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Posted on Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 5:27 a.m.

Preview: The Jamboree to bring wide variety of roots music to Ypsilanti on Sept. 4-5

By Kevin Ransom

Okay, are you ready to “jamboree” next weekend? If so, then Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park would be the place to be. The Park will be the site of The Jamboree music festival, an event that organizers hope will the first of many more Jamborees to come.

The event has undergone a few transfigurations since it was initially conceived, but the lineup is a strong and eclectic one, so it looks to be an entertaining blowout.

The two-day Jamboree (Friday and Saturday) is being presented by the non-profit Depot Town Community Development Corporation. Proceeds will go to Ypsi’s parks and to Depot Town improvement projects.

Originally, the Jamboree was conceived as a bluegrass festival, partly because festival director Don Sicheneder is in a bluegrass band, Dragon Wagon. But as the board began perusing the range of mostly local (but also regional and national) music talent, the decision was made to make it more inclusive. So, now, fest-goers can hear bluegrass, folk, jazz-rock fusion, world-music, surf-rock and more.

“Yeah, Ann Arbor has really emerged as a major music center again, with so many genres represented, so we decided to open it up stylistically,” says Sicheneder.

The acts that the fest has designated as the Jamboree’s headliners (all local / regional acts except where noted) are:

• That 1 Guy - Eccentric, amusing one-man band from Berkeley, Calif., who created his own unconventional “bass” out of pipes and wires and employs electronic looping.

• The Ragbirds - Hybrid of folk-rock and world-music grooves.

• Macpodz - Funky, danceable progressive-jazz-rock fusion.

• May Erlewine and Seth Bernard (who will be joined by Dick Siegel) - A rustic-Americana mix of country, folk, roots-rock and even some jazz.

• Laith Al Saadi - Smoking-hot rocking-blues guitarist, former member of the Johnny Trudell Orchestra and former sideman for Thornetta Davis.

Other acts playing the Jamboree are: October Babies, a “world-rock group whose singer is Japanese and sings some of the lyrics in Japanese,” says Sicheneder, and Tokyo Sexwhale, a surf-rock band with a visual flair that often includes the donning off eye-popping costumes, plus: Matt Jones, Chris Bathgate, JIVA, Black Jake and the Carnies, Jamie Register and the Glendales, Soundhound, The Afternoon Round, Ypsitucky Colonels, The Bearded Ladies, Tree of Life Drum and Dance, Orpheum Bell, Wayward Roots, Hullabaloo, Back Forty and MC Kadence.


Artists performing at The Jamboree, Sept. 4-5 in Ypsilanti

Gates open at 3 p.m. on Friday and at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Sicheneder expects the fest to wrap up by midnight both nights. For full schedule, go to The Jamboree web site.

In addition to morphing from a bluegrass fest to something stylistically broader, the name of the event also changed along the way. Initially, since it started out as a bluegrass celebration, the event was dubbed the Ypsitucky Jamboree. That’s a moniker that organizers conceived as an homage to the Southern heritage of many residents of the Ypsilanti. Indeed, huge numbers of rural Southerners migrated to the entire region in the ‘40s and ‘50s to secure jobs in automotive plants.

But, much to the surprise of organizers, “there was a small but very vocal group who took offense to the name,” because they felt there was a stigma attached to it, says Sicheneder. “It really caught us off-guard...

“But, in the end, the most important thing was that this be a positive event and to focus on it being a great festival, so we changed the name, just to remove that distraction, and we feel like that was the right decision. And now people who were opposed to the previous name are very supportive of the festival.”

In addition to the music, the Jamboree will include 15 local artists showing their work, and a “kid’s tent” that will feature storytelling, face-painting, and “a musical instrument petting zoo.”

“There will be all kinds of instruments, and the kids will be able to handle them, play with them, and play music on them - plus, there will be workshops. The whole purpose there is to get kids interested in music.”

The beer being served at the Jamboree will have a local flavor as well - it will be from the Frog Island Brewery and the Arbor Brewing Company/Corner Brewery.

Organizers have big plans for the Jamboree’s future. “We’re talking about expanding it to three days, and setting up [nearby] Frog Island to accommodate ‘urban camping,’” says Sicheneder. “That way, people could come in from farther away, on a Friday, and then just spend the whole weekend camping out.”

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com. PREVIEW The Jamboree What: Two-day music festival, featuring mostly local/regional artists, featuring folk, bluegrass, Americana, blues, world music, jazz-rock, surf-rock and more. Who: That 1 Guy, The Ragbirds, May Erlewine and Seth Bernard, Dick Siegel, Macpodz and more. When: Friday, Sept. 4, 3 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 5, 11 a.m. (gates open) Where: Riverside Park, Ypsilanti. How much: Fri: $10 in advance, $15 at gate; Sat: $15 in advance, $20 at gate. More info:734-604-8569 or The Jamboree web site.


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Comments

Kevin Ransom

Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 5:20 p.m.

I am also happy to see that this fest is happening, and hope it will be an annual event. But, Ypsi does also have that Elvis Fest every year, and many of us remember all of those wonderful Frog Island Musical Festivals from the '80s and '90s, up through '01. I was really sorry to see that event go. That was a great event. I hope this fest recaptures the spirit of those great fests and fills the hole that has existed ever since the Frog Island Fest called it quits.

YpSiFoLk

Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 4:53 p.m.

It's about time someone organized a music festival here. It seems like the only festivals in Ypsi are car shows... Even in Ann Arbor, nothing seems to stand up to this. Can't wait to check it out!