe.
"Domestic Problems, they were good," Clouse said. "Local bands, they are always great."
Along with Domestic Problems, local bands InSol, The Lash and Living Soul & Greg "Fingers" Taylor, among others, played at the festival. Residents of surrounding areas came to support the local acts.
An expected number of people attended the festival. The first two nights saw almost 19,000 visitors, nearly half of the 50,000 people organizers expected to attend throughout the entire event.
"I think that it's pretty cool that we can all get together here and listen to music," said Lansing Community College student Sarah Rapelje, 18.
Alvarez was exuberant over the turnout for the first year's festival. "People are excited for next year already," he said.