Midwest Fest 2012, held this year on September 25-29, at Rubble’s Bar as well as Kaya Coffee and Tea Co. in downtown Mount Pleasant, MI, has released the poster after holding a contest to design this year’s festival poster. The winner was Gina Heydens.

Photo courtesy of the Midwest Fest Facebook page. Flier by Gina Heydens.

Lansing bands playing the festival include Drinking Mercury and Elliot Street Lunatic. Detroit’s The Hard Lessons are headlining the final night of the festival but other bands such as Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, The Soil and the Sun, Empty Orchestra, Gifts or Creatures, Child Bite and many others are playing throughout the week. Get your tickets at the above link by clicking on “Tickets”.

Finally…the week of Midwest Fest has arrived! Get your tickets here. We finish up our countdown with The Shoutaways, Newday Dreamers and Morseville Bridge.

The Shoutaways

Photo courtesy of The Shoutaways Facebook page

Midland’s The Shoutaways are making their first appearance at Midwest Fest. With an indie swagger and a ’60s bubblegum pop swing, their songs, like “Deep” are infectious. They’ve played shows all across the state this summer. You can find songs like “Deep” on their self-titled EP available here.

Newday Dreamers

Mt. Pleasant’s Newday Dreamers have unique sound, which combines a powerpop energy with blues, jazz and swing. I recently got the chance to see them perform at Rubble’s and it really enjoyed what I heard. This three piece are also young, having graduated high school earlier this year as well. Look for them to wow you at Midwest West.

Morseville Bridge

This one man band from Flint is making his first appearance at Midwest Fest. His lo-fi recordings and his indie/punk live shows should be a great and unique experience for Midwest Fest goers. He also incorporates folk elements into his tunes. Check him out at Midwest Fest.

Midwest Fest is less than a week away! Get your tickets and have a great time. We’re profiling Yoke and Ghost Heart this time.

Yoke

Midland’s Yoke (aka Andrew Tamlyn) produces ambient, “chillwave” music but the difference between Yoke and all the others is that he uses a guitar and a few effects boxes and processors and not a multitude of synths. I saw him perform with Wavvy Hands at Rubble’s a while back and I liked that he uses his instrument in a unique way. Making his first appearance at Midwest Fest, his ambient drones and laid back “surf” guitar waves should not be missed.

Ghost Heart

Friction Records’ four piece Ghost Heart, from Grand Rapids, are making their first Midwest Fest appearance. Songs like “No Canticle” from their album “The Tunnel” are tribal and pulsating on the drums and guitars. Feedback drones as vocal harmonies intersect the instrumentation. You can hear more from them and their album “The Tunnel” on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Short and quick Midwest Fest 2011 previews today (lack of time is the culprit). Bloomill and Ratboy get the Fest-ing treatment here.

Courtesy of the Bloomill Facebook page

Detroit quartet Bloomill have a spontaneous attitude about their music. Sometimes they jam and other times they rock hard but they have a unique chemistry. They put on a great live show, which you can see at Midwest Fest 2011.

Courtesy of the Ratboy Facebook Page

Notre Dame, IN’s Ratboy are newcomers to Midwest Fest. This minimalist two piece consists of vocals and guitar (and, according to their facebook page, “everything else” too). Their blend of summertime folk pop will leave you wanting more.

Midwest Fest is coming up in about two weeks and we here at LMTV are extremely excited. Get your tickets here. More counting down with The Crane Wives and State Bird.

The Crane Wives

Photo Credit to Tom Valdez

Grand Rapids’ The Crane Wives are making waves with their infectious brand of indie-folk. Formed in August 2010, they released their debut album “Safe Ship Harbored” on May 12, 2011. Utilizing harmonies and multiple instruments like banjo (which the Grand Rapids press calls the “catchiest banjo you’ve ever heard”), they have been touring non-stop since their formation. Catch them Friday night Sept. 30 at Rubble’s with Bloomill, Empty Orchestra, Jetpack On! and The High Strung.

State Bird

Photo Credit to the State Bird Facebook Page

Hailing from Dover, OH the band relies on heavy and in-your-face guitars with ample feedback supplying the textures. The bass is also just as distorted, adding to the textural rock and roll. The drums are pounding and the vocals are distant yet catchy. Songs like “Ready to Die” are catchy and powerful. Check them out with Yoke, Lightning Love, Phantasmagoria and Stepdad on Thursday Sept. 29 at Rubble’s.

Midwest Fest 2011 gets more coverage from LMTV with Jetpack On! and Elliot Street Lunatic getting the treatment this time around.

Photo courtesy of the Jetpack On! Facebook page

Jetpack On! have pop hooks a plenty, with a radio-ready rhythm section on call. This band, who are reuniting for Midwest Fest 2011, are pop rock at its finest. A little jagged around the edges but not enough to turn away your ears. Songs like “Do It Again” emphasize the poppy experimentation that the band blends together so well. For being a three piece, they have a huge sound. Be sure to see them at MW Fest this year.

Photo by Christian Frarey

Elliot Street Lunatic have had a wild 2011 thus far. They’ve played countless shows across Michigan, including opening for Atomic Tom back in February. In May, the ventured out to Colorado and Arizona for awesome shows. In June, they recorded their second album with Casey Crescenzo of the Dear Hunter, which will be released later this year. Having seen the band multiple times, each time has gotten better and better. If you have yet to see them, please do yourself a favor and see them on the last night of Midwest Fest.

LMTV’s Midwest Fest 2011 coverage continues with profiles on Phantasmagoria and Empty Orchestra.

Photo Credit to Doug Coombe

Phantasmagoria are a indie/electronic band from Detroit that The Metro Times of Detroit says are “hard to pin down”. In preparation for Midwest Fest 2011, the band will be playing Rubble’s Bar in Mt. Pleasant on Aug. 25. They are making their first appearance at Midwest Fest.

Photo Credit to the Empty Orchestra Facebook page

Empty Orchestra, from Flint, are making their third appearance at Midwest Fest. Meaning (literally) “karaoke” in Japanese, the band brings a raw, Tom Waits-esque blues/indie mix to the Mt. Pleasant festival. The band recently completed a new 7″ record. Be on the lookout for these guys. They’ll impress you.

LMTV is back with another Midwest Fest 2011 Countdown, here with Lightning Love and Nathan K., both of whom are making their first appearances at the festival.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathankmusic

Having seen Nathan K. earlier this year for the first time at Middle of  the Mitten 2011, I was immediately awestruck by him. I loved the live sampling, where his instruments (including a floor tom, tambourine and other instruments) were strewn about, resembling the sprawling chaos that became Nathan’s set that night. Not a bad chaos, however, but a chaos of melody, instrument layering and an eventual noise that engulfed the room. Expect the same kind of visceral excitement at Midwest Fest 2011.

Courtesy of the Lightning Love Facebook page

Lightning Love, out of Ypsilanti, are a three piece indie pop band. Earlier this year, they were selected by Billboard to participate in Billboard’s Battle of the Bands in Las Vegas. The band has been playing gigs all year and hitting up the Midwest. Be sure to check them out at Midwest Fest 2011.