The inaugural Red Cedar Roots Festival included The Flint Southernaires, Celestina y Los Sanchez, a Tejano/conjunto band and Kritya Dance Ensemble, performing traditional Indian Kuchipudi dances. Wilson Thicket closed out the second night with their swinging, thumping bluegrass and Americana set against the night sky of East Lansing’s tall buildings and the neon glow of Pinball Pete’s beside the stage. Those were some of the acts that helped to re-introduce East Lansing to a gone, but not forgotten, folk festival that traces back to the early 1980s.East Lansing stages a revival of the former Great Lakes Folk Festival.Some of the boots of The Velvet Boys, a honky tonk/early country act out of Detroit, on Aug. 14, 2026, in East Lansing. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse The Velvet Boys, a honky tonk/early country act out of Detroit, on Aug. 14, 2026, in East Lansing. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse The Flint Southernaires stepped off stage to work the crowd in East Lansing on Aug. 15, 2026. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse Celestina y Los Sanchez, a Tejano/conjunto act, performed in East Lansing on Aug. 15, 2026. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse Celestina y Los Sanchez, a Tejano/conjunto act, performed in East Lansing on Aug. 15, 2026. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse Micah Ling, booking manager for Red Cedar Roots Festival. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse.Audiences watched the Red Cedar Roots Festival from chairs, nearby apartment balconies and from restaurant patios. Photo by Raymond Holt for City PulseAudiences watched the Red Cedar Roots Festival from chairs, nearby apartment balconies and from restaurant patios. Photo by Raymond Holt for City PulseAudiences watched the Red Cedar Roots Festival from chairs, nearby apartment balconies and from restaurant patios. Photo by Raymond Holt for City PulseWilson Thicket, a bluegrass and Americana act, closed out the inaugural Red Cedar Roots Festival on Aug. 15, 2026. East Lansing stages a revival of the former Great Lakes Folk Festival.The Kritya Dance Ensemble performed classic Indian dances on Aug. 14, 2026, in East Lansing. Photo by Raymond Holt for City Pulse
