Harmony Fest to bring wide range of tunes to downtown TR

By Robert Tomlinson
News Director

THREE RIVERS — The annual celebration of music and community in downtown Three Rivers is returning for its 33rd year next weekend.
HarmonyFest will return to downtown Three Rivers on the downtown block of North Main Street on Sunday, Sept. 6, with music going from 1-10 p.m. It features a wide variety of music, from country to soul to blues, and is one of the biggest social events in the city outside of the Water Festival.
“It’s positive. Energy, music, joyful. Say what you want, but you can just lose yourself in it, and it’s a nice day,” HarmonyFest organizer Charlie Wolgamood said. “You can grab food, hang out with people you don’t see, but the music is the most important thing, and the energy that people bring.”
This year’s headlining act, performing starting at 8:30 p.m., will be the Out of Favor Boys, a blues band out of Kalamazoo that has rock-and-roll and funk elements to their music. They previously headlined HarmonyFest in 2023, and Wolgamood said the group are “consummate professionals.”
“They do kind of a rock and roll blues funk, and they’re very entertaining. They know how to perform, and they sound really good, especially at night,” Wolgamood said.
As for the rest of the schedule, the music starts at 1 p.m. with country singer Paul Jellico, the musical alter ego of Three Rivers Third District City Commissioner Tony Stanfill. Wolgamood said Jellico will bring his original songs to the stage in the half-hour he’s scheduled for.
“I didn’t realize that he has a social presence where he’s got a lot of country western. I’ve heard his voice, and it’s great and he knows music,” Wolgamood said. “He’s another guy that’s always involved with music, likes music, brings good energy. I’ve watched a couple of his videos, and he’s got a voice.”
Following Jellico, at 1:30 p.m., will be The Lisa Chilton Band, a blues band out of the Decatur area that also incorporates their own twist on funk, R&B, folk music, and more. Wolgamood said Chilton, the lead singer, has a “great, loud, commanding voice” and will rock the stage at the festival.
“She’ll play with everybody. She goes up to a lot of these jams with different bands when they have open mics and get together and sing, and she’s a great person that loves all kinds of music,” Wolgamood said. “They do a bunch of originals, then they do some covers, and they put their own twist on them.”
At 2:30 p.m. will be The Reverend Jesse Ray, whom Wolgamood described as a “rockabilly one-man band.” Ray previously played at HarmonyFest with Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish in 2024, and Wolgamood said he puts on an entertaining show while he performs.
“He’s a fun guy. I remember talking to him before, and he puts on a good show and dresses the part and acts the part and brings energy. He’s a really good musician,” Wolgamood said. “He opens up for a lot of different bands, plays a lot of acts, plays all over the state and the Midwest. And he’s another guy that brings it.”
Next on the schedule at 3:30 p.m. will be Yolonda Yogi Lavender, a soul singer out of the Kalamazoo area that has performed at a number of places in the local area, including being part of a summer residency at the Twine Urban Winery in Kalamazoo.
“She’s a positive person, got a great voice, has a certain style that most people like,” Wolgamood said. “Listened to some of her music, and she posted online, it’s very nice.”
An annual fan favorite over the last several years, the Kalamazoo Pipe Band will return to HarmonyFest, bagpipes and all, at 5 p.m.
“I like to have bagpipes. It just conveys fun,” Wolgamood said. “I’m not going to go out and battle, but get you fired up to go with life, and they tell the little stories about the music and what it means.”
Following the bagpipes will be the country/western band Bootstrap Boys, performing at 5:30 p.m. Wolgamood said the Grand Rapids-based band’s country music comes with a “twist” and a message.
“They’ve got just a great country voice,” Wolgamood said. “They’ve played a bunch of festivals that they were recommended to me by several different people I know that do music around the state. They’re easy to work with; They’re kind of social warriors, so we’ll see what happens with that, but I think we’re going to like these people. They do a lot of originals, and then I noticed they do a couple covers if you look them up.”
Finally, the penultimate band of the day, performing at 6:45 p.m., will be the Chris Canas Band, known also as Detroit’s “Prince of Blues.” Wolgamood said he’s also looking forward to this band performing their blues and funk stylings for the Three Rivers crowd.
“They’ve got albums out, and they play all over the state, and again, they’re another band that’s professional,” Wolgamood said. “This is what they do, and they know how to bring a show.”
Following the main performances, Wolgamood said there will be an afterparty at East Alley, with a performance by the local rapper ScRap. Wolgamood also teased a possible appearance by the band Faux Beamage, however it has not been fully confirmed as of yet.
Outside of the music, there will be plenty for both adults and families to enjoy. From 1-4 p.m. will be the Kids Zone at the south end of the street, with a number of kids’ activities including a foam machine, arts and crafts, and more. There will also be food trucks and vendors available, with the Riviera Theatre Bar, Useless Creatures Brewing Company, and Kingbird and The Ordinary restaurants open for business that day as well.
Wolgamood, overall, said there’s plenty for people to enjoy throughout the day at this year’s HarmonyFest.
“It’s going to be fun. Bring your family, bring your chair, there’ll be a lot of great music, stuff for kids, and it’s going to be fun,” Wolgamood said. “It’s just good energy, positive energy.”
Admission to HarmonyFest is free, and donations will be accepted throughout the day for the event.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.