By Jim Bloch
If you’re a fan of music that grew indigenously from America’s plantations, backwaters, hill countries and factories – think blues, zydeco, blue grass, country, old timey, gospel and jazz — the place to be Saturday of Labor Day weekend is Lexington, Michigan, the tiny, pretty port on Lake Huron, 35 minutes north of Port Huron.
“It’s our 23rd Thumbfest and our 20th year in Lexington,” said Mike Mercatante, the festival’s media director. “We’re presenting 34 bands in 45 performance slots on five stages.”
The date is Saturday, Aug. 30. The event, which is produced by the nonprofit Blue Water Folk Society, runs 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Tom Schlicting is the artistic director of Thumbfest and booked all the bands.
“The headliners are Djangophonique, the great jazz manouche band, and its offshoot project Cabaret Boreale playing vintage jazz and featuring accordion, tuba and jazz guitar,” said Mercatante. “The May Apple Collective from the Lansing area will be playing blue grass and old-time mountain music. Leonardo Gianola will be doing blues from the 1920s and ‘30s. Ironwood is male-female duo from Troy playing Irish Celtic music. He plays guitar and bass and does all kinds of looping, and she plays fiddle and mandolin. It’s high energy and a really interesting approach to old-time music. Brand new this year is Reverend Robert, a nationally touring Delta Blues player, and Da Bones Man from the U.P.”
Mercatante, who plays guitar and harmonica with vocalist Jenna Reed in “Still Running,” is sitting out this year’s lineup with a broken hand, the result of a bicycle accident in July.
In addition to the bands, the folk society is presenting six workshops in which attendees may learn tricks to simplify songwriting, playing the ukulele, the American Indian flute, blues progressions on guitar and learning about the folk stylings of Utah Phillips. There will be seven genre-themed jam tents in which visitors may sit in and play blues, country, old time, Irish, harmonica and more. Listen for the deep rhythms of the drum circle down by the harbor’s breakwater and the cries of joy from kids experiencing the discovery tent, both noon-5 p.m.
For a downloadable performance schedule, visit bluewaterfolk.org.
Vendors and food trucks will rim the Harbor Stage.
A 50-50 raffle with $1 tickets will help support the festival as will the $10 per ticket raffle for a Martin acoustic guitar with a built-in pickup, courtesy of Elderly Instruments.
As always, the music, jam tents and workshops are all free.
But free doesn’t mean inexpensive.
“We’ve been losing money for the last couple of years, something that never happened before,” said Mercatante. “Last year, we really took a big hit. Earlier this year, it looked like 2025 would be our last Thumbfest. Then the Village of Lexington’s DDA came through big time. And a private donor, Mary Glidden, matched all contributions to the festival for one month, which amounted to thousands of dollars. Those two contributors really saved the Thumbfest.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
