Miko Marks, named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022 bring her blend of country, blues, southern rock and gospel to the Porkies Fest Stage as its closing headliner at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 24.

Press release

The 18th Porcupine Mountains Music Festival will take place Aug. 23 and 24 at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park’s winter recreation area (Ski Hill) in Ontonagon County. The festival is presented by the Friends of The Porkies, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization which represents all users of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. This activity is supported in part by an award from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council. Major sponsors include the Porcupine Mountains Ontonagon Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, WUPY 101.1 FM, Houghton Broadcasting and GreenKat Marketing. Staffed by a handful of year-round volunteers and approximately 150 boots-on-the-ground volunteers throughout, the festival celebrates music of many genres of musical style such as Americana, Bluegrass, Rhythm & Blues, Folk, Rock, Country and more.

Headlining the festival this year are:

• Friday — The Brevet: Nestled in between Los Angeles and San Diego lies Orange County, CA; a culturally, economically and environmentally diverse community with an identity all its own. The Brevet, hailing from the heart of Orange County, continues to create an ever-evolving sound that pushes stylistic boundaries. Just as Orange County is home to snow-capped mountains, pristine beaches and bustling city centers, The Brevet’s alternative rock sound draws authentically from folk, surf and R&B influence, but doesn’t shy away from thundering rhythms, blistering guitars and progressive synths.

Americana alt-rock band, The Brevet, from Orange County, Calif., will hit the Porkies Fest Stage as opening headliner at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 23.

• Saturday — Miko Marks: The Wall Street Journal has described it as a “genre and industry-defying mission.” NPR declared it a “multilayered experience.” The New York Times commended the movement as carving out a new path in country music. All tell the story of Miko Marks’ resurgence as she deftly blends country, blues, southern rock and even gospel to create a sound and experience that has literally brought every audience to its feet. This new sound along with her warm and soulful spirit catapulted her into a community of change with her doing more than breaking ground – she’s shattering it. It’s a serendipitous realization that Marks was meant to be here, at this time, in this moment, for good. After releasing her critically-acclaimed album, Our Country (via Redtone Records) in March 2021, Marks dove head first into an industry that previously never fully embraced her. She closed out 2021 with her EP release, Race Records, which shined a light on the arbitrary divisions forced upon artists and audiences in the early days of music marketing in the 1940s. In January of 2022, Marks was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022 and by April, she stood alongside five other artists and managers chosen to participate in the inaugural Equal Access Development Program, a program designed by mtheory and CMT to foster and support marginalized communities underrepresented in the genre of country music. Now more than ever, the change needed is beginning to come to fruition; a change Marks feared she wouldn’t bear witness to in her existence: “I get emotional around it, because I didn’t think I would see any of this in my lifetime,” Marks says. Nearly one year after the release of Our Country, Marks released the first single, “Feel Like Going Home.” The lyrics sing, “Rest for the wanderer who never more shall roam.” For Marks, the time to reclaim her roots that were planted long ago is now; a powerful reconnection that can be felt in every note. No longer a wanderer, Marks has returned to her true self after years of trying to figure out her place in the world and in her first true love: music.

Kicking off the Porkies Festival this year will be powerhouse vocalist and guitarist Joyann Parker the “Sconnie Girl” of Minneapolis, never losing sight of her roots in Wisconsin; followed by New Orleans singer/songwriter Joy Clark who, in addition to her main stage performance will also be holding a one-hour songwriting workshop in the busking barn; and legendary R&B artist John Németh from Memphis, TN. Németh, known for taking the hottest young blues guitarists out on the road with his band the Blue Dreamers, gave the festival a nice surprise by adding guitarist Gabe Stillman for his summer run of shows. Those who attended last year’s Porkies Fest will not soon forget Stillman’s energetic performance and this collaboration is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Also performing on the main stage on opening day are The Arcadian Wild, a four-piece indie folk/pop group from Nashville, TN; and Chris Pierce, handpicked to be the special guest opener for Neil Young’s Coastal Tour. Pierce gained worldwide prominence with “We Can Always Come Back to This” which aired on 3 episodes of the No. 1 NBC primetime series “This Is Us,” then went on to No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. 

Performing the following day will be the Stillhouse Junkies from Colorado, winners of the International Bluegrass Music Awards’ Momentum Band of the Year award in 2021; high energy Americana band Roosevelt Diggs from Kalamazoo, MI; and Colby T. Helms and the Virginia Creepers. A veteran performer in the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains region by age 18. As a senior in high school, Helms wrote the songs that would later become his recent critically acclaimed, semi-autobiographical concept album, Tales of Misfortune. Now 21-year-old Colby T. Helms resides in an “underground house” built by his late father on land his family has owned for generations. Other artists closing out the fest are Bywater Call, a powerhouse 7-piece Southern Soul, Roots Rock band out of Toronto, Canada. The band has received an Independent Blues and multiple Maple Blues Award nominations including Entertainer of the Year and Best Female Vocalist for the 2023 Awards Season; and The Ruen Brothers fronted by British brothers, Rupert and Henry Stansall, from the industrial steel town Scunthorpe set amid the vast farmlands of Northeast England. Rupert is a classically trained guitarist; Henry, a choir-trained tenor with a dynamic four-octave range reminiscent of the late Roy Orbison.

The indoor Chalet Stage performers include Dennis Phillips of Iron Mountain, MI; Scott Frazer of Manistique, MI; Bette T and Ray-man of Hartford, WI; Matt Hannah of Virginia, MN; and the B-Side Growlers of Grand Rapids, MI; Tony Soumis of Marquette, MI; Yvonne Blake & Paige Moen of Ontonagon; Paul Lawrence & Lucas K of Virginia, MN; Jack Jolliff of Ontonagon, MI; Elise Besonen of Ewen, MI; and Maygen & The Birdwatcher of Minneapolis, MN; along with a workshop on Indigenous music, dance and drumming by Migiziikwe Eagle Spirit Dancer of Petoskey.

Offering a more laid-back feel is the festival’s naturally acoustic Busking Barn, where amateurs and professionals take the stage to play for tips and daily jam sessions are held. Scheduled performers include: Dale Venema Tribute open jam, Robert Bramblett, Accidents Happen, The Hopp3rs, Todd Swanson, Hippie Steve & the Beav, Joy Clark Songwriting Workshop, Kait & Hailey, Thomas Jackman, Richad Sarnwick, Boe Harbison Tribute open jam, Steve Ryan, Geri Hawley, Tim Kieffer – The Rambunctious Penguin, Iron Mule, Clare Howard & Eric Hopper, Bad Melon Morganfield, Bondoggle Cats, Yvonne Blake & Paige Moan, Bette T & the Ray-man, Them Two, My Unknown Brother, Cherie Griffith, along with additional open jam sessions.

The festival made Michigan State history in 2005 by becoming the first music festival to be held in a State Park.

For more information regarding the 18th Annual Porcupine Mountains Music Festival, including schedules, ticket prices, artist information and how to volunteer, visit porkiesfestival.org.