The Crane Wives emerge from hiatus to fire up Hoxeyville Music Festival and more

John Sinkevics
·3 min read
The Crane Wives debuted a new song during their show last week and will likely start releasing some singles or an EP in the future, rather than a full-length album.
The Crane Wives debuted a new song during their show last week and will likely start releasing some singles or an EP in the future, rather than a full-length album.

WELLSTON — When The Crane Wives join headliners Trampled By Turtles, Railroad Earth and Yonder Mountain String Band at this weekend’s Hoxeyville Music Festival — along with northern Michigan-bred favorites May Erlewine and Lindsay Lou — it will mark an overdue milestone for the beloved folk-rock band.

The Saturday afternoon set on the Hoxeyville festival site amid the Manistee National Forest will mark only the second performance by the West Michigan foursome in two-and-a-half years.

They played their first show just last weekend in Grand Rapids — a jam-packed outdoor concert at downtown’s Studio Park — that was welcomed exuberantly despite persistent rain by fans who’ve longed to see The Crane Wives again since they last graced a stage in February 2020.

The pandemic shutdown upset The Crane Wives’ applecart as it did for many other bands, but there was more to this long hiatus than just COVID.

“Between some ongoing health struggles and healing journeys with the bandmates, and two of us having high-risk, immunocompromised partners, we’ve had to be especially careful and strategic with gatherings during the pandemic,” said drummer Dan Rickabus.

“That condition coalesced with a number of other personal life shifts and quests.”

Added singer-guitarist Emilee Petersmark: “During the interim, we found ourselves exploring new jobs and hobbies, expanding our skill sets and trying to create joy in the spaces we normally saved for The Crane Wives. The break also gave us opportunities to work on new projects with different people. I used part of the break to work up some solo material and have been piecing a record together with (band bassist) Ben Zito in his studio.”

The Crane Wives played their first show in two-and-a-half years just last weekend in Grand Rapids – a jam-packed outdoor concert at downtown’s Studio Park.
The Crane Wives played their first show in two-and-a-half years just last weekend in Grand Rapids – a jam-packed outdoor concert at downtown’s Studio Park.

Fellow singer and guitarist Kate Pillsbury said stepping back from performing allowed time for “resting and reflecting,” among other things.

The break forced her “to take a hard look at life, to understand what I need and want, reconcile it against what my life allows for. It has been a painful couple of years, but there is healing in the pain. It has also allowed me to see my bandmates carving paths in their own lives that don’t involve me. … We are changing the equation. Now we are working to make our dreams fit into our lives.”

Those dreams still include new material: The Crane Wives debuted a new song during their show last week and will likely start releasing some singles or an EP in the future, rather than a full-length album.

Beyond Hoxeyville, the band — which released its first studio album, “Safe Ship, Harbored,” in 2011 — currently only has one more performance on the books for 2022, an appearance at Earthwork Harvest Gathering outside Lake City, Sept. 16-18.

But plans are afoot for touring the Midwest in 2023, with Pillsbury noting that band members “are going to focus on booking, songwriting and recording this winter before the spring and summer seasons pick up with performing.”

“We are stoked and ready to get out there, travel again and perform a lot more very soon,” Rickabus said, adding that playing with his bandmates is “one of the great joys of my life. … We’re feeling charged up by our renewed excitement and will be putting our heads together to plan some big moves very soon.”

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Petersmark called Hoxeyville one of the band’s favorite festivals, an August tradition that was launched in 2003 by Jake Robinson on property near Wellston, west of Cadillac.

With two stages and a mix of national touring artists and regional talent, this year’s festival runs Friday-Sunday, Aug. 19-21, with more than 20 bands and solo artists on the bill.

Other big names lined up for the weekend include The Infamous Stringdusters, Melvin Seals & JGB, Larry Keel Experience, Rachael Davis, Full Cord, Earth Radio and The Waydown Wanderers — who kick it all off at 3:45 p.m. Friday.

Adult weekend tickets are $210 (with discounts for children) and day passes are $90, available online at hoxeyville.com.

— Find more Michigan music news and concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: The Crane Wives emerge from hiatus to fire up Hoxeyville and more