Interview with Midwest Fest Founder Corey Densmore

Midwest Fest is a 5 day music festival taking place in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan starting today and on through the weekend (July 21-25). Since last year’s festival drew over 500 people, the the city of Mt. Pleasant is coordinating this year’s festival to coincide with their annual Street Fair.  The festival now will not only feature great live music, but breweries from all over the Midwest, and the artwork of some phenomenal local artists.  I recently chatted with Cory Densmore, the brainchild of Midwest Fest to get the details on this year’s event.

So what exactly is Midwest Fest and how did it all start?
It all started last year basically as an idea I had to showcase all of my favorite bands from around the Midwest on one weekend. The weekend ended up becoming 5 days really quickly due to the sheer number of bands that were interested in playing. Last year was the first year, and we had 34 bands play. This year, I had to add 2 stages to accommodate the now 62 bands playing.

Last year’s headliners were Midwestern favorites like Anathallo and Maps & Atlases. This year, we upped the number of national touring acts and even invited some from outside the Midwest, like Abe Vigoda, Andrew Jackson Jihad and Talbot Tagora, all from the west coast.

How do you go about picking the bands for Midwest Fest?
I go about picking the bands based on personal preference as well as things I’ve heard about local bands from friends and other bands in the area. A lot of it is word of mouth. I compile a list of potential bands, secure the headliners for each night and then build that night’s lineup around those headliners. For example, Javelins and Cheap Girls are PERFECT compliments to the sound Sybris brings to the table.

Why summer time in Mt. Pleasant in stead of fall when the students are back?
I chose to do summer time in Mt. Pleasant because it made more sense to not compete with all of the other programs that take place during the school year. During this week in the summer, the only other thing going on in town is the Mt. Pleasant Street Festival, which this year has decided to join forces with us to create a very unique atmosphere for people of all ages in downtown Mt. Pleasant next week.

What is the music scene like in Mt. Pleasant?
Next year’s festival will likely take place in during the school year, with fewer bands, and a focus on Michigan in forefront again. Probably in April. And the festival will take place on Thursday-Saturday, rather than a full week. There will be more of an outdoor component next year as well.

Mt. Pleasant’s music scene has gotten much stronger since DITR started putting on concerts here. Before that, there was no real organization to anything and there were random shows here and there, but nothing really solid to fall back on so to speak. For a while after Deadwait Records quit putting on concerts at the Wesley Foundation in 2005, there was a lull in any musical activity in town, especially when Anathallo moved to Chicago in 2007. Since our first show in October 2007 though, there has been a resurgance of interest in local music, and a few new bands have even started making headwind.

Do bands from Southeast part of the State due well when they come into town?
Bands from the Detroit/Ann Arbor region typically do really well up here, with a lot of the college students in the area coming from that region of Michigan. For example, a show this April with Satin Peaches, The Decks and Lightning Love had around 400-600 people attend. The Hard Lessons consistently draw 200+, and Great Lakes Myth Society can draw 100-150 most times they come.  Some other bands like Javelins, Mason Proper and Silverghost also have growing fan bases in the area.

Final question, why should our readers drive up to MP to see Midwest Fest!
Where else are you going to see bands for less than $1 each? If you buy a 5 day pass, you’re only paying 50 cents per band! Basically this festival is all about enjoying the natural beauty that surrounds downtown Mt. Pleasant in addition to seeing a ton of great music. People from Detroit will see many familiar faces on this festival in a super intimate setting. Even our biggest venue only holds 500, and there’s not a bad “seat” in the house. For $30, you can see some of indie rock’s best and brightest, as well as many Michigan favorites all within 2 blocks of each other over the course of 5 nights. Even if you come for only one day, the fewest number of bands playing any given day is 10…so you’re going to get a LOT of bang for your buck.

TICKET INFO:
$8-12 per day, and $40 for a 5 day Pass.

VENUES:
Rubble’s Bar-112 W. Michigan Street-headlining stage 7/21-7/24
Broadway Theater-216 E. Broadway-headlining stage for 7/25 finale
Fifi’s French Press-203 W. Broadway-matinee stage all 5 days
There will be an outdoor free stage located at the intersection of Main and Michigan Streets, all 4 stages are within 3 blocks of each other in downtown Mt. Pleasant.