Rockin' The Buttermilk Jamboree

Modern Rock

By Kristi Kates | March 4, 2017

Many of the details for the 2017 Buttermilk Jamboree have just been announced, with the regional music fest turning up the volume on a full list of Michigan-based acts (and a few imports) alongside national headliners. Topping the roster are The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Red Sea Pedestrians and The Mainstays plus sets from northern Michigan faves like May Erlewine, The Moxie Strings, Jill Jack, K. Jones and the Benzie Playboys and Dede and the Dreamers. Also at Buttermilk, you’ll find workshops, yoga, craft brews and wine, craft vendors, art, poetry readings and plenty more; the Front Porch stage has also been expanded this year with the addition of a tent, chairs and couches to give it a “coffeehouse” feel. Buttermilk Jamboree 2017 will run June 16–18 at the Circle Pines Center in Denton, Mich., between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo; learn more at buttermilkjamboree.org.

In other Michigan festival news, the Faster Horses country music fest is returning for 2017 in Brooklyn, Mich., with an impressive lineup of country-western celebs including Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish), Brett Eldridge, Cole Swindell and Miranda Lambert. Faster Horses is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and will take the form of a three-day camping festival July 21–23; you can get ticket information and all the details at fasterhorsesfestival.com.

Nas’ long-awaited TV drama series Street Dreams finally seems to be getting the go-ahead from the BET television network, with director Jonathan Levine on board to write and direct the pilot. Nas won’t appear in Street Dreams but will instead serve as the show’s producer and originator; his goal is to make the show, set in the early ‘90s, “100 percent authentic.” He will contribute music to the series, but a premiere date for the show has yet to be announced.

Cold War Kids’ sixth studio album, L.A. Divine, is now set to arrive on Capitol Records the first week of April; this will be the band’s followup to its 2014 set Hold My Home, which included Cold War Kids’ biggest single to date, the track “First.” Prior to the album’s release, the band will be on tour throughout the month of March with stops in Chicago Mar. 18 at the Riviera Theater and in Detroit Mar. 21 at St. Andrews Hall; also keep your ears open for the new album’s first single, “Love Is Mystical,” which began showing up on regional radio last week.

Modern Rock Link of the Week:
Spoon is promoting a brand new black and white music video for its track “Can I Sit Next to You.” The video was directed by Marcel Dzama and captures the recklessness of teenage life. Check it out on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6_yJYNF_Qas. You can also take a little road trip to Columbus, Ohio, to hear the band in concert May 11.

Mini Buzz:
Ska legend The English Beat is heading to Ferndale for a show at The Magic Bag Fri., Mar. 17, complete with opening act 1592.
Detroit rapper MotorKam (previously known as MotorCityKam) has just released a new album called Blackdaddy: Greatest Hits, which he’ll reportedly be promoting with a series of local and national shows.
The band The Pixies is playing an all-ages show in Detroit at the Fillmore next fall, with the already-in-demand tickets on sale now for the Oct. 6, 2017, show date; most of The Pixies’ 2018 tour is already sold out.
Hip-hop performer J. Cole has just announced a huge world tour in support of his newest album, 4 Your Eyez Only, that will include a stop at Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills July 23.
Finally, Motown’s Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, just announced she will formally retire from music (with the exception of the occasional special live performance) after releasing one more album; she’s said to be working on the album, which she calls a “love letter to Detroit,” with the equally legendary Stevie Wonder…And that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.