Dave Adkins & Mountain Soul at Backwoods Bluegrass Fay Fest ’25 – photo © Bill Warren
Cheryl and Lonnie Smith have taken an idea to honor Lonnie’s mother and stepfather, Fay and Bill Hunter, and turned it into a bluegrass festival experience.
The family had celebrated Fay’s 60th birthday with Dave Evans providing the entertainment. Lonnie told me that his father, Leroy, instilled the love of traditional bluegrass music in the family. That love and the memories of Fay have now seen the fifth year of the Backwoods Bluegrass Fay Fest.
The venue is 100 acres of family pride. The stage is nestled in a woodlot with a snack bar, cabins, and a barn nearby. There is a large barn in case of inclement weather.
Fay Fest is billed as a family festival. It is most certainly that. There is a playground and a bounce house. Lonnie collects John Deere tractors. He has a big wagon that is used for kids’ rides. As a side note – the tractor pulling the wagon is a 1948 John Deere H. I logged a lot of seat time on one of these as a kid. Oh – and the tractor is the same age as this guy!
Backwoodsgatherings.com provides more history of this wonderful venue outside the small Michigan town of Croswell.
Lonnie and Cheryl raised their six children in a small cabin on the property. All six were on hand to help with the festival. All twelve of Their grandchildren were on hand to enjoy the weekend. Most of them sang on stage Saturday night.
The music started Thursday evening. And, crazy as it sounds, a Canadian customs computer failure caused a problem that evening. All US/Canada crossings were affected. Port Huron, Michigan is one such crossing. The back up on the two interstate highways leading to the crossing had miles of backups. It took me three and a half hours to get one mile to an exit and take backroads to the festival.
Dreyden Gordon, who MCed the festival, and Tim Coffey filled the bill for the evening. They were joined by Vance Bonebrake, Brandt Walden, David Walden, and DJ Baker.
Friday kicked off with Tim Coffey and Elkridge. They provide rich traditional bluegrass.
Michigan’s own Harbourtown was up next. They are a popular regional band and a great supporter of the music.
Stanley Efaw plays with Ralph Stanley II but puts together a band for occasional shows when he is not on the road. He was joined by Jesse Baker, Kevin Prater, Bo Isaac, and Jeremie Cole. Isaac Smith played a set giving the crowd twin fiddles.
The Kevin Prater Band spent two days at the festival. He did a complete set of James King music. Dalton Smith sounds a lot like James. It was quite a trip down memory lane.
Sammy Adkins and the Sandy Hook Mountain Boys is one of the mainstays of the festival. Lonnie says that he has been on the festival from the start. He helped get it rolling.
Tracy Evans and Riverbend is the other mainstay. He honors his father Dave’s legacy with the Smith family.
Tyler Gitchel is a young country artist from the West side of Michigan. He is beginning to get recognized more each time he performs.
Ryan Scott and the Creek Hound are a regular at a one-day rock festival held earlier in the year at the venue. They also play a grassy set at Fay Fest. Their fiddle player, Noah York, passed in April. Ryan dedicated this performance to his memory. The set was very moving.
Dave Adkins and Mountain Soul made their first trip to the festival. The crowd loved his high energy show. Dave, Bo Isaac, And Kevin Prater combined for a tune. It was strong! Kevin and Dave started playing music together at eleven years of age.
The sound system was provided by Magnify the Sound.
This is a growing festival. Put the first weekend in October on your calenday. The Smiths will welcome you to the family.
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