Ralston gets invite!

Rothbury finds room for Ralston Bowles; local artist will open for Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan on Sunday

by John Sinkevics | The Grand Rapids Press

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:00 AM

Katy Batdorff | The Grand Rapids PressRalston Bowles is performing on the Odeum Stage at Rothbury on Sunday.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Once dubbed "The Bob Dylan of Grand Rapids," singer-songwriter Ralston Bowles always has wanted to meet the folk/rock icon to whom he has been compared.

Now, Bowles will get to do something even better.

After a grass-roots campaign by fans and local musicians who championed his cause, organizers of the Rothbury music festival at the Double JJ Ranch north of Muskegon have scheduled Bowles to perform at the event, playing the same stage as Dylan on Sunday, the festival's closing day.

Bowles, who is battling colon cancer, said he is thrilled with the honor after formally being informed by Rothbury on Monday. He said he will play a short set prior to the 6 p.m. show by Willie Nelson & Family, who will perform just ahead of Dylan's festival-ending show on the main Odeum Stage.

RELATED CONTENT

• Rothbury offers more than music

• More volunteers, security planned for Rothbury 2009

• Video: Raw footage of Rothbury setup

• Rothbury organizers expect 30,000 fans during the weekend

• Live chat with Rothbury performers Four Finger Five

"Getting to perform in a situation that close to these icon-types is something. For a guy who's supposed to be good with words, I'm at a loss," said Bowles, who was diagnosed with cancer about four weeks ago. "I just hope I know what to say when I get there."

With word of his cancer surgery spreading through Grand Rapids' music community, the widely respected Americana-folk artist has been the subject of an Internet-based write-in campaign to have his name added to the performance lineup for the four-day festival, which is headlined by Dylan, The Dead, The String Cheese Incident, Nelson and The Black Crowes.

The lineup has been set for several weeks, with more than 70 acts performing in all, starting Thursday.

But Rothbury organizers received numerous e-mails from fans urging them to consider putting Bowles on one of the festival's four stages, leading them to find a performance spot for the singer-songwriter on Rothbury's huge Odeum stage. They couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the decision, but the musician who started the e-mail effort was pleased it had an impact.

"It's awesome," said Jane Stancil, pianist for the Grand Rapids band Potato Moon and a nurse-intern at The Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary's Health Care, where Bowles had his surgery. Because Bowles has long supported other local musicians, Stancil decided to launch a campaign on the Facebook online social network to encourage people to contact Rothbury on his behalf.

"Everybody else started posting it. People I never heard of were e-mailing me. ... It's the least I could do."

Bowles has released two highly acclaimed studio albums over the past six years, both earning critical praise and a fan following across parts of the United States and Europe. The most recent album, "Rally at the Texas Hotel," was released nationally on Wildflower Records, Judy Collins' record label.

Regarded as a leading advocate of West Michigan's acoustic music scene, Bowles has long hosted August's Tuesday Evening Music Club series at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, spotlighting local and regional musical artists.

Last weekend, Wildflower Records recording artist Amy Speace, of New York City, and Peter Mulvey, of Milwaukee, performed at a pair of benefit concerts at Grand Rapids' One Trick Pony, raising more than $7,700 to help Bowles cover medical and insurance expenses. He is expected to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment later this summer. Another benefit featuring local and regional musicians will take place Aug. 2 on LaGrave Avenue SE near One Trick Pony.