Michigan Irish Music Festival — Local services in Muskegon

I feel compelled this morning to share my thoughts and experience on this year's West Michigan Irish Music Festival. First the good: Heritage Park is an excellent setting for a music festival. The park fronts the lake and cruise ships can dock right at the festival grounds! The volunteer efforts are impressive. Security is excellent keeping everyone safe, checking bags, etc. There was lots of top talent to enjoy and marvel over. There are interesting sidebar activities, demonstrations, food and more on offer. The event seems well-managed for the most part. Sunday is a free day which the festival gets kudos for inclusiveness. Perhaps they may be willing to consider my constructive feedback. And now the not so good: My biggest constructive criticism is that the extremely loud electric bands ruin the festival. The noise levels from the loud electric bands bleed over to the other stages and ruin the performances of the excellent traditional Irish music performances. I. could hear the booming bass from these electric bands from a quarter of a mile away! This ruined the festival for me. Additionally, I do not care for the Scottish bag pipes. Also, the festival should implement a strict no smoking policy. The sessions and busking locations should be isolated and staffed to facilitate participation by amateur attendees who wish to play and perform. And although I am a Buster Keaton fan, I feel that the festival needs to maintain a focus. I would prefer a focus on Irish Traditional music. I would recommend moving away from the ultra-loud electric bands to prevent the sound (especially electric bass) bleeding over to the other stages. I think this festival has the potential to be a world-class, premier music event. However; I feel I wasted $ 50 for a four-day pass when Thursday and Friday are evening only with Thursday offering only one stage and none of the additional benefits of the festival, i.e. busking or sessions. Saturday the gates opened at 11:30 am. Sunday is a free day which the festival gets kudos for inclusiveness. I will most likely not return next year. It is too frustrating to have loud bass noise from another stage bleed into an otherwise excellent performance that I would wish to enjoy. And this does not begin to address the issue of the risk of hearing damage with loud electric bands and ultra-powerful PA systems turned up to ear...

Won’t be back until organizers honor musicians and honor those paying to LISTEN by

1. banishing the hideously loud fake amplified bass from all stages,

2. taking down the horrid rows of colored lights cursedly flashing into the eyes of audience members trying to watch the artists on stage,

3. permanently moving noisy alcohol sales OUT of the performance tents as the drinkers selfishly, rudely, offensively SHOUT over the music to converse in groups,

4. stop serving bloody Budweiser dish water and foul imitation stout from God-knows-where, instead of creamy dark Guinness or Murphy’s with a head on it, made in Ireland.

Get REAL !

Restore a deference to the simple charm of Irish tradition. Provide tunes without blinding folks and making them DEAF.

It’s a shame.

Restore this festival to basic good Irish-ness. Forsake the rot of American...

We have attended Michigan Irish Music Festival for years. We always have a fantastic time. There are many fun activities for kids and a large playground for them. There are so many tents filled with extremely talented musicians throughout the weekend. You can find so many Irish themed items and food choices to purchase. And, of course they have booze to drink. The one tent we always attend is the Irish Wake tent. A lovely couple explains the traditions surrounding the death of an Irish person, and how traditional customs came to be. The couple is so kind, they are so knowledgeable about Irish cultureand traditions, and they are great storytellers. I highly recommend attending the Irish Music Fest, and be sure to stop and learn about...