The 21st Hoxeyville Music Festival was recently held in Wellston, Michigan in the Manisttee National Forest and, unfortunately, it was announced the day before the festival started that this would be the last. For more than 2 decades Hoxeyville was a crucial part of the northern Michigan music scene. The event brought big names into the area and had a knack for highlighting some of the best young Michigan talent. Artists such as Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Lindsay Lou, and Full Cord all owe their current success, at least in part, to the platform that Hoxeyville provided. The event was always marketed as a “family” event, an event where everyone you knew was there and the people that were there that you didn’t know were simply friends you hadn’t met yet. Unlike many festivals, however, Hoxeyville actually felt that way. The artists weren’t just on stage, they were in the crowd or playing at the campsites. Your camping neighbors became your new camp friends. And the environment, the location, and the music made for a magical experience.
It was unfortunate that the final Hoxeyville did not go as planned. The festival had big plans for their lineup. Galactic, Sam Bush Band, Kitchen Dwellers, hometown favorites Lindsay Lou and Full Cord, and Elephant Revival making their first Midwest stop since returning. Coupled with the beautiful location (this part of Michigan is my favorite place to travel to for shows), this event should have been nothing short of magical. The first indication that things may be going wrong came on Thursday, the “pre-party” day of the festival, when it was announced that Galactic would not be performing. There were immediate concerns among fans over what was happening. These concerns increased when, later that day, the festival announced that this would be the last Hoxeyville. Longtime fans were distressed, as Hoxeyville was an annual tradition and a chosen family gathering for so many.
The hits kept coming as, by Friday afternoon, the majority of the national headliners had dropped off of the bill. Sam Bush, Elephant Revival, Cris Jacobs, and Holly Bowling were all saying pretty much the same thing. Broken promises from the promoters and unfulfilled obligations meant that these artists could not travel to the event. Lindsay Lou’s post later that day confirmed that artists were being told either that they were not going to get paid or, at very least, they weren’t going to get paid the day of the show. Seeing as the festival had also announced that they weren’t returning in 2025, it was reasonable for many of these artists to question the promises that they would be paid at a later date. In the span of about 24 hours, during the time that most attendees were either on site or on their way to the event, the lineup had taken a drastic shift. 6 artists, including 4 that would be considered headliners or pre-headliners, dropped out of the event.
I got on site just as the news of how bad the situation was started coming out. When I got to my camp (which was mostly made up of long-time Hoxey supporters) there was a mix of “this sucks” and “we’ll make the best of it.” I wasn’t surprised by the optimistic attitude of my group, although I know I let my frustrations come to the surface quite a bit during the day. Camp was set up, food was cooked, drinks were prepared, joints were passed, and we got ready to enjoy this very unique Hoxeyville.
The good news was that the Friday lineup was intact. And, while there may have been some anger behind the scenes, everyone on stage brought their best. Lindsay Lou showed why she’s a musician that deserves to be featured and celebrated. Her voice, songwriting, and creativity brought joy to the crowd. Ekoostik hookah made their first and only Hoxey appearance, showing off their Ohio jam style to a very receptive Michigan crowd. And Friday headliners Kitchen Dwellers wasted no time exploring their unique bluegrass-jam hybrid, including a sit in from Lou. And Mimi Naja of Fruition sat in with both Lou and Kitchen Dwellers for their entire sets.
Saturday looked more like a Michigan musical celebration than originally intended, although it did fit the Hoxeyville vibe. Airborne or Aquatic inherited the headlining duties for the evening, turning their set into a Michigan music scene VIP party. Drummers, percussionists, guitar players, horn players, and others all took their turns jamming with the band. What impressed me is how the band did not feel out of place in that moment. They were in an extremely difficult position of going from an afternoon set to a Saturday headlining set and they ended up looking like big-time headliners. Tommy Prine, son of John Prine, was my highlight for the day, with an afternoon of songs that his father would have been proud of. And Myron Elkins brought an excellent rock energy to his set to inject some energy into the early evening.
I didn’t end up staying for Sunday. All reports I heard were that Full Cord gave Hoxeyville a truly proper final sendoff, that May Erlewine made everyone cry (in a good way) and The Smokin’ Dobroleles (who were a last minute fill-in) were excellent in their spot. To me it felt like Sunday should be a day of remembrance and mourning for those Hoxeyville faithful who had danced, sang, and met some of their best friends in those woods. While I had been to the site 4 times (twice for Camp Greensky and twice for Hoxeyville) it didn’t hold that place of reverence for me that I know it did for others. I’m glad to know that so many of my friends had the opportunity to say goodbye to Hoxeyville over the course of that weekend and share stories, hugs, and plenty of tears together.
It’s hard to place judgement on any single person or entity for what happened at Hoxeyville. I don’t blame the artists for dropping out. Traveling thousands of miles and taking on expenses when there’s no guarantee that you’ll be paid is simply a bad move, and, with touring profits down for everyone, no artist should be expected to do so. I have tremendous respect for Lindsay Lou and any other artist who still performed despite the broken promises. The Friday artists were already on site, so leaving without playing likely didn’t feel right for them. They did a great job of lifting everyone’s spirits in a difficult time. And Full Cord flying overnight to be at Hoxeyville for Sunday, despite the issues the festival was having, shows how crucial Hoxey was for so many of these artists. I appreciate their willingness to sacrifice for the good of the fans.
I also don’t want to be too hard on the owners and promoters of Hoxeyville. This is a local, family run event. They’ve hosted 21 Hoxeyvilles and many other events on their site. They had the best intentions and I’m sure never wanted to put their fans or any artists in difficult situations. And I know that there are also other factors that they’re dealing with that likely exacerbated the situation and didn’t allow them to have the financial flexibility that they may have otherwise had. They aren’t bad people at all, they are music lovers who found themselves in a very difficult situation. I do think that this information should have come out earlier, absolutely before fans were on site. But hindsight is 20/20, and I’m still hoping for the best for them and I would support their efforts to throw another event in the future.
In the end, I still had a great time. I danced, I sang, I hugged my friends. We enjoyed the event and the people and the beautiful location. No one in my group is complaining about a refund or upset that we went. We all want the best for Hoxeyville going forward. I don’t know if the Hoxeyville story is a part of a greater festival “bubble” that is bursting or if it’s a case of a variety of factors coming together to create an unfortunate situation. But this year won’t blemish the Hoxeyville name or their history of throwing incredible events. I’m glad I was able to go and I hope nothing but the best for the entire Hoxeyville community in the future.
