Come support the Farmers’ and Artisans’ market. Visit with your farmers then support them by buying and eating some fresh local delicious food. Stay awhile and celebrate this amazing community we are building together with an amazing soundtrack of homegrown Michigan music.  The Manistee Community Kitchen in partnership with the Manistee DDA are very excited to announce that this week’s Manistee HomeGrown Music Stage will showcase one of Michigan’s most talented musicians Joshua Davis of Steppin’ in It.

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Joshua Davis was raised in the folk tradition: the music, the social movements, the land.  He writes songs that blend the roots of American music with gritty rock n’ roll and vintage soul.  Performing Songwriter Magazine called the result, “Some of the liveliest and most rocking roots music around.

Josh is especially interested in the ways in which music brings individuals and communities together, to foster peace and understanding. He’s noticed that songs can re-soundtrack people’s lives and is one of the reasons he wants to bring his music to the Manistee Farmers’ and Artisans’ market this Saturday.

For over 15 years Joshua has made his living sharing his songs, stories and knowledge across the US and Canada at festivals, concert halls, coffeehouses and dives – as a solo act, front man for roots ensemble “Steppin’ In It”, classic swing band “Shout Sister Shout”, songwriter showcase band “The Starlight Six” and frequently as a workshop facilitator, presenter or instructor.

His music is steeped in ragtime blues, sweet jazz and real country but Davis’s broad schooling in the cultural, political and musical roots of American tradition has resulted in more than a simple retelling of universal themes. Dubbed, “the Michigan version of the Great American Songscape” (Chris Reitz, Elderly Instruments), his catalog is a seamless snapshot of American past and present. Joshua has shared stages with a diverse list of luminaries, such as Tim O’Brien, Greg Brown, The Indigo Girls, Leftover Salmon, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Corey Harris, John Gorka, Jeff Daniels, Ellis Paul, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Jimmy LaFave, Ray Bonneville, Arlo Guthrie, Abigail Washburn, Larry McCray, Sunny Wilkinson, Catie Curtis, Bill Kirchen, Peter “Madcat” Ruth, Bernie Leadon, Wayne Hancock, The Verve Pipe, John Hammond, Pete Seeger and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Davis has released three critically acclaimed solo albums, five albums with Steppin’ In It, a record of jazz standards with Shout Sister Shout, and has appeared on too many albums to count. His most recent album, “A Miracle of Birds” is inspired by his travels in the Palestinian West Bank with non-profit organization On the Ground. About the album, Revue magazine says, “His heartfelt documentation of ‘people as people’ offers up compassionate songs of hope, darkness and perseverance.”

Joshua has performed live on the internationally syndicated programs Mountain Stage, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour and Backstage Pass. His songs have been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered, Folk Alley and The Mix and he has played scores of prestigious festivals and venues not to mention every festival Michigan has to offer.

His music receives regular airplay across the US and has been heard in at least 180 countries. His records have consistently appeared on major independent and free-format radio charts. Among other honors, “Fool Rooster” earned the album of the year slot from Progressive Torch and Twang, a cult favorite Americana show on WDBM, “Magnolia Belles” won Americana album of the year from WYCE, “Simple Tunes for Troubled Times” was one of Folk Alley’s best albums of 2009 and Shout Sister Shout’s “Hit That Jive” reached #1 on the Roots Music Report jazz chart and was the longest charting jazz album of that year.

Davis has gained recognition as an enthusiastic and successful songwriting and guitar instructor and folk historian. He has studied under greats such as Guy Clark, Steve Earle, John Hartford, Greg Brown, Tim O’Brien, Lyle Lovett, Michael Smith, and Tom Paxton and Dr. Bruce Conforth as well as Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen, and Roy Book Binder.

 Objectives of the Manistee Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market:

  • Celebrate good food and our local food heritage and community.
  • Increase awareness of where to buy local foods and products.
  • Link farmers, restaurants, retailers, and consumers to foster a vibrant local food economy and community food security.
  • Engage people in appreciating the many benefits of supporting a local, sustainable economy.
  • Bring a consciousness to the way in which we all eat by providing sound education by means of demonstration and the sharing of knowledge
  • Build community by creating a celebration of local food that becomes a defining cultural event for the Manistee County area.

The market will has extended hours this season and will be open from 8am until 2pm.  The location of the Manistee Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market is on Memorial Drive in the parking lot across from the Dial-A-Ride building.

See you this Saturday morning, July 19th as we continue the season at the Farmers’ Market.  All of us will be together once again to celebrate this amazing community we are building.  We are Manistee.  Live it.  Build it. Grow it.

For more information and vendor spot availability, contact Britt Uecker, Market Manager, by phone at 616-901-3052