The 18th Annual Fretboard Festival will take place both in person and virtually at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Anna Whitten Hall. The Fretboard Festival is a celebration of Kalamazoo's stringed-instrument legacy and musical heritage. This free event invites visitors to meet instrument designers and learn about their trade, attend workshops for a variety of stringed instruments, and hear live performances from area musicians.

Schedule:

Friday, March 3, 2023

6:00pm & 8:00pm: Bahar Ensemble - Mary Jane Stryker Theater

Bahar Ensemble is a collection of musicians from Kurdistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States playing traditional Middle Eastern music around the Kalamazoo area.

Bahar Ensemble features Ahmed Tofiq, violin, Liz Youker, cello, Beau Bothwell, oud, and Dede Alder and Carolyn Koebel, percussion. Bahar Ensemble performs Middle-Eastern music, including Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Egyptian,  Lebanese.  

Saturday, March 4, 2023

10:00am - 11:00am: Mark Sahlgren & Darcy Wilkin - Mary Jane Stryker Theater

Mark Sahlgren has been playing locally and elsewhere around Michigan for years, and recently received a Community Medal of Arts Award from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Darcy is an accomplished singer, guitarist, elementary school teacher, Kalamazoo Valley Community College instructor, and a founding member of her band, The Corn Fed Girls, a favorite on the Michigan folk music festival circuit. The father-and-daughter team currently host WMUK’s weekly acoustic music showcase, Grassroots.

11:00am - 12:00pm: Grace Theisen Band - Anna Whitten Hall

Grace Theisen is an Americana/Blues artist originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her love for music started in her childhood living room, harmonizing to folk and blues songs with her family. Inspired by a variety of artists from bluegrass/folk singers like Patty Griffin and Alison Krauss to pop artists like Billy Joel and The Beatles to blues artists ranging from B.B. King to Bonnie Raitt. Her newest single, Wild Wild Woman is out now across all streaming platforms.

11:00am - 12:00pm  &  1:00pm - 2:00pm: Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra - Planetarium

The Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra is a plucked string ensemble of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and bass. The KMGO was founded in 2003 to revive the mandolin orchestra tradition in Kalamazoo. The orchestra enjoys performing a wide variety of music including classical, world, and traditional mandolin orchestra music. We have premiered original music composed for the orchestra and have sponsored workshops with international mandolin virtuosi.

12:00pm - 1:00pm: Dave Johnson - Mary Jane Stryker Theater

Dave Johnson is an artist, composer, and celebrated performer in the southwest Michigan music scene, and beyond. Dave draws inspiration from 90’s alt-country and roots rock, and delivers personal and meaningful songs with a voice often compared to Neil Young, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor.

1:00pm – 2:00pm: Bob Rowe & The Green Valley Boys - Anna Whitten Hall

One of the longest-running bands in Michigan and members of the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame, Bob Rowe and The Green Valley Boys are widely known for their fine blend of traditional country, folk, and gospel music. They have performed for thousands over the span of many years and won numerous awards, accolades, and acclaim throughout the Southwest Michigan region and beyond!

2:00pm - 3:00pm: Selkie - Mary Jane Stryker Theater

Selkie is a trio of dynamic Celtic musicians who play traditional music and original music with a trademark intensity and drive. The sounds of flute, fiddle, bouzouki, banjo, guitar, accordion, and harp are woven into Selkie's music, along with the vocal harmonies they use for their songs. Selkie members Jim Spalink, Michele Venegas, and Cara Lieurance  bonded through previous musical projects and a love of sharing Celtic music with others.

3:00pm - 4:00pm: Fareed Haque & Goran Ivanovic - Anna Whitten Hall

Inspired by the rhythms and melodies of flamenco, jazz, classical, rock and the Balkan region, this performance features the unrivaled guitar artistry of two of the finest players of their respective generations. Their music is carefully balanced between blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty. Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque recorded two CDs together, Macedonian Blues and 7 Boats, to great critical acclaim, even getting the nod as top best acoustic guitar albums 2004 from acoustic guitar magazine.

4:00pm – 5:00pm: Joel Mabus - Mary Jane Styrker Theater

Joel Mabus is a maverick in the folk music world. An award-winning folk singer, he defies any easy pigeonhole. By turns, he picks a mountain banjo to accompany an ancient ballad, sings a witty song about modern life, plays a sweet Irish melody on guitar, swings a hot jazz number, and then reaches deep for a soulful expression of values in a troubled world.  He tops it all with a flatpicked fiddle tune or old ukulele song -- all skillfully blended into a seamless flow. One fan said, “Its music from the heart that hits you right between the eyes.”  A mainstay on the folk circuit these past 40 years, Joel has 27 albums to his credit; the latest is Time & Truth.

5:00pm - 6:00pm: Crossroads Resurrection - Anna Whitten Hall

Formerly Crossroads Blues Band, Crossroads Resurrection is one of the premier definers of the Kalamazoo sound. Their unique, funky blend of blues, soul and swamp grooves as well as their engaging stage show has been winning awards and entertaining Michigan audiences for years. The lineup consists of the big vocals and smooth sax playing of front man Eddie Lester, the stellar guitar and vocals of Dave Allemang, and the solid rhythm section of Charles Johnson on bass and Jeff Fernandez on drums. They have shared the stage with many notable artists including Little Charlie and the Night Cats,Lonnie Brooks and Tab Benoit.

Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 - Saturday, March 4, 2023

Location:

Kalamazoo Valley Museum - 230 North Rose Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49003
Anna Whitten Hall, KVCC - 202 N Rose St, Kalamazoo, MI 49007

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