Sounds of the Zoo, Kalamazoo's free, weeklong music festival, runs through Sunday, Sept. 27 at venues across the city. Festival founder Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert and Great Lakes Brass leader Fred Bueltmann join WMUK's Cara Lieurance and Angela Graham to talk about the festival's fifth year.
The week opened Monday night with a singers-in-the-round show and Matt Gross and Friends at the Clover Room. Tuesday is Celebrating Women in Music night at Bell's with Grace Theisen and Kylee Phillips. Wednesday moves to Old Dog Tavern. On Thursday, the festival splits between a hip hop and R&B showcase at CityScape and a jazz night at Crawlspace Comedy Theatre, which closes with WMU's Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble.
Bueltmann says "free" doesn't mean the musicians work for nothing, because Hudson-Prenkert finds the money to pay them. "It's not free on accident. It's part of a mission," he says.
On Friday, Great Lakes Brass leads a New Orleans-style second line. A happy hour starts at 3 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel, and the band begins playing at 4:00 p.m. It then parades down the Kalamazoo Mall to Bronson Park, where the evening closes with Desmond Jones. Bueltmann explains that second lines grew out of New Orleans social aid and pleasure clubs formed by free people of color. Anyone is welcome to join: "Come as you are, join us in the street and move how you wanna and feel the music."
The band is also selling a commemorative medallion that carries a QR code for an advance copy of the band's live debut album, Love Letter to New Orleans, due in February.
Saturday brings busking with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo and park performances capped by Myron Elkins. Sunday's music starts at 2:30 p.m., and The Go Rounds close the festival at 7 p.m.
Hudson-Prenkert urges fans to buy merchandise, tip musicians and "keep going to shows after the festival's over." Graham connects the festival to WMUK's fall membership drive: "Your support makes for strong public radio and strong public radio makes for strong communities." Bueltmann adds that simply attending helps: "Show up, be part of it and let's go."
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
