2022 Festival Schedule
Schedule & Acts Subject to Change
Thursday, July 28th
Opening Night Performances
Main stage or Inside Cozy Cove
For Artists' Pics & Bios, click plus (+) sign to the right on their time/listing box.
The Driftless Revelers have been known to pleasure a crowd with plectral banjo tones, the mournful wailing of resophonic steel guitars, and the up-right bass bellows of an era that can't quite be defined, but revels in the timeless ephemera of weird old-time American music.
With influences as varied and eccentric as a proper musty smelling thrift store record collection, the band grooves merrily through early roots blues and jazz music, to hillbilly and string band howlers, all the way into the not-quite folk but not-quite psychedelic realms of their own creation.
A Driftless Revelers show will lure you in with their joy--keep you dancing with their search for the cosmic groove in the confines of stringed instruments--and will send you on your way with flashbacks of the Driftless Revelery found only in the essence of the intangible reaches of notes once played-- that then fall silent.
The Driftless Revelers formed in the second spring of the first global pandemic of the 21st century, with one ear turned toward the shellac platters and Victrola virtuosos of the early to mid 20th century, and the other ear glued to the soundscapes of the 1960's & 1970's American freak-folk scene.
Band leader, Matt Sayles, returns to the Manitowish Waters stage after winning fans over in 2003 with his band, Frostbitten Grass, Bluegrass Grown From The Cold, Cold Ground. Fellow songwriters Ben Nelson and Jerod Kaszynski, will accompany him at this year’s MidSummer Bluegrass Festival.
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
The Driftless Revelers have been known to pleasure a crowd with plectral banjo tones, the mournful wailing of resophonic steel guitars, and the up-right bass bellows of an era that can't quite be defined, but revels in the timeless ephemera of weird old-time American music.
With influences as varied and eccentric as a proper musty smelling thrift store record collection, the band grooves merrily through early roots blues and jazz music, to hillbilly and string band howlers, all the way into the not-quite folk but not-quite psychedelic realms of their own creation.
A Driftless Revelers show will lure you in with their joy--keep you dancing with their search for the cosmic groove in the confines of stringed instruments--and will send you on your way with flashbacks of the Driftless Revelery found only in the essence of the intangible reaches of notes once played-- that then fall silent.
The Driftless Revelers formed in the second spring of the first global pandemic of the 21st century, with one ear turned toward the shellac platters and Victrola virtuosos of the early to mid 20th century, and the other ear glued to the soundscapes of the 1960's & 1970's American freak-folk scene.
Band leader, Matt Sayles, returns to the Manitowish Waters stage after winning fans over in 2003 with his band, Frostbitten Grass, Bluegrass Grown From The Cold, Cold Ground. Fellow songwriters Ben Nelson and Jerod Kaszynski, will accompany him at this year’s MidSummer Bluegrass Festival.
Feed The Dog proved to be an entertaining and just a fun group of individuals to be around at last year's festival---definitely seen as a friend of the Manitowish Waters' Bluegrass Show. Known for their high energy performances more reminiscent of jambase, Feed The Dog is a band driven by the unique and progressive approach of each player. This quartet is hard to peg as imaginative melodies with graceful ambiance are skillfully crafted on the violin, and then move over to be wowed by an acoustic guitar that blends nimble Kottke-like finger picking with the strength of blues and rock. Simply put, Feed The Dog's genre bending, shake-your-hips, instrumental flair is a crowd-pleaser wherever they perform.
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
Unity the Band is an Award Winning Roots, Rock Reggae Band. Theirs is a music of harmony and happy moments that bring about that feeling of oneness, which all genres of music seem to enliven with their own style, including Bluegrass. Within their flare for Reggae Music, this band plays Grateful Dead music which has contributed many tunes that are now staples of Bluegrass Music. Can they merge Bill Monroe tunes like Molly & Tenbrook, In The Pines, or Blue Moon of Kentucky into a Bob Marley fashion at this year’s Bluegrass Fest? Time will tell. In short, this year’s show is bequeath with an extra dimension of dance and Reggae Grass music.
Feed The Dog proved to be an entertaining and just a fun group of individuals to be around at last year's festival---definitely seen as a friend of the Manitowish Waters' Bluegrass Show. Known for their high energy performances more reminiscent of jambase, Feed The Dog is a band driven by the unique and progressive approach of each player. This quartet is hard to peg as imaginative melodies with graceful ambiance are skillfully crafted on the violin, and then move over to be wowed by an acoustic guitar that blends nimble Kottke-like finger picking with the strength of blues and rock. Simply put, Feed The Dog's genre bending, shake-your-hips, instrumental flair is a crowd-pleaser wherever they perform.
