Beginning as a celebration to promote local bands and community, Mike Vanderberg started the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival back in 1992 with his family and some friends from the area. Since then, Dunegrass has entertained smiling faces from around the country who come to feel the coziness of a small town festival and hear sounds that melt the boundaries of musical genres.
In 2004, Mike was re-introduced to Stephen Volas, founder of Grassroots Productions and a fellow vendor at the Farmer's Market. As a music enthusiast, Stephen had attended and worked at many festivals himself, including Dunegrass. With support from the Village of Empire, Mike handed the reigns of the Festival from his company, M¶R and Company (pronounced M-Pi-R), over to Grassroots to see where Stephen could take his vision of creating a nationally known festival.
The timing was right for both companies as Stephen fully understood his role as a promoter and despite the "Blues" in the name, Dunegrass didn't fall into categories typically assigned to festivals like "Blues" or "Bluegrass" or "Folk." Nowadays, you'll hear Stephen talking about Dunegrass as a "celebration of ALL organic music" creating a meeting place to rendezvous on both a social and business level.
The 2005 Festival was a success. By combinining the support from his business partner- Jeremiah Sequoia, a core group of friends who volunteered, and the signing of national acts including Hot Tuna and Vince Welnick, Grassroots had quadrupled the attendance from 2004. With Mike's guidance and Grassroots' determination, Stephen's vision of expanding the festival from a regional one to a national event was coming to fruition. In 2006, the duo added Josh Stoltz to help with the business side of the festival. Not only did Dunegrass double ticket sales from 2005, but again received positive reviews from both fans and artists alike.
Three days out of the year Dunegrass finds its home in the village of Empire, snuggled between the shore of Lake Michigan and the wooded hills of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore. This August will mark the 15th year for the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival and Grassroots is proud to maintain its legacy of presenting big time music in a small town atmosphere.
For the history of Grassroots Productions, read About Us
Performers from Dunegrass 2007:
Dark Star Orchestra
Particle
Yonder Mountain String Band
Keller Williams
David Grisman Quintet
Railroad Earth
Peter Rowan Crucial Reggae
Martin Sexton
Todd Snider
Great American Taxi (w/Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon)
Larry McCray
Greensky Bluegrass
Cornmeal
Seth Bernard & Daisy May
Steppin' In It
K Jones and the Benzie Playboyz
Rachael Davis
Breathe Owl Breathe
Detour Bluegrass
Rootstand
Shout Sister Shout
The Biddies
Back Forty
Grievous Angel
The Macpodz
The Fffellaz
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