From patrons to performers

When Jahshua Smith saw his friend and fellow hip-hop artist Ozay Moore perform at last summer’s Dam Jam Music Festival, he couldn’t believe how good the sound was.

“He just sounded so crisp,” Smith said. “As a performer, what’s important to me is how the music sounds to the audience. I’ve been performing in and around Lansing for 15 years. There are some places that look pretty but don’t sound good. After last year, I thought, ‘I should reach out and ask to play the festival next year.’”

However, around the time he was planning to reach out, he looked at his Instagram messages and found two from Josh Holliday of Lansing 5:01, the organization that puts on the festival, already inviting him to perform.

Smith will headline the Friday night portion of the festival, which runs 6 to 11 p.m. Friday (July 19) and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday (July 20) at the Brenke Fish Ladder.

According to Holliday, “The festival is about celebrating the artists, hearing their stories and seeing them perform.” Although it’s free to attend, registration is required either online before the festival or at the entrance.

“Pre-registration will make the arrival process smoother,” Holliday said.

 Holliday talks to 50 to 75 bands before putting together the lineup. He reaches out directly to bands that have “deep roots in Michigan” — in particular, those that write and perform original music. He said that in the past few years, it’s become more common for musicians attending the festival as patrons to have a great experience and ask to play the following year.

“As a festival organizer, to have a previous attendee raise their hand and say they want to play the show — that’s so meaningful to me,” Holliday said.

He continued, “This is the most unique concert venue in Lansing, and the artists feel that. They get to play in 360 degrees right along the dam, and when the sun goes down and we glow the park with lights, it’s really special for those artists.”

Holliday said Dam Jam’s location at the Fish Ladder speaks to the fact that “we can have cool, kind of edgy things here” in Lansing.

Smith is especially looking forward to playing at the Fish Ladder, which he described as perfectly suited for any type of concertgoer, from families with children to attendees who want to get up close to the music.

“Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, there’s that intimacy, but there’s also that balance,” Smith said. He’s recently been watching hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert, where the musician performs in a 360-degree arena in Inglewood, California.

“You can move around, and you’ve got to play to everybody,” Smith said.

For Friday’s performance, Smith will be backed by a new band called the Grass Roots, a reference to his Robin Theatre residency, called “Growth.”

Smith said he would usually play with a band called Race Card, but some of its members will be playing Saturday night with headliner Mystur Love as the Trilogy Band. Smith described the bands as “revolving doors” of musicians who know each other and collaborate often.

“I’m glad that they’re backing up Mystur Love as Trilogy because that gave me the opportunity to go in a different direction,” Smith said. “I’ll have a few secret guests that I’m bringing from out of town. No matter what happens, I’m always prepared to give the crowd a great show.”

Mystur Love, aka Robert Love, is also a first-time performer at Dam Jam. Like Smith, he decided to reach out to the festival’s organizers after attending Moore’s set last year.

“I told them I had released an album and that I play with the Corzo Effect. They were excited to have me on, and I’m grateful they considered me to be part of the lineup this year,” Love said.

Love’s debut EP, “The Vibe,” was released earlier this year and represents a decade-long journey of finding his sound. He credits musician and producer Jurell Barnes with co-creating the EP.

“It was perfect timing,” Love said. “The right producer and the right collaboration really helped me bring some of these songs to their final resting place.”

Love said his music is R&B, with infusions of elements from a variety of genres. From Hollywood overture music to funk and classical, Love said, “There are a lot of different blends that create my sound. I’m excited to bring the Mystur Love experience to Dam Jam.”