Unity the Band is an Award Winning Roots, Rock Reggae Band. Theirs is a music of harmony and happy moments that bring about that feeling of oneness, which all genres of music seem to enliven with their own style, including Bluegrass. Within their flare for Reggae Music, this band plays Grateful Dead music which has contributed many tunes that are now staples of Bluegrass Music. Can they merge Bill Monroe tunes like Molly & Tenbrook, In The Pines, or Blue Moon of Kentucky into a Bob Marley fashion at this year’s Bluegrass Fest? Time will tell. In short, this year’s show is bequeath with an extra dimension of dance and Reggae Grass music.
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
The Driftless Revelers have been known to pleasure a crowd with plectral banjo tones, the mournful wailing of resophonic steel guitars, and the up-right bass bellows of an era that can't quite be defined, but revels in the timeless ephemera of weird old-time American music.
With influences as varied and eccentric as a proper musty smelling thrift store record collection, the band grooves merrily through early roots blues and jazz music, to hillbilly and string band howlers, all the way into the not-quite folk but not-quite psychedelic realms of their own creation.
A Driftless Revelers show will lure you in with their joy--keep you dancing with their search for the cosmic groove in the confines of stringed instruments--and will send you on your way with flashbacks of the Driftless Revelery found only in the essence of the intangible reaches of notes once played-- that then fall silent.
The Driftless Revelers formed in the second spring of the first global pandemic of the 21st century, with one ear turned toward the shellac platters and Victrola virtuosos of the early to mid 20th century, and the other ear glued to the soundscapes of the 1960's & 1970's American freak-folk scene.
Band leader, Matt Sayles, returns to the Manitowish Waters stage after winning fans over in 2003 with his band, Frostbitten Grass, Bluegrass Grown From The Cold, Cold Ground. Fellow songwriters Ben Nelson and Jerod Kaszynski, will accompany him at this year’s MidSummer Bluegrass Festival.
Friday, July 29th
Performances on Main Outdoor Stage
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
With hard driving instrumentals and four-part harmonies, Genesse Ridge is dedicated towards moving bluegrass and old-time music forward.
Hembree's band combines powerful vocals and hot picking to bring a new sound to the bluegrass stage. Of Mr Hembree’s many distingtions as a bluegrass performer over several decades, his tenure as a veteran band member of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys brings a special credibility to any Bluegrass Festival he performs at.
1 PM to 2 PM Bluegrass Institute of the Northwoods Intermission
Bluegrass Jamming 101 Workshop (welcoming beginner level jammers) Led by Genesee Ridge
• Cornhole Tournament
• Power Walk the Trail
• Open Mic (please sign up with stage manager) and
Sound Checks on the Main Stage
• Lunch Break
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
With hard driving instrumentals and four-part harmonies, Genesse Ridge is dedicated towards moving bluegrass and old-time music forward.
5 PM Bluegrass Institute of the Northwoods Intermission
Mark Hembree, Bluegrass Boy, Meet & Greet Q & A
(Please have your thought-out questions ready and/or email them ahead of time)
• Cornhole Tournament (continued)
• Bike Ride The Trail
• Open Mic (please sign up with stage manager) and
Sound Checks on the Main Stage
• Dinner Break
Hembree's band combines powerful vocals and hot picking to bring a new sound to the bluegrass stage. Of Mr Hembree’s many distingtions as a bluegrass performer over several decades, his tenure as a veteran band member of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys brings a special credibility to any Bluegrass Festival he performs at.
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
Hembree's band combines powerful vocals and hot picking to bring a new sound to the bluegrass stage. Of Mr Hembree’s many distingtions as a bluegrass performer over several decades, his tenure as a veteran band member of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys brings a special credibility to any Bluegrass Festival he performs at.
Performances Inside Cozy Cove
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
With hard driving instrumentals and four-part harmonies, Genesse Ridge is dedicated towards moving bluegrass and old-time music forward.
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
Saturday, July 30th
Performances on Main Outdoor Stage
Truman’s Ridge brings it with all the excitement of the early days of Bluegrass: fast paced, classically attired, and the showmanship behind a single vocal microphone. A bit of Folk, a hint of Jazz , and a touch of Swing: Chicago Style Bluegrass at its finest!
Unclaimed Freight has been playing classic bluegrass all across the northern midwest for pert near twenty years.
Hembree's band combines powerful vocals and hot picking to bring a new sound to the bluegrass stage. Of Mr Hembree’s many distingtions as a bluegrass performer over several decades, his tenure as a veteran band member of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys brings a special credibility to any Bluegrass Festival he performs at.
1pm - 2PM Bluegrass Institute of the Northwoods Intermission
Bluegrass Jamming 101 Workshop (welcoming intermediate level jammers) Led by Genesee Ridge
• Cornhole Tournament
• Power Walk the Trail
• Dig Deep and Miles Over Mountains, Meet & Greet Q & A
(Please have your thought-out questions ready and/or email them ahead of time)
• Open Mic (please sign up with stage manager) and
Sound Checks on the Main Stage
The Best Westerns
Formed in 2015 in the dead center of the thriving Midwest roots music scene in Stevens Point, WI, the four members of Dig Deep drew inspiration from their shared appreciation for traditional bluegrass and country music, their love of rock and roll, and their combined decades of hard gigging in the punk/metal scenes, local bars and roadhouses, and regional festivals. Three releases and 600+ shows later, they have firmly established themselves as an utterly unique and powerful force in the root's world.
