Travis Bowlin
CUSTER — The US 10 Cigar Box Guitar Festival will take place from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at the Custer VFW Gold Bar Post 5096, 2022 State St. (US 10).
The event is being dubbed “The Biggest Little CBG Festival in Michigan.”
“We wanted a reason for our community to gather and enjoy a day of various musical genres played on homemade instruments with great skill,” said Dean Dostal, one of the event organizers. “This is a family friendly event and will have some interactive activities.”
Admission is free. Proceeds raised will go to Lakeshore Animal Friends on its mission to help spay and neuter cats. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs.
Scheduled musicians include:
- Noon: Dean Dostal and Friends
- 1:45 p.m.: Devin C. Williams
- 3:30 p.m.: RB Stone
- 5 p.m.: Travis Bowlin
- 7 p.m.: Cody and the Chameleons
See biographies below.
Food trucks will be on site including Wooden Paddle Pizza and Wings and Lakeside Wiener Wagon and BBQ. Beverages may be purchased from the VFW. No outside beverages will be allowed.
The event will also include a free tie dying workshop provided by Ann Madsen of Dyeing on the Inside. Guests may bring their own shirt or purchase a festival shirt for $20.
Tapped Axes will be on site with its throwing trailer.
Donations will be taken for an opportunity to win a Cardinal chainsaw carving by Tyler Quillan, the Wood Butcher.
Attendees will have the opportunity to win a custom built six-string American Flag guitar donated by MGB Guitars and built by Soundbox Guitars.
Cigars will also be available for purchase from Surroundings.
RB Stone
Artists’ biographies
- Dean Dostal has been inspiring western Michigan with his country, Americana, and blues music for nearly 20 years, uplifting audiences with his easygoing and personable style that conveys the honest, heartfelt emotion of country music from Waylon Jennings to Jamey Johnson.
- RB Stone plays in the genre of Mississippi roots rock and Mississippi hill country blues and is an itinerant troubadour who lives what he sings. Blues Revue Magazine states: “A bluesman who has been there and done that. This guy has been down all sorts of gravel roads, often face-first.”
- Devin C. Williams is an incredibly gifted singer and absolute firebrand playing slide guitar. His gritty and raw voice will cut through your worries and “bring them to the altar” as they say. He plays several times a week in the Springfield, Illinois area.
- Travis Bowlin released his latest album “Hooks & Grooves” in the fall of 2024 which reached the number one spot on the Billboard Blues Album Charts as well as the top 50 on the Big Blues Chart. He advanced along side duo partner Meg Williams in the 2024 International Blues Challenge becoming semi-finalist out of thousands of blues acts from around the world. He is touring regularly, with three weekly residencies.
- Cody and the Chameleons performs a classic rock genre with influences from Elvis and 1970s rock bands. The band is a staple in the St. Louis, Mo. area and plays extensively. The band’s music is heartfelt and has a palpable beat and vibe surely to get you dancing and clapping along.
The event is sponsored by MGB Guitars, Parkdale Auto Sales, West Shore Bank, Jackson Quick Building, Soundbox Guitars, Shoey’s Log Bar, Sanders Meats, and Robin Koikas of EXIT Realty.
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