When the clouds part and the smell of sizzling mac and cheese drifts across the west lot of the Royal Oak Farmers Market, Christie Siegel doesn’t just see a crowd. She sees a moment. A rhythm. A possibility. Music, in her hands, becomes something more than sound. It becomes a living formula for joy.
“I always put myself in the shoes of the attendee,” says Siegel, who has curated the Sights & Sounds Concert Series for the last three years. “Where am I going to sit? What am I going to eat? What am I going to hear?”
That last question—what am I going to hear?—isn’t about genre or setlist. It’s about feel. Though Christie doesn’t identify as a music expert, her superpower is reading a crowd. She notices which acts spark something real. Who draws people in. Who brings them back.
She studies Instagram pages. Scrolls festival lineups. Listens to tips from friends and community members. Then she makes her choices not based on buzz—but on how likely the band is to light up a Wednesday night.
Held the second Wednesday of each summer month, Sights & Sounds pairs free live music with a food truck rally, family activities, and Royal Oak’s trademark walkable atmosphere. On paper, it’s a concert. In reality, it’s a joy experiment.
Last summer, a high school cover band from Windsor called Leave Those Kids Alone stole the show. They were technically gifted, but it was their energy that stuck with her. “Their performance was incredible for their age,” she says. “And the crowd loved them.” So she brought them back.
That’s Christie’s method: notice what works, build on it, and layer in small surprises to keep the experience fresh. “If people come back year after year, I don’t want them to feel like it’s the same thing,” she says. “I always try to add something different.”
That might be a photo booth, an art cart, or a new dessert vendor—but everything is chosen with the psychology of a good time in mind. Even the vendor fees are low, because she wants food trucks and craft tables to succeed. If they do well, the energy hums. And if the energy hums, the music lands.
Everything, from the bounce house to the background music to the smell of BBQ drifting from a hand-cut barrel grill, is part of Christie’s emotional architecture. Not a setlist, but a sensory mixtape—stitched together to create an experience of joy. From the chalky smear of face paint to the smoky curl of hibachi bowls, the whole evening hums with texture and warmth.
So if you find yourself on a summer Wednesday night in Royal Oak, follow the sound of a cover tune you didn’t know you loved. Grab something smoky and sweet. Watch kids get their faces painted while a jazz trio eases into their second set.
You may not know who’s playing. You may not remember the name of the band. But you’ll feel something. And if Christie has done her job, you’ll come back.
Because when the crowd returns concert after concert, year after year, Christie says she always finds a quiet spot, looks around, and says, “I did this.”
In a space with a hundred-year legacy and vendors who’ve driven in from Frankenmuth and Imlay City, it’s Christie’s curation that stitches together the old and the new—the sound of something still growing.
And the joy she sees? It isn’t chance. And it isn’t trend. It comes from tuning in—again and again—to what makes people feel good, and want to feel it all over again.
The series runs from 4–9 p.m., with kids’ activities and early acoustic sets giving way to full-stage headliners by sundown. For details and upcoming dates, visit romi.gov/farmersmarket or call 248-246-3079
“…people come back year after year, [so we] always try to add something different.”