By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Black Swamp Arts Festival will feature a mix of new and familiar acts.
That’s not unusual.
That they feature veterans and newcomers is also par for the course.
That those act will come on the wings of critical plaudits, well that goes without saying.
Probably the biggest change on the festival’s music scene is one most people may not notice, and that’s as it should be.
Ryan Gullen rocks out in the rain at the 2015 Black Swamp Arts Festival.
Kelly Wicks, one of the festival’s founders, is stepping down from his role as chair of the performing arts committee. Taking on that key role are Cole Christensen and Tim Concannon, two long-time festival volunteers who’ve worked with Wicks.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Christensen said. “It’s about preserving the great traditions of the Black Swamp Arts Festival. We’ll continue to feature local regional national and international talent and also to give people acts people don’t get to see. The festival has reputation for having great music, and we’re going to keep that.”
That means performers whom festivalgoers have never heard of before will be their favorites after the second weekend in September.
After a few months of learning the ropes (with Wicks offering some advice), most of the main stage slots are booked for the festival that kicks off Friday, Sept. 9, at 5 p.m. and closes Sunday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m.
It’s been bookended by the blues. The festival opens with the Tony Godsey band, a regional blues band that’s set to release its aptly title “Black Swamp Territory,” a collection of 10 original tunes.
Closing will be an old friend, Michael Katon, the Boogieman from Hell (Michigan, that is). At one point, Katon had played Howard’s Club H more than any other performer. He was a regular at Christmastime, playing Christmas Eve, the blues equivalent of the Magi. In the past decade, though, he’s mostly been booked across the pond. Christensen said that Katon is excited to be returning to Bowling Green. On Saturday night he’ll return to his old haunts with a free show at Howard’s.
Matt Lorenz will bring his one-man act, Suitcase Junket, back to Bowling Green after a show earlier this year at Grounds for Thought.
In between Godsey and the man from Hell, there’ll be more blues, reggae, bluegrass and all sounds Americana.
Christensen is especially excited about Mariachi Flor de Toloache, an all-female mariachi band out of New York City. The Latin Grammy nominees add a contemporary touch to the venerable Mexican genre while staying true to the ache and passion of the music. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys is a booster of the Flor de Toloache. The mariachi band has toured with him, serving both as an opening act and augmenting his own backup band. Mariachi Flor de Toloache will play the Saturday dinner set at the festival.
The festival will also welcome home-grown talent to the Main Stage, when Grant Flick and a trio assembled for the occasion kicks off the music on Saturday noon. Flick, 17, from Bowling Green, has been setting the Americana and swing scene on fire with his fiddle and tenor guitar work. He’ll be joined by another teen string virtuoso Josh Turner from New York City and bassist Jacob Warren from Ann Arbor. And opening Sunday’s show will be another homegrown talent when Corey Baum brings his band Croy and the Boys from Austin, Texas to perform.
String virtuosity will be well represented. Another of Christensen’s favorite bands, the Rhythm Future Quartet, returns from last year. He’ll get maximum use out of the new wave Gypsy jazz foursome, having them play on all three festival stages – Main, Community and Family – as well as a late night show at Stones Throw. The quartet is touring in support of its new recording “Travels.” (See review at: https://medium.com/@DavidRDupont/rhythm-future-quartet-has-gypsy-jazz-at-its-heart-4b8b8af1bdcf#.u8xfk9rbv.)
Christensen said that while he’s familiar with the Americana genre, he’s had to do his research to tap into up and coming acts in other genres. That searching has paid off with gems for just about every slot. (The festival is still looking to book a couple Sunday slots.)
As it stands here’s what’s afoot for the Main Stage:
FRIDAY
• Tony Godsey, 5 p.m.
• Southern Avenue, a powerful blues-rooted soul band from Memphis with a sister team on lead vocals and drums with an Israeli blues guitarist and Memphis stalwart on bass. 6:30 p.m.
• John Brown’s Body, horn-powered reggae band that tore it up in 2003. 8 p.m.
• The Delta Saints, a psychedelic rock band from Nashville, known for their rollercoaster ride live shows. 10 p.m.
SATURDAY
• Flick, Turner and Warren, noon.
• The Downtown County Band, a punk jug band? Christensen described them as “an Americana mashup.” 1:20 p.m.
Skip “Little Axe” MacDonald performing at BGSU in February.
• Skip “Little Axe” MacDonald is a one-man musical mash-up. The guitarist can play earthy blues, grinding funk, raucous heavy metal, and atmospheric world music, and he’s just warming up. His credits include sessions with James Brown and Grand Master Flash as a member of the Sugarhill Records backup band. 2:50 p.m.
• Rhythm Future Quartet. 4:30 p.m.
• Mariachi Flor de Toloache. 6:15 p.m.
• Pokey LaFarge, from St. Louis, is an old soul in a young singer-songwriter’s body. His originals transport the listener back to when jazz, country and vaudeville shared a cradle. 8 p.m.
• The Sheepdogs bring their Saskatoon-bred classic rock sound back to the Black Swamp after a rain-defying set last year. Didn’t matter that their crowd had shrunk like a wool sweater, The Sheepdogs rocked so hard that no one minded getting soaked. 10 p.m.
SUNDAY
• Croy and the Boys, 11 a.m.
• The Suitcase Junket, the one-man band from Amherst, Massachusetts, returns after a show last January at Grounds for Thought. Matt Lorenz packs a punch. Using a menagerie of rescue instruments and found objects, he creates evocative soundscapes. 12:30 p.m.
• Ginkgoa, a French ensemble that layers swing, cabaret and jazz over electronica beats. 2 p.m.
• Michael Katon, 3:30 p.m.
