Paul K. Petersen
By Briana Rupel
Beacon Correspondent
What makes any event in Grand Marais so special is rarely the occasion itself — it’s because at the heart of everything is a strong sense of community.
The annual Grand Marais Music & Arts Festival is no different. Now approaching its 44th year, many things have shifted over the decades: bands, vendors and — of course — the weather, but the one common denominator has always been the people. This year, the event will take place Aug. 6-8.
Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce vice president Toni Whaley remembers her first time attending the festival in 1994.
“It was very much a big community celebration — everyone in the community came,” Whaley said. “My sister and I would set up a tent and be vendors.”
Now decades later, Whaley and the chamber are teaming up with some other locals with deep ties to the U.P. and Midwest music scene to elevate a festival that started as a simple bluegrass fest and morphed into something much bigger that many over the years have helped manage.
One of those people is Tara Dongvillo, who used to book the bands and vendors alongside her dad and husband years ago, until about 2020.
“I missed it a lot,” Dongvillo said. “I think the festival is really important for the community and a cool part of our identity that I want to hang onto. I think for a tiny town like [Grand Marais], it’s pretty incredible to have a well-known, successful festival for so long that musicians, artists and people want to come to.”
Being musicians themselves, Dongvillo and her family not only have the connections to do the job right, but their passion is what really makes their bookings so solid.
“I just really love music,” she said. “I like the scene. I love going to shows. Over the years, I’ve become really good friends with a lot of the bands, and we still all stay connected.”
This year’s lineup will be a mix of familiar faces and throwbacks.
“I wanted to get a few bands that have already been here and killed it, that I knew did well,” she said. “When they played their tunes, you could tell they were having as much fun as the crowd. We also got very lucky with who we got — all of the bands are hot tickets right now.”
One of those hot tickets is The Gasoline Gypsies, who last played Grand Marais in 2018 and are closing the show on Saturday night this year.
“Gasoline Gypsies have had an impressive, understandable trajectory since they’ve been here,” Dongvillo said. “When we booked them in ’18 they had, like, 5,000 followers — now they’re over 100,000 and they’re playing South by Southwest [music festival].”
Dongvillo said the only reason they were able to book them was because of the town and the people.
“They just wanted to show love to the people that had supported them during the beginning,” she said.
Dongvillo gives reasons to get excited about every band. The Friday night closer also promises to bring the energy.
“I couldn’t wait to get Black Jake and the Carnies back,” she said. “They were a huge hit, and they have bubbles and antics and they’re crazy!”
There’s also a lively returning Cajun zydeco band called K. Jones & the Benzie Playboys; The Rupple Brothers, a six-piece, high-energy string band; and Therewolf, a Michigan roots blues and folk-rock band that is an iteration of the Barbarossa Brothers, who some may be familiar with from years past.
Finding Feathers (formerly Seth Brown Duo), along with Silver Creek Revival, are also returning, after last year’s weather cut both of their sets. Kicking things off Thursday is Manitou Truckin’ Company, a Grateful Dead tribute band.
Still, Dongvillo knows that solid bands are nothing without solid sound, so she brought back her tried-and-true sound guy, Travis LaGuire-Quinn, a sound engineer with experience running the second stage at Michigan’s Bliss Fest — and who also understands the unique challenges of the Grand Marais stage.
“They gave me a budget, and he was the first person I called,” Dongvillo said. “He’s a true professional and brings a light rig and all that stuff too.”
New this year is an open mic round-robin that will be hosted by Finding Feathers at 3 p.m. on Saturday. In fact, music won’t start this year until 3 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, allowing the public to pay a $5 gate donation if they’d just like to come support the 35-plus food and craft vendors.
“We really believe in the art and craft and food vendor part — it’s traditional,” Whaley said. “We have some traditional crafters coming, such as tie-dye and henna, and then we have some really well-loved crafters coming back — like the lady that does the beautiful, wood-turned bowls.”
While weather is always unpredictable in Grand Marais, one thing folks can rely on is a festive, family-friendly vibe.
“I think people should expect a really relaxed, festive atmosphere in a community of really friendly, open-minded people,” Whaley said. “There’s everyone from 2-year-olds to 82-year-olds dancing. And they’re on the shore of the most beautiful place you can imagine.”
Coolers with beverages are welcome, but no glass is allowed. Fires and dogs are prohibited. Vendors accept cards and Venmo, but cash is recommended due to limited connectivity.
For tickets and camping, visit grandmaraismichigan.com/store. For festival updates, visit “Grand Marais, MI” on Facebook.