Ypsilanti to host Mittenfest IIIA 3-venue, 27-band holiday benefit music festival
An ode to the winter season, our hand-shaped peninsula, the local
music community, and non-profit youth writing center 826michigan, the
third-annual Mittenfest is set to fill the Elbow Room with
over 21 hours of music and holiday cheer.
Things get kicked-off on Friday, December 26, where the lineup is
anchored by cello-augemented indie-folk-pop juggernaut CANADA,
harmonic crowd-participation enthusiasts THE POP PROJECT, and local
son FRED THOMAS (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr, City Center),
who returns from Brooklyn for a much-anticipated homecoming set.
Also hailing from the east coast, CREAKY BOARDS play Brian
Wilson-influenced pop songs but are best known for the international
notoriety they gained last summer after accusing Coldplay of stealing
one of their songs (via a popular viral video)
Rounding out the first night is electro wunderkind DEASTRO, indiepop
buzz band LIGHTNING LOVE, psych-shoegaze Lansingites FIELDS OF
INDUSTRY, antifolk jester and puppeteer PATRICK ELKINS, and young
Upper Peninsula duo THIS IS DEER COUNTRY. DUSTIN KRCATOVICH (Actual
Birds) spins hot tunes between sets.
The festivities continue on Saturday, December 27, with popular
accordion-cartography rockers GREAT LAKES MYTH SOCIETY topping a bill
that includes the Grand Rapids-based nautical sprawl of THE MIGHTY
NARWHALE and MATT JONES & THE RECONSTRUCTION, an amplified version of
a usually-intimate and intricate songwriter. Detroit faux fantasy duo
CHAMPIONS OF BREAKFAST return with cardboard instruments in hand,
one-man insanity CARJACK and the pop sounds of youngsters PRUSSIA, as
well as shoegaze-country veterans DABENPORT, the world-weary songs of
THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE GUY!, and the debut of THE INTERRUPTED LOVERS,
featuring ex-Freer and Canada personnel. JEREMY PETERS (Quite
Scientific Records, Ghostly International) will DJ.
But wait, there's more! Sunday, December 28, things end on a folkier
note, with the epic Neutral Milk Hotel-meets-bluegrass sounds of
FRONTIER RUCKUS, the genius of local songwriting hero CHRIS BATHGATE,
and the twang of MISTY LYN & THE BIG BEAUTIFUL. The rural punk-stomp
of BLACK JAKE & THE CARNIES, Scott Sellwood (Saturday Looks Good to
Me) project DRUNKEN BARN DANCE, and the experimental sounds of HALOLOS
add to the bill's diversity. Solo sets by JOSEPH PATRICK SCOTT
(Canada) and TIMOTHY MONGER (Great Lakes Myth Society), as well as
returning Ann Arbor expat EMILY BATE fill-out the festival. DJ JEFF
OWENS (Ghostly International) will provide inter-set music.
All proceeds from the entry fees ($5 at the door each night, $12 3-day
wristband available at Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair, 115 E.
Liberty St., Ann Arbor) benefit 826michigan,
a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting
students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing
skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
Their services are structured around a belief that great leaps in learning
can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills
are fundamental to future success.
For more information please visit:
http://mittenfest.wordpress.com/