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Updated Dec. 26, 2008 5:55 p.m.
Don your coats, scarves, hats and above all, mittens for Mittenfest III this Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening at the Elbow Room .
This three-day event features 27 bands and songwriters, most hailing from the great lakes state, and more than 21 hours of music.
Brandon Zwagerman, Organizer and promoter for the event said all proceeds from the even will be donated to 826michigan, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students aged 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
"826michigan seemed like a natural nonprofit to benefit from a holiday music festival because not only do they do great work helping kids be creative, but they also have a lot of natural ties to the local music scene," Zwagerman said. "For instance, Amy Sumerton, who plays cello in the band Canada, is also a program director at 826."
Things get kicked-off tonight, where the lineup is anchored by cello-augemented indie-folk-pop juggernaut Canada, harmonic crowd-participation enthusiasts The Pop Project, and local son Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr, City Center), who returns from Brooklyn for a much-anticipated homecoming set.
Also hailing from the east coast, Creaky Boards play Brian Wilson-influenced pop songs, but are best known for the international notoriety they gained last summer after accusing Coldplay of stealing one of their songs.
The festivities continue Saturday with the Great Lakes Myth Society. The popular accordion-cartography top a bill that also includes the Grand Rapids-based nautical sprawl of The Mighty Narwhale and Matt Jones & The Reconstruction, an amplified version of a usually-intimate and intricate songwriter.
The show winds down Sunday to end on a folkier note, with Frontier Ruckus, Chris Bathgate as well as the twang of Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful.
Zwagerman said it is a good idea to arrive early each night.
"Given the number and stature of performers, the good cause, the post-holiday weekend, and the good publicity, I really do expect a sell-out each night. A lot of the acts playing could sell-out the Elbow Room on their own, in fact," he said.
Citizen Information
Who: 27-bands and you
What: Mittenfest III
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday – doors at 5 p.m.
Where: Elbow Room (6 S. Washington St., Ypsilanti)
Why: An ode to the winter season, our hand-shaped peninsula, the local
music community and non-profit youth writing center 826michigan.
How much: $5 at the door each night
For more information on all the bands playing at Mittenfest III click here.