this past Saturday (June 11) and here's what we saw...
Entrance to Keloorah
The high temperature ended up reaching 91 Degrees on this Keloorah Festival
day, but no rain in sight which was a good thing. Luckily I brought plenty of sunscreen and the fact that there was a nice breeze made the weather much more bearable. The festival, being held on Michigan International Speedway grounds next to lap three, had us covered in regards to refreshments as there were
multiple stands and bars scattered throughout the festival grounds. Most everything
was reasonably priced and they were not out to gouge people just because they could.
The festival grounds were wide open and very easy to navigate through. The
space was large,but it was easy to walk to one end to the other in less than 5
minutes. There were plenty of Porta-John's with no lines and many things around
to occupy and entertain your time spent at the festival.
The free play video game arcade was a hit.
Plenty of areas to view the festival surroundings & performance stage
such as this recently built Deck Bar.
There was a foam party with live a DJ.
Can a festival really be a called festival without a Ferris wheel?
The Go-Kart experience.
Plenty of Cornhole players were in attendance.
Plenty of opportunities for drinks including this cool outdoor sport's bar.
The live music stage proved to be a big surprise for me. I went in knowing only one act and left thoroughly entertained by most everyone. The performance stage itself was impressive and had a catwalk extending into the crowd. The festival also had a Jumbotron and was professional filmed with two cameras for the crowd's viewing pleasure. For those who wanted a even better view, the festival grounds had a
V.I.P. area which got you closer to the stage and also contained a
V.I.P. riser so you could sit back and have a elevated view.
Not a bad seat in the house to watch the performances.
Elle King
MCB last covered Elle King at her January Detroit
appearance. I brought this up to Elle after her Keloorah performance and she remembers being very drunk at the show. I told her that's how we like it. Elle was not drunk at this performance however and explained on stage that partly the reason was the fact that she recently woke up (this was at 5:30 in the afternoon) and she was probably actually still hungover from the night before. Elle had a 45 minute set and filled it it with tracks off her EP and debut full length as well as covers and new songs just released and those yet to be. Elle ran though the songs like a pro and at one point questioned swearing or not after seeing many youngsters in the crowd. But she figured it was a race track and it was actually
thee place to swear if she was ever going to. I will keep this review expletive free, but Elle's stage was not.
Andy Grammer
I didn't know what to expect from Andy Grammer and never heard his name before. I did, however, recognize some of his songs once he started playing them live. The most well known may be "Keep Your Head Up". I was won over by his live performance and his hits sounded exactly
how they do on the radio. Andy and his band were full of energy and when Andy wasn't on the catwalk, he could be found sitting behind his keyboard killing it on the keys and with his voice.
Fitz And The Tantrums
Fitz and The Tantrums was another band who I did not know what to expect from. I had heard the groups name before, but that is all. But once they started playing, I recognized some of the hit songs and it was one the those "Ohhhhhh" moments. Fitz and The Tantrums blew me away with their high energy performance. They used the catwalk like it was their second home and I loved how members Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs shared vocal responsibilities. It was a perfect mix of pop, dance, and soul. I felt these songs were created to dance and sing along to and most of the crowd did just that. The band was really enjoying themselves on stage and seeing a saxophone being utilized on stage was a treat. Fitz and The Tantrums found a new fan at Keloorah and I say this with a recently acquired CD of theirs next to me at this very moment.
Grouplove
Final band of the evening was Grouplove. I had never heard of them and was not very impressed. The set was lackluster to me. It may have been a live disappointment for me, but many people were enjoying themselves and the band was having a good time.
I had the opportunity to meet up with some of the creative forces that
graced the Keloorah Music Festival stage. Here are some of those
captured moments....
With Elle King
With Paul Dominic (Bass Player for Elle King)
With Noelle Scaggs (Vocalist for Fitz And The Tantrums)
With Michael Fitzpatrick (Vocalist for Fitz And The Tantrums)
And here are some more Keloorah moments that I captured....
Noelle Scaggs (Fitz And The Tantrums) and Elle King
"The King" and "The Patriot" enjoying the Fitz And The Tantrums live set.
Wide angle view of the Keloorah Festival music stage.
They had a stunning fireworks display going off during Grouplove's set.
Keloorah sign on a hill.
Exit at the end of the evening.
This was only the second year for the Keloorah Music Festival and I see much potential for future events. I don't particularly like to attend large festival shows anymore, but this experience was quite enjoyable. I found the festival to be a perfect size with a great live stage and performance lineup. And they pulled it off at the same time as their big NASCAR event weekend. I never knew racing was so big till I arrived for Keloorah on the MIS property. But it's still intimate enough where I could run into Michigan International Speedway president Roger Curtis as he was on his way to check out some entertainment on stage. It was nice to finally meet the man behind Keloorah after interviewing him via telephone a couple weeks prior. Keloorah is something he is very passionate about and in our interview he said he wanted to "have a great show where people can
get together and have a fun time". I believe this mission was accomplished.
***
The Keloorah Music Festival at Michigan International Speedway returns on Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27 this year with it's "Country Music" version of the festival.
