thiRd: the MusiC Cities

Need more live music?

These towns big and small are hosting artists all summer long.

MusiC On BeaR Lake On the sandBaR 1-4pM

Other shows (July 22 and Aug. 26) TBA.

June 24 - Freshwater Roots

BeuLah COnCeRts in the stReet

June 29 - Bill Frary and the

Frequency

July 6 - Whiskey Wolves of the West

July 13 - One Hot Robot

July 20 - The Accidentals

July 27 - The Way Outs

Aug. 3 - Jazz North

Aug. 10 - Dig A Pony

Check out Boyne City’s Stroll the Streets on Friday nights, featuring numerous artists, or enjoy Evenings at the Gazebo

6:30-8pm at the Pavilion in Veterans Memorial Park (performers below).

June 14 - Full Moon Jam

Band

June 21- Nels Olstrom

June 28 - James Michael

Duo

July 5 - Pete Jackson Country

July 12 - Billy McAllister

July 19 - The Hazel James

Band

July 26 - Wyatt & Shari

Knapp

Aug. 2 - Nels Olstrom

Aug. 9 - On Tap

Aug. 16 - Matt Gabriel

Aug. 23 - Full Moon Jam

Band

Aug. 30 - Delilah DeWylde upBeat CadiLLaC

Tim Scully’s World Class Jazz n Blues presents shows weekly at different towns, including Cadillac, Elberta, Manistee, and others.

June 22 - Sunset Groove

June 29 - Organissimo

July 6 - Rodney Whitaker

July 13 - Howard Wilson and the Salt City All-Stars

July 20 - Paul Nelson Band

July 27 - Planet D Nonet

Aug. 3 - Joseph and the Velozians

Aug. 10 - Wendell Harrison

Aug. 17- Auntie Kim and Uneek Soul

Aug. 24 - Men of Leisure

ChaRLevOix

East Park Odmark

Performance Pavilion, downtown Charlevoix.

June 19 - DJ DomiNate, 6pm; Hurricane (Reggae/ Caribbean), 7pm

July 6 - B-Side Growlers

July 13 - Eliza Thorp, 6pm; Mark Lavengood, 7pm

July 27 - Traverse City

Dance Project

Aug. 1-3 - The Soundgarden Project, various locations and times

Aug. 3 - Distant Stars

Aug. 10 - Charlie Millard Band

Aug. 17 - The Real Ingredients eLBeRta JaMMin’ MOndays

June 19 - Sunset Groove

June 26 - Organissimo

July 3 - Rodney Whitaker

July 10 - Howard Wilson and the Salt City All-Stars

July 17 - Paul Nelson Band

July 24 - Planet D Nonet

July 31 - Joseph and the Velozians

Aug. 7 - Wendell Harrison

Aug. 14 - Auntie Kim and Uneek Soul

Aug. 21 - Men of Leisure

Aug. 28 - Rusty Wright

Blues Band

Sept. 4 - Nikki T and the Snake Charmers eLk Rapids day paRk

July 20 - Seth Bernard and Mark Lavengood

July 27 - Joshua Davis eLk Rapids evenings On RiveR stReet

June 28 - Plumville Project

July 5 - Brotha James

July 12 - Nick Vasquez

Aug. 15 - Auntie Kim and Uneek Soul

Aug. 22 - Men of Leisure

Aug. 29 - Rusty Wright Band nORthpORt MusiC in the paRk

June 30 - 1000 Watt Prophets

July 7 - Soul Patch

July 14 - Igor and the Red Elvises

July 21 - Don Julin & Ron Getz Quartet

July 28 - The Way Outs

Aug. 4 - Jazz North

Aug. 11 - The Benzie Playboys

Aug. 18 - The Fabulous Horndogs

Aug. 25 - The Jimmys

Sept. 1 - Jabo Bihlman’s Family Jam

OnekaMa

Concerts at 7pm in the Onekama Village Park (rain Venue Onekama

Consolidated School Auditorium).