With a body of work that showcases their vision, craft, heart, and clout as songwriters and instrumentalists, Dig Deep has earned a reputation for their well-honed and hard-edged sound that goes far beyond bluegrass, as well as their blistering and boisterous live performances that give audiences much more than a string band show. https://www.facebook.com/digdeepwi
Photo credit: by Sage Saladino Portrait Artist
5 PM Bluegrass Institute of the Northwoods Intermission
Dave Peterson & 1946, Meet & Greet Q & A
(Please have your thought-out questions ready and/or email them ahead of time)
• Cornhole Tournament (continued)
• Bike Ride The Trail
• Open Mic (please sign up with stage manager) and
Sound Checks on the Main Stage
• Dinner Break
Performances on Main Outdoor Stage
With hard driving instrumentals and four-part harmonies, Genesse Ridge is dedicated towards moving bluegrass and old-time music forward.
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
Hembree's band combines powerful vocals and hot picking to bring a new sound to the bluegrass stage. Of Mr Hembree’s many distingtions as a bluegrass performer over several decades, his tenure as a veteran band member of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys brings a special credibility to any Bluegrass Festival he performs at.
The Best Westerns
Formed in 2015 in the dead center of the thriving Midwest roots music scene in Stevens Point, WI, the four members of Dig Deep drew inspiration from their shared appreciation for traditional bluegrass and country music, their love of rock and roll, and their combined decades of hard gigging in the punk/metal scenes, local bars and roadhouses, and regional festivals. Three releases and 600+ shows later, they have firmly established themselves as an utterly unique and powerful force in the root's world.
With a body of work that showcases their vision, craft, heart, and clout as songwriters and instrumentalists, Dig Deep has earned a reputation for their well-honed and hard-edged sound that goes far beyond bluegrass, as well as their blistering and boisterous live performances that give audiences much more than a string band show. https://www.facebook.com/digdeepwi
Photo credit: by Sage Saladino Portrait Artist
Performances Inside Cozy Cove
Unclaimed Freight has been playing classic bluegrass all across the northern midwest for pert near twenty years.
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
Formed in 2015 in the dead center of the thriving Midwest roots music scene in Stevens Point, WI, the four members of Dig Deep drew inspiration from their shared appreciation for traditional bluegrass and country music, their love of rock and roll, and their combined decades of hard gigging in the punk/metal scenes, local bars and roadhouses, and regional festivals. Three releases and 600+ shows later, they have firmly established themselves as an utterly unique and powerful force in the root's world.
With a body of work that showcases their vision, craft, heart, and clout as songwriters and instrumentalists, Dig Deep has earned a reputation for their well-honed and hard-edged sound that goes far beyond bluegrass, as well as their blistering and boisterous live performances that give audiences much more than a string band show. https://www.facebook.com/digdeepwi
Photo credit: by Sage Saladino Portrait Artist
Miles Over Mountains plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics, and feeling. Their live catalogue draws from their studio albums “Five Star Heart Breaker” (2015), “Ballads & Burners” (2017), and “Work Harder Not Smarter" (2020). The band has been performing, touring, and making records since early 2014 playing an average of 150+ shows per year throughout the Midwest region and beyond. The band looks with excitement and hungry ambition towards the 2022 tour season, coming to a town near you!
Sunday, July 31st - Gospel Hours
Performances on Main Outdoor Stage
Unclaimed Freight has been playing classic bluegrass all across the northern midwest for pert near twenty years.
With hard driving instrumentals and four-part harmonies, Genesse Ridge is dedicated towards moving bluegrass and old-time music forward.
Formed in 2015 in the dead center of the thriving Midwest roots music scene in Stevens Point, WI, the four members of Dig Deep drew inspiration from their shared appreciation for traditional bluegrass and country music, their love of rock and roll, and their combined decades of hard gigging in the punk/metal scenes, local bars and roadhouses, and regional festivals. Three releases and 600+ shows later, they have firmly established themselves as an utterly unique and powerful force in the root's world.
With a body of work that showcases their vision, craft, heart, and clout as songwriters and instrumentalists, Dig Deep has earned a reputation for their well-honed and hard-edged sound that goes far beyond bluegrass, as well as their blistering and boisterous live performances that give audiences much more than a string band show. https://www.facebook.com/digdeepwi
Photo credit: by Sage Saladino Portrait Artist
Unclaimed Freight has been playing classic bluegrass all across the northern midwest for pert near twenty years.