Show goes on despite power outage at Go North Music Festival

A temporary lack of electricity didn’t damper the opening night of the Go North Music Festival.

The annual festival on St. Joseph Island kicked off Friday evening with a country-themed line-up, starting with opening act Solomon Woodland.

However, during the second act, a major area-wide power outage struck, leaving Nickola Magnolia with no sound or lights.

While organizers scrambled to come up with an alternative, Magnolia, her lead guitarist Jordan Thomas and Duncan Alistair, lead singer/guitarist for closing act The Holy Gamblers, brought the crowd in for an impromptu acoustic set down on the grass.

“As the break extended, the newly-formed trio started taking requests from the crowd, who stuck around for what turned out to be a memorable hiccup for Go North’s opening night,” said the festival’s chair, Jody Wildman, in a news release.

As organizers arranged to get generators to the site, they found out the power was on track to be restored sooner than expected, and after about 45 minutes with no electricity, the lights came back on.

Magnolia and her band returned to the stage for a few more songs, including a finale with a rousing, slightly countrified version of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”

They were followed by The Holy Gamblers and Alistair, keeping the crowd on its feet and demanding an encore at the end of the night.

“The music didn’t stop there though as members of the bands joined campers around a ‘virtual campfire’ (looped projection of burning logs) for an acoustic sing-along lasting into the early hours of Saturday morning,” Wildman described.

The Go North Music Festival continues today with a rock, blues and alt-folk/Americana line-up, including The Northwest, Propter Hawk, Jeremie Albino, Royal Castles, Texas King, and headliners, Monowhales.

Gates open at 3:30 p.m. with the music starting at 4 p.m.  

Food and beverages, lawn games and Kids’ Zone will be available on-site. 

Tickets can be purchased at the gate.