Funk Festival Rocks Old Town

The first annual Funk Festival invaded Old Town Lansing on Saturday, May 22^nd. It is the first festival of its kind in the Midwest and organizers are hoping that it brings a bit of life into the Old Town area. Old town is known for its development of the contemporary arts mostly due to the activities of Terry Terry, the President of the Michigan Institute of Contemporary Art (MICA). The MICA group is responsible for other successful festivals such as Jazz Fest and Blues Fest. The group hopes Michigan Funk can be added to the roster of local concerts and draw more people into the Old Town area.

Performers this year included Sun Messengers, Global Village, Valerie Barrymore & Foundation of Funk, Nadir, and Soul Xpress (the official band of the Detroit Pistons). Of course Mi-FUNK featured the five Michigan FUNK bands, an expansive beverage tent highlighting Michigan Beers and Wine, local food vendors, retro-merchandise vendors, and the unmistakable sounds of FUNK beating through the streets of historic Old Town Lansing. There was a raised deck at the intersection of East Grand River and Turner Street in the City Lot 56 for patron dancing (it was full almost the entire day) and at dusk a laser light show lit up the stage.

Terry said members of MICA and the Old Town Business and Development Association (OTBADA) hope Mi-Funk will bring more attention to the shops and businesses in Old Town. "We threw around a few ideas and genres. Funk just kept coming back up - people love the energy and it's great dance music. Funk has an older crowd and a younger crowd, so it should be a fun mi,." Terry said.

"The value of this concert is that it helps new people discover what we have going on in downtown Lansing," he said. "Every time a new group of people visits, they become patrons of the restaurants and shops, days and years after the fact. Some people come in and decide to live in Old Town, or start a business - we've seen that happen over and over."

OTBADA and director Sharen Lange had been searching for a third festival to add to their yearly line-up. When asked why funk was choosen she had this to say, "It crossed generational and cultural divides. Everybody either remembered the music, said they loved to dance to it."

This year was a trial run and judging from the turnout Mi-Funk will be bigger and better next year. The talk is that it will be expanded to a two-day format in the tradition of the Blues and Jazz Festivals. That would be great for Old Town and hopefully as it grows we can look forward to some old school acts like Maceo Parker in the near future.