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statenews.com | 7/8/2013 | @thesnews Michigan State University’s independent voice
COMMON GROUND RETURNS
CRIME
Electric Forest results in mostly drugrelated arrests By Holly Baranowski hbaranowski@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
Electric Forest, the annual four-day electronic music festival, brought in large crowds, an array of musicians and a fleet of Michigan State Police troopers. T he event, held in Rothbu r y, M ic h., from June 27-30, resulted in 43 felony drug charges, 13 misdemeanor charges and one deat h, according to Michigan State Police, or MSP, Lt. Jeff W hite. Joseph MSP released Bizon the crime sta- Oceana tistics to the County publ ic la st Prosecutor week. “We mobilized with quite a few troopers, and (some) were undercover,” White said. “(This) is typical in the manner of arrests. Certain drugs, like weed, and things like that, are pretty darn common and will allow a person’s testimony (to
“
(Many) of the
offenders are lower range
sentences...”
JUSTIN WAN/THE STATE NEWS
Rapper James Gardin of the BLAT! Pack performs on Sunday at the Music Building during a rehearsal session. The band, which includes current and past MSU students will perform July 14 at Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing.
Music festival gives Lansing an encore for 14th consecutive summer THE STATE NEWS nn
W
hen the Common Ground Music Festival began in downtown Lansing, it originally focused on classic rock, but as the festival progresses into its 14th year, it now headlines some of the nation’s brightest stars along with upcoming local and regional talent.
“We bring in a wide variety of diverse acts of all types of music,” said Scott Keith, board chair of Center Park Productions. “Whether you’re a country music fan, hard rock, old school rock or rap — we have it all.” The annual festival kicks off today and wraps up July More 14 in Adaonline… do Riverfront To see Park on the a photo Grand River gallery of and features last year’s performCommon ers ranging Ground from Ludacfestival, ris to MGMT visit to Slash. statenews. Comcom. mon Ground offers Lansing a week of diverse music, featuring more than 70 bands, according to Keith. The festival offers emerging Lansing artists such as Taylor Taylor and the BLAT! Pack and other regional artists the opportunity to perform at a major music festival. Homegrown acts Keith said Common Ground allows emerging artists the opportunity to
gain notoriety from traveling with national acts and their agents or producers. “It gives them certainly an exposure to a larger fan base than they would typically get in a smaller night club venue,” he said. “So it’s a great opportunity for exposure for them.” Jahshua Smith, rapper and member of the BLAT! Pack, spoke about being a part of a lineup with a legend such as Ludacris and rising star Kid Ink on the festival’s final day. Born in Detroit but raised in Lansing, Smith earned a degree in journalism from MSU in 2008. He said Common Ground gives him the opportunity to perform for his family, his biggest fans and a whole new audience at the same time. “Common Ground is like the Super Bowl as far as Lansing is concerned,” Smith said. “The opportunity to play a great card and still get the proper spotlight — that’s the culmination of everything we’ve worked so hard for over the past four years.” MSU alumna and MSU Community Music School Rock Camp coach Lisa Kacos has been preparing teens for the camp’s opportunity to experience a real rock concert for the past week. Rock Camp is a crash course in being in a band and provides the teens training with her band, The Outer Vibe, which has toured nationally, Kacos said. She and The Outer Vibe have performed at the festival for the past five years. Kacos said she couldn’t ask for a better situation with an annual festival to the caliber of Common Ground right next door to East Lansing. “It’s a real rock concert,” Kacos said. “Most See FESTIVAL on page 2 X
See POLICE on page 2 X
What day should you go?
Here is a guide to how hotly anticipated the acts of Common Ground are, based on the combined Facebook likes of each artist, for each day.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FEATURED ACTS, UNLESS NOTED
mpizzo@statenews.com
DEVELOPMENT
Monday The Canadian band Barenaked Ladies broke onto the American scene in the ‘90s with hit songs such as “One Week” and “If I Had $1,000,000.” The Barenaked Ladies have won 11 awards in their career, including seven Juno awards and two Billboard Music Awards.
1,161,685 likes
Tuesday Creedence Clearwater Revisited is a band formed by Creedence Clearwater Revival original members Stu Cook and Doug Clifford after the popular American rock band broke up in the 1970s. Also catch funk group Here Come the Mummies.
204,357
US Supreme Court will hear Bill Schuette’s casino dispute
likes
By RJ Wolcott rwolcott@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
Wednesday World-renowned Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash will be performing with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. Slash will perform new songs released in 2012 such as “Apocalyptic Love” and “One Last Thrill.”
11,076,165 likes
Thursday Country quartet Little Big Town has produced several top country hits such as “Boondocks” and most recently “Little White Church.” Also performing Thursday is von Grey, a folk band comprised of four sisters.
983,252 likes
Friday MGMT is an American electronic and psychedelic rock band that has made popular songs such as “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel” and “Kids.” The electric theme is consistent with AWOLNATION also hitting the stage. TSN FILE PHOTO
By Matthew Pizzo
4,460,921 likes
Saturday The Avett Brothers have released seven albums of their new-era folk music, landing on the Billboard Top 200 with “I and Love and You” in 2009. Catch Frontier Ruckus, a veteran of Greater Lansing, on Saturday also.
926,887 likes
Sunday Ludacris is a Renaissance man who makes appearances in movies and is an entrepreneur in ventures such as SOUL by Ludacris and CEO of his own record label, Disturbing Tha Peace Records. A hip-hop-themed finale also features Los Angeles rapper Kid Ink.
9,812,702 likes
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case between Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and the Bay Mills Indian Community regarding the tribe’s casino in Vanderbilt, Mich., in a case with reaching implications for prospective casinos across the state. The most recent development in the ongoing struggle came on June 24 when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, which has gone back and forth in recent years. If the Supreme Court upholds the appellate decision, it could open up the opportunity for tribes to open
To see a rendering of the planned casino, see page 2 casinos on purchased lands, such as the case in the state capital with the Lansing Kewadin Casino, according to Tom Shields of Marketing Resource Group. The case revolves around the tribe’s decision to purchase land in Vanderbilt using funds repaid by the federal government and constructing the casino on the lands, which the state contends is illegal. HowSee CASINO on page 2 X