Immerse in a day — or three — of heart-buoying music, locally sourced food and beverage, big skies, cozy campfires, and off-the-grid fun in Empire this weekend, August 19-21. 

The LivelyLands crew, led by founder/executive producer Emily Lively, is readying the Backyard Burdickville campground and farm venue near Empire to make their fifth boutique music festival the most magical yet. LivelyLands is a family-friendly event featuring three days of lovingly curated live music, set on a 20-acre campground, vegetable and flower farm just off M-72.

The music festival kicks off this Friday, August 19. Lively hopes to welcome ticketholders and a roster of national and regional artists to Leelanau’s countryside in the dreamiest way possible, with a homegrown Farm to Festival Dinner during golden hour, local libations, and a sunset preview concert with music from The Sea The Sea and i.am.james.

Also in store for festivalgoers: a Saturday kids concert; a diverse musical lineup; local food, beer, wine; song circles under the stars; community campfires; plus a Sunday bluegrass jam and gospel brunch (complete with breakfast tacos!).

Lively is a 2003 Glen Lake grad who studied music business at Texas State University and made Austin home for 15 years — much of it as a staffer at the South by Southwest (SXSW) cultural festival. She founded LivelyLands the summer of 2017, with help of a few Austin music-scene friends who caravanned home with her.

This week she shared on her social media, “my heart is bursting with excitement…the LivelyLands team has created the most special event yet with a more robust lineup of regional and touring artists than ever before and a return for some LivelyLands favorites. It’s our 5th birthday and we are ready to celebrate.”

She says her goal for moving back to Leelanau County and finding a permanent home for LivelyLands was to “build community and create a place where folks can escape to a cute Michigan town, eat good farm-grown food, and connect with nature as you listen to amazing music.”

This year there is an expanded menu at the Backyard Cafe with a “more diverse array of local options,” she says. “I'm also so excited about our first Farm to Festival Dinner in partnership with The Lively Farm.”

Besides many members of Lively's family, those rolling up their sleeves behind-the-scenes include music industry pros who call Leelanau County home for the weeks surrounding the event. Cary Caldwell worked alongside Lively at SXSW: “Cary and I have been working closely for many years now, to create a world class event right here in little Empire, Michigan. Cary has over 30 years of event experience — from working as a tour manager for bands like Mumford and Sons to running major security details for SXSW.”

She notes, “He helps me and Robert [site production manager and Lively’s husband Robert Chacon] create the safe, professional event that LivelyLands is,” adding, “Cary has also spent several decades mentoring young people in the industry and empowering women in a way that few men do in this space. I’m so lucky to have him as a mentor and a friend.”

Despite their background with large-scale events, says Lively, the goal for LivelyLands is for a boutique experience: intimate, nurturing, homegrown.

Check out the full LivelyLands schedule here. 

Lively says she is still seeking local business sponsors before the music festival kicks off Friday. It runs August 19, 5pm to August 21, 3pm at Backyard Burdickville, 3805 W. Empire Hwy., Empire. Find tickets here. 

Photo by @heathermaemusic