The Patchwork Art & Music Festival kicked off last weekend in downtown Saginaw, beginning a nine-day run of local entertainment and showcases across the Tri-Cities.
2016 marks the inaugural year of the Patchwork – a festival that combines local art and music into a series of venues all over Saginaw, Bay City and Midland, described as a “big week of unity and entertainment.”
The festival kicked off this weekend with an opening art exhibition titled “Funhouse,” featuring art from both Michigan-based and national artists, and a concert from Detroit electronic hip-hop duo Gosh Pith and Detroit pop two-piece Valley Hush.
Both of the events occurred at Counter Culture in Old Town Saginaw, a venue that will hold many of Patchwork’s events this week.
The venue’s co-owners, Curtis Dalton and Ben Champagne, played a major part in booking and scheduling the festival, hoping that, with enough community support, Patchwork could become a staple of the Tri-Cities’ thriving art and music scene.
“The talks (for Patchwork) began last summer, and the ball really started to get rolling in the fall,” Dalton said. “We run so many events all the time that it’s already like we’re running one continuous festival, but we’ve wanted to do something over the top like this since … our initial opening.”
Dalton said that, while Patchwork is very music-heavy, the other mediums that compose the festival are just as important. Visual art, film, poetry, and wellness all play a major part of the festival’s success.
Some of the festival’s headliners, in addition to Gosh Pith, include Ann Arbor country-folk artist Nathan K, Bay City metal/punk quartet Desiring Dead Flesh (performing April 13) and Grand Rapids psych rock trio Heaters (performing April 15).
Other notable events throughout the week include a poetry open mic at The Fix in Bay City on Tuesday, April 12, Yogaudio at The Bradley House Theatre in Saginaw on Wednesday, April 13 and a reading from Andy Mozina in SVSU’s Founder’s Hall on Friday, April 15.
The week will finish on Saturday, April 16, with Detroit pop outfit Flint Eastwood performing a headlining set at the Prime Event Center in Bay City.
The band won’t be alone, however, as they’ll be joined by a bevy of local bands from all over the state, including Flint R&B artist Tunde Olaniran, Detroit electro-punk duo Nigel & the Dropout and Grand Rapids indie-pop two-piece hi-ker, among others.
Dalton said that support for the festival’s lineup wouldn’t have happened without the assistance of heavy community involvement.
“The support of others has helped us so much,” Dalton said. “In an age of social disconnect by way of social media, word of mouth is the best form of promotion.”
Dalton said that he hopes that Patchwork will help bridge the gap between the Tri-Cities.
“These areas literally are the patches that we’re hoping to sew together,” Dalton said. “City lines are not real boundaries. Let’s all hang out. Let’s all be friends. Let’s spread the art, and treat this generation to the right things.”
For more information and to purchase tickets for events, head to patchworkis.com. Curtis Dalton can be reached at [email protected], and Counter Culture is located at 620 Gratiot Ave.
