Six years ago, Riley Bean decided to bring a groove-filled music festival to Southeast Michigan.

The producer, drummer, and DJ launched the Groove On Up festival to spotlight local jam, soul, funk, hip-hop, DJ, and electronic acts on his South Lyon, Michigan farm.

“My personal music taste has always been groove-based as have many of the bands that I’ve been a part of over the years,” said Bean, who hails from Ann Arbor and performs under the artist moniker Beanstalk.

“I was just thinking about the amount of talent that Michigan has to offer and trying to have an accessible camping festival experience that folks can attend locally and not have to drive hundreds of miles for.”

This year’s Groove On Up festival, which runs September 13-15 at Bean’s 14-acre farm, features a mix of returning and new acts on three indoor and outdoor stages, including the new Portal stage. Local visual artists, food vendors, and flow artists/fire performers will also be featured.

The music lineup includes Act Casual, Selyna Alvarez, Al Bettis, Beretta Shells, Chill Place, Chirp, Liquid Thickness, Ma Baker, Rik Strange, The Rupple Brothers, Stormy Chromer, Violet Sol, and others.

It’s also being billed as “The Final Groove” to highlight the grassroots festival’s upcoming transition to hosting smaller monthly shows at Bean’s farm.

“We’ve realized that smaller monthly performances are more manageable and a good fit for our location,” said Bean, who also performs with Violet Sol.

“The new Portal space allows us to do that and put on events—rain or shine—and we’re consistently adding more lighting and fun features. We even had the Ma Baker throwdown in the rain a few months ago.”

To learn more, I spoke with Bean about Groove On Up ahead of this weekend’s festival.

Q: How has your summer been so far? What’s been inspiring you lately?

A: Summer is going well. I’m still gigging with Beanstalk and Violet Sol regularly, but for the last two months, planning Groove On Up has been my main focus.

I’m inspired by the randomness of life, the beauty within that, and how humans interact with it—for better or worse. I attempt to put out words people need to hear and vibrations they need to feel. These days, there are fewer words and more vibes through house music production.

Q: How are things coming together for this year’s Groove On Up?

A: Groove On Up 2024 is shaping up to be the best one yet. In 2023, we established a lot of the infrastructure—mainly the Portal Stage—so there’s not a ton of prep left to get ready. We’ve been constantly mowing, collecting firewood, and clearing new areas for festival experiences.

Q: What will this year’s lineup help bring to the final Groove On Up?

A: I’ve known many of the performers for years and the others are people I’ve spent time with this summer at different festivals.

Some notable returning acts are Ma Baker, Liquid Thickness, Eddie Fowlkes, Act Casual, Stormy Chromer, and Chirp. I’m also excited about some of the new acts, including Al Bettis, Y-Not, Selyna Alvarez, and Harmolodics.

Q: Who are the visual artists, vendors, and flow performers that will be part of the festival experience?

A: The flow artists/fire performers are a group coordinated by Daniel Alexander, aka Mystik Wyzard, who runs a talented crew. Several vendors also will attend with groovy clothes, prints, and foods, including Tacobachi’s and Monster Foods.

I think of these elements as the glue of the festival, and even if your gaze drifts from the music, there’s still plenty to keep you entertained!

Q: What’s up next for you after the festival? What other live shows do you have planned for later this year?

A: I’m focusing more on the DJ side of my performances and booking for that—though I still add live elements at most of my shows. Playing with Violet Sol has been a lot of fun, and we’re performing at Batch Brewing on September 28.

We’ll continue to play monthly events at The Portal—at the farm—in October and then pick it back up again in the spring.

Groove On Up runs September 13-15 at Riley Bean’s farm in South Lyon. Tickets range from $35-$236 and include free camping. For tickets, visit Event Brite.