Eric Engblade is “Folk-Rock With Teeth”, a joyful Grand Rapids, MI bequeath, pouring over the tug-o-war between wants and needs. His sound and songs are a soothing serenade, singing you to a place where apple pies cool on windowsills, and children play in cattails; accompanied by church bells ringing in the distance, where he warns to be weary of the “Enthusiastic, Evangelistic, Preacher Man”. He hollers, harmonizes, and whispers truths you wish to believe, transforming listeners to the Forests of Manistee, blanketed beneath the shadow cover of Jack Pines on a summer day, sippin’ coffee, pick’n peaches, while your worries slip away.

An accomplished and acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, session musician, and music educator from Grand Rapids, MI, Eric Engblade performs as a solo artist or with his band across the Great Lakes region, having opened for prominent national acts as Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, Paul Thorn, Pert Near Sandstone, and has performed at some cool places in the Midwest and beyond. Some career highlights include performing at Wheatland Music Festival (2024), Hoxeyville Music Festival (2010, 2017), Beaver Island Music Festival (2011), Hiawatha Music Festival (2011), Earthwork Harvest Gathering (20l6), Buttermilk Jamboree (2017, 2018), Cowpie Music Festival (2018), and at Frederick Meijer Garden Amphitheater (2012, 2018).

Justin Wierenga may be the ultimate sideman. This incredibly talented guitarist who grew up in New Era and now calls Grand Rapids home, has for years been an in-demand musician for artists such as Hannah Rose & The GravesTones, Justin Avdek’s Underground Circus, Cosmic Knot and Muruga Booker, always providing amazing textures and guitar enhancements to a wide variety and styles of rock and blues and more. Well, now, he’s finally released his first solo album “Walking Like He Knows Something” which is chock full of instrumental gems that span rock, folk, bluegrass, funk, country and avant garde music. (Stateside Staff, Michigan NPR)

Justin Wierenga is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, band leader and session musician with a primary focus in guitar, pedal/lap steel guitar, and dobro. After playing professionally for over a decade in many styles of music, from country and bluegrass, to rock, metal, funk, jazz, reggae, new age and world music, Wierenga has forged a unique, singular voice for himself whether he be playing lap/pedal steel/bass or regular guitars, or any of the numerous instruments he plays.

Serita Crowley, a self-proclaimed "Funkateer", recording artist, harmonica player and award-winning singer, leads Serita’s Black Rose, a dynamic project based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring both the full electric band Serita’s Black Rose and the intimate acoustic duo Serita’s Black Rose Duo. For over two decades, Serita and her longtime partner Jon Hayes have been creating soulful, genre-defying music crafting a unique blend of funk, rock, blues, roots, neo-soul, and Americana, performing both original music and timeless hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Their 2012 self-titled EP Serita’s Black Rose Vol I. earned several accolades, including WYCE’s Jammie Award for Best Short Form Album, along with Three Eclipse Awards for Best Sound Design. The acoustic duo has also had the honor of sharing the stage with legendary music icons Smokey Robinson, Kansas, Cheap Trick and many more.

Serita’s powerful vocals—bluesy, soulful, raw, and emotionally charged—captivate every audience, whether it's a small intimate room, sold-out concert, a packed taproom, or big music festival. Together they display an intuitive musical connection that creates a seamless flow between genres, bringing both covers and originals to life with infectious energy and deep heart. Together they deliver an unforgettable performance that moves the crowd, every time!

Jack M. Senff (“sen-eff”) is a Northern Michigan singer-songwriter, performer, and leader of the so-called Heartland Mission. He trades in a literary, pop-based vernacular informed by a love of old folk rock, country, church, 90’s adult alternative, and a youth spent in the living rooms & basements of the late-00s “do it yourself” punk movement. He is a founding member of pioneering screamo acts Merchant Ships and William Bonney, as well as the bands Knola, Midwest Pen Pals, North Folk, and Boy Rex.

Known for his genuine approach and honest lyrics, Senff is a proud son of the Skeletal Lightning family. Together they have released four albums: 2019’s intimate Good To Know You, 2020’s more vibrant EP These Northwood Blues, 2022’s rollicking Low Spirit, and 2024’s return to center, Feeling & Devotion.

Ben Traverse:
Their voice rises like mist from Michigan’s northern woods, carrying echoes of working-class ballads long etched into the earth. As a folksinger, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, Traverse embodies tradition, threading the past into the present. Traverse roves across the Great Lakes Basin and beyond purveying the finest sea shanties, bluegrass, Celtic, and old time music and sharing the history from which they came.

A proud member of the Earthwork Music Collective, Ben is part of a vibrant community of culture creators devoted to community healing through collective musicianship. Alongside Earthwork, their music becomes a tool for growth, teaching, and resilience. Whether facilitating intergenerational programs at libraries or performing at festivals with support from the Little River Stringband, Traverse offers their voice and instruments in service to something far greater than the self.

Nick Veine:
Nick Veine is a singer-songwriter and composer born and raised in Manistee, MI. He grew up playing rock and blues before he started singing, pivoting to acoustic music without losing that electric flair.

His passion encouraged him to attend Berklee College of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing & Production and eventually to pursuing and completing a Master of Music in Classical Composition at Belmont University. Degrees aside, some of the best education he got was from collaborating with other musicians in jam sessions, private lessons, and a cappella groups.