By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — An annual celebration of music and more returns to Three Rivers this weekend.
The 31st Three Rivers HarmonyFest music festival will take place this Sunday, Sept. 1, in downtown Three Rivers from 1-10 p.m. The festival area will open with the Main Street Commons opening at 11 a.m.
HarmonyFest, which takes place every year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, features several different bands of different genres from around the area and the region performing on the north end of a blocked-off-to-traffic Main Street in downtown Three Rivers. The lineup for this year’s free festival, organizer Charlie Wolgamood said, is no different in terms of the eclectic mix of genres.
“It’s shaping up, and we’re doing okay. We have a nice mix this year, and it should be fun with a lot of different types of music,” Wolgamood said. “The bands we have bring really good energy early on and later on.”
This year’s headlining act, taking the stage at 8:30 p.m., is the Desmond Jones Band, a five-piece rock band from Grand Rapids who will be wrapping up their summer tour by the time HarmonyFest rolls around. Their music, according to the band’s website, is centered around “melodic guitar riffs, funky bass lines, groovy drumbeats, and a big ole’ pile of saxophone,” taking influence from Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Mingus, Phish, and Led Zeppelin.
“I call it a rock band, but they’re a band where they bring a lot of stuff. They’re fun, energetic, and they try a lot of different things,” Wolgamood said. “People get moving at their concerts; I’ve known several people that’ve seen them, and they like them a lot. They play all over the place.”
The music begins at 1 p.m. with local cover band Spork Fight returning to the HarmonyFest stage.
“They’ve played for us before. They mostly do covers, the lead singer is a great singer, and they put their own twist on songs from the 80s, 90s and current stuff,” Wolgamood said. “It’s pretty good.”
At 2 p.m., another locally-based band, rock band Faux Beamage, will perform for those in attendance.
“They’re young guys, but they’re kind of rock but interesting. The original stuff, they put a twist on,” Wolgamood said. “They’re very fun to listen to with rock and jazz elements.”
Next, at 3:15 p.m., Grand Rapids-based two-piece rockabilly band Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish will take to the stage.
“They’re fun, entertaining, and they put on a good show. They’ve played all over Michigan and other states, and they bring a lot of energy,” Wolgamood said. “They have a pretty big sound for a drum and a guitar people. Jesse also does some harmonica too, and a little bit of banter with the crowd.”
At 4:30 p.m., the Kalamazoo Pipe Band will return to HarmonyFest for the third year in a row to bring their bagpipe sound to downtown.
“Always got to have bagpipes. It sounds great and bounces off the buildings,” Wolgamood said. “They usually tell stories about some of the songs the play, and where they came from historically.”
At 5:15 p.m., Kalamazoo-based blues band The Kennedy Affair returns for the second straight year to HarmonyFest, playing R&B, rock and soul music intertwined with a blues sound. Wolgamood said the band added a couple other pieces since their last appearance.
“This year, they’re a five-piece band. I think they added another guitar player and a keyboard, and I’m looking forward to them,” Wolgamood said. “They’ve played around the area quite a bit this summer, and we’re lucky to have them.”
Finally, prior to the Desmond Jones Band, a favorite from last year returns to HarmonyFest at 7 p.m., as west Michigan-based alternative Latin rock band Cabildo takes the stage with a blend of ska and folk sounds in their music.
“They’ve got a nice sound when they get on stage, it’s real guitar-driven with a nice rhythm section,” Wolgamood said. “They were great last year. People enjoyed their energy last year, and it’s easy to dance to.”
During the festival, there will be several food trucks and vendors available, while Useless Creatures Brewing Company, the Riviera Theatre Bar, and Main Street Café will be open for part of the festival’s runtime for food and drink, and Lowry’s Books and World Fare will be open for sales.
the Kids Zone will run from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Portage Avenue, moving from where it usually was on the south end of the downtown block. It will feature games, prizes, face painting, arts and crafts, a balloon artist, a magician, and a caricature artist.
Wolgamood said the change in location is something organizers wanted to try out this year.
“We wanted to try something different, see how it worked over there,” Wolgamood said. “It was fine over where it was, but we need to change things around once in a while.”
Overall, Wolgamood said there’s a lot of buzz about this year’s festival, and he looks forward to seeing people downtown, in which he estimates “several thousand” will show up throughout the day.
“It’s cool having the street closed, and the music sounds good bouncing off the buildings,” Wolgamood said. “You see people out there that don’t see each other often, and it brings people from around the area. It’s great music, you can visit with your neighbors, get some food, bring your kids; there’s a little bit of everything.”
Admission to HarmonyFest is free.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
