Land of NOD Experiment

Open your mind to the 

Land of NOD Experiment

BY BRIAN McCOLLUM July 22 2010

DETROIT FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER

Rural Michigan in July. Caravans of rock 'n' roll 

campers. A funky, eclectic lineup of music and 

art.

Sound familiar? The Rothbury festival might 

have the year off, but adventurous music fans 

can make their way this weekend to the 

inaugural Land of NOD Experiment, a three-day, 

80-act jamboree that's aiming to lure open-eared 

concertgoers to Leoni Township, just outside 

Jackson.

Land of NOD is the brainchild of Dan Sheridan, a 

Detroit-area native who cut his teeth staging 

house parties and band gigs at Ferris State 

University in the '90s.

His concept is familiar to patrons of Voodoo Fest 

in New Orleans, where Land of NOD spent eight 

years as a quirky fest-within-the-fest that grew 

to two stages and 55 bands by 2008.

"Always in the back of my mind was this 

beautiful land I'd toured 12 years ago in 

Jackson," he says.

That land was the 105-acre property of pal Paul 

Soltysiak, who'd purchased it for hunting. Their 

plans for a 2008 fest were preempted by permit 

snags and the high-profile debut of Rothbury 

across the state. A year later, Sheridan had the 

permits but meager funding.

And so 2010 would be it: With support from 

locals and the efforts of partner Jason Reed, a 

Detroit promoter, Sheridan brought his concept 

to life. He happily welcomes comparisons to 

fests such as Coachella and Rothbury, while 

playing up his event's cozier scale -- about 

10,000 are expected this weekend.

"It's a platform to expose underground and 

unique artists," says Sheridan. "It's artists that 

can't get into mainstream galleries because their 

art might be a little offbeat and music that you 

don't see at these other festivals."

Land of NOD is premised on the hope that at 

least 10,000 people share Sheridan's everything-

and-the-kitchen-sink music tastes and are 

drawn to a lineup that features everything from 

stoner rock (Eagles of Death Metal) to house 

music (Bad Boy Bill) to elegant indie pop (Of 

Montreal).

He says it's a chance to "bridge the tribes" across 

genres and compares it to the freewheeling spirit 

that marked the early days of the alternative 

movement.

"We're trying to bring that back," he says. "This 

can prove that we don't all need to wear the same 

clothes to have a good time together."

Ann Arbor, just 30 minutes away, is the event's 

top ticket market, though passes have been 

purchased by fans in California, Florida and 

elsewhere, Sheridan says.

The long-term goal, he says, is endurance, not 

expansion. Capacity might be doubled to 20,000 

at some point, and the event could spend a 

summer on the road. But he's not interested in 

building the next mega-fest, where fans are 

often stuck "watching a video screen from a 

quarter-mile away."

"You get bigger and bigger and bigger, and it can 

become a bad experience for the concertgoer," he 

says. "We want to keep it intimate, keep the 

good vibrations going."

And there's plenty of room for tinkering over 

time.

"That's why we call it an experiment and not a 

festival," he says.

Contact BRIAN McCOLLUM: 313-223-4450 or  

mccollum@freepress.com