Julius “The Genius” Fisher Julius is an African-American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, band leader, and DJ. He is a gifted keyboard player and will be the opener for Crystal Shawanda. He is currently living in Nashville.

The Kalamazoo Pipe Band is coming back in 2024 after opening and closing the Fest last year! This year they will be on the main stage with their bagpipes and drums accompanied by the Kalamazoo Scottish Country Dancers.

Interested in checking the band out before the Fest? The Kalamazoo Pipe Band meets on Tuesday nights at 6 pm. From September through May, we meet at Trinity Lutheran Church. In June, July, and August, we meet at Flesher Field in Oshtemo. Lessons are free to anyone interested in joining the band as a piper or drummer.

Scottish Country Dancing is the traditional form of Scottish social dancing. Historically, it was an inclusive form of dance, practiced by all Scots regardless of social status; and it is now enjoyed throughout the world by people of all ages and backgrounds. They meet on Monday nights at 7:00PM at Grange Hall in Kalamazoo, 3234 N 3rd St & W H Avenue. All all welcome to attended regardless of dance experience. No partner is necessary but flexible, soft soled shoes are recommended. 

The Andrew Rathbun Quartet returns to the Fest this year after a fantastic performance at the inaugural Fest in 2023. A Toronto native, he is an exceptionally creative and accomplished saxophonist, composers and bandleader, and he brought all of that in a compelling jazz set that was a highlight of the afternoon musical lineup. His style of swinging post-bop jazz will catch hold of you and not let go. The frequency with which this group plays together has created a tight knit unit, and this band truly has a group sound. He’ll very likely bring some of the new music written for the quartet’s recent appearance at the Stowe Jazz Festival MainStage last month. Andrew is also a Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Western Michigan University and lives in Kalamazoo with his family. We’re looking forward to this year’s set!

Skye Consort & Emma Björling is a Canadian trad/folk band with Trans-Atlantic Nordic-Celtic-Acadian-Quebecois roots. They offer up the haunting voice of award-winning Björling and gorgeous vocals of renowned shanty artist Seán Dagher, along with multi instrumentalists/vocalists Amanda Keesmaat, Simon Alexandre and Alex Kehler playing fiddle, nyckelharpa, cello, bouzouki, banjo, and percussion. They play whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs, breathtaking hymns, and original compositions. Singing in French, English and Swedish, this band will take you back to some of the earliest impact on Canadian culture- through Nordic nuances, French Canadian traditional and Celtic influences. Check them out below!

We’ll be spotlighting each of our six bands appearing at the Fest on 9/21/24 at Arcadia Creek Festival site in downtown Kalamazoo. We’re kicking things off with our headliner, Crystal Shawanda! She is a multiple Juno Award-winning artist from Wikwemikong First Nations on Manitoulin Island, Ontario and the winner of the 2024 Maple Blues Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year. Check her out here!