The Common Ground Music Festival is an annual week-long

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

that takes place in downtown

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. The July festival, which began in the year 2000 and attracts 50,000-plus people each year, is located at the Louis Adado Riverfront Park along the Grand River. Co-created by Center Park Productions and Meridian Entertainment Group, it showcases national and regional artists in contemporary and classic rock, pop, alternative, folk, country, hip hop, and R&B music. A year-round staff of about 10 people plan and organize the festival each year and get help from nearly 200 volunteers during the week of the event. Stage hands and temporary workers are hired to build the temporary structures. The next Common Ground Music Festival was scheduled for July 9–10, 2021.

History

The Common Ground Music Festival was established as a not for profit 501(c)(3) corporation, Center Park Productions, in the year 2000. Center Park Productions was created by the Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority (LEPFA) in a partnership with the Meridian Entertainment Group (MEG), the creator of the festival. Peak attendance for the week occurred in 2003 at about 87,000 patrons. In more recent years, crowds have been smaller, attracting between 50,000 and 60,000 people. There was no festival in 2020.

Local impact

The festival has generated an estimated $50 million+ for the local economy since its inception. More than $400,000 has been raised and contributed to schools, non-profits and other area organizations.

Activities

Along with music the festival features a number of activities such as Ultimate Painting (a live painting competition),

The Color Run The Color Run is an event series and five kilometer paint race, inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi, that is owned and operated by The Color Run LLC, a for-profit company. It takes place in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, New Ze ...

, and a

zip-line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...

across the Grand River on festival grounds.

External links

References

{{Coord, 42, 44, 1, N, 84, 32, 48, W, region:US-MI_type:event, display=title Music festivals in Michigan Tourist attractions in Lansing, Michigan Economy of Lansing, Michigan Music festivals established in 2000