June 26 - Awesome

Distraction

July 3 - The Schrock

Brothers Band with Peter Madcat Ruth

July 10 - Jim Hawley

July 17 - The Benzie

Playboys

July 24 - Whispers of the North, the music of Gordon Lightfoot

July 31 - The

Handstanders

Aug. 7 - Elvis tribute artist

Jake Slater

Aug. 14 - Barefoot, with harmonica legend Phil Coryell

BLOOd, sweat and teaRs

Prophets

July 3 - Birds of Prey

July 16 - The Gasoline

Gypsies

Aug. 5 - Aaron Benjamin

Aug. 20 - Nathan Walton gayLORd aLpenfest

July 8 - Genesee Valley Concert Band

July 11 - Power Play

Detroit

July 12

Musiker Blasorchester

July 12

Bruno Mars/Taylor Swift

Tribute

July 13

July 14

Tradition Band

July 15 - Petoskey Steel

Drum Band

July 15 - New Brass Express

July 15 - Bluewater Kings Band

Manistee ROOts On the RiveR Concerts take place

Thursday nights beginning

July 6 through Aug. 10 at the bandshell in Veterans Memorial Park.

July 6 - Harper and the Midwest Kind

July 13 - Plain Jane Glory

July 20 - Charlie Millard

Band

Aug. 3 - Ben Traverse

Aug. 10 - Whorled

Manistee shOReLine shOwCase

June 20 - Sunset Groove

- Organissimo - Rodney Whitaker - Howard Wilson and the Salt City All-Stars

- Paul Nelson Band - Planet D Nonet

- Joseph and the

Aug. 8 - Wendell Harrison

Bay View Music Festival, July 21

Quick, what recording nabbed Album of the Year at the 1970 Grammy Awards, besting Abbey Road, Johnny Cash at San Quentin, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Age of Aquarius? That’s right, Blood, Sweat and Tears topped all the above for its self-named album, with hit songs “Spinning Wheel,” “You Made Me So Very Happy,” “And When I Die,” and “God Bless The Child.” In fact, some of us have been listening to and inspired by the band since the ’60s. (Guilty!) petOskey’s ChaRLOtte ROss Lee COnCeRts in the paRk

The Concerts in the Park Series takes place noon to 1pm each Wednesday and Friday, featuring local musicians on the Gazebo stage.

June 21 - Eliza Thorp

June 23 - The Full Moon

Jam Band

June 28 - John Richard

Paul

June 30 - Keith Scott Blues

July 5 - Kevin Johnson

July 7 - Crosscut Kings

July 19 - Story and James

July 21 - The Pints

July 26 - Third Degree

July 28 - The Real Ingredients

Aug. 2 - Lejet

Aug. 4 - The Boondoggle

Cats

Aug. 9 - Holly Keller

Thompson

Aug. 11- Jeff Pagel

Aug. 16 - Ed Tatum

Aug. 18 - Sean Miller

The group is still touring, showcasing the horn-laden jazz-rock that led to all those hits. In the 56 years since it debuted, the band has been home to an astonishing 180+ members. Founding drummer Bobby Colomby still oversees the group, though he no longer performs. The group performed to a full house several years ago at Hall Auditorium, and Bay View Artistic Director Chris Ludwa says he was only too happy to book BS&T once again.

whiskey wOLves Of the west

Various Locations

Musical mavericks Leroy Powell and Tim Jones met out West, but not the wide-open spaces as you might imagine from their country-esque voyages together. “When I met Leroy, he was drinking champagne out of an old cowboy boot in a hot tub at a big A-list party in Hollywood,” Jones has said. They again crossed paths in 2013 on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Southern Rock Cruise and began writing songs together, birthing Whiskey Wolves of the West. Their first release, Country Roots, was named one of the Top 10 Country EPs of 2018 by Rolling Stone. Jones has since relocated from Nashville to Frankfort, where his wife Katie now oversees the Garden Theater. He maintains his ties to the music scene and will be teaming up with his partner at different venues across the region this summer for what they’ve dubbed “dangerously fun Americana.”

A BAnjo YeAr

Blissfest Music Festival, Harbor Springs

Way back in 1981, a group of artists, folk musicians, dancers, and movie buffs from the Petoskey arts club got together with the folks from an alternative school to host a fundraising concert. All these years later, the Spectrum Center and the Bliss School are gone, but the concert remains. Today, the Blissfest Music Festival is a celebration of music, culture, art, and community featuring a variety of folk, world and roots music, and dance. Some aspects remain—Volunteer and Outreach Manager Caroline Barlow says they’re told to never replace the hand-painted main stage—and many of the performers are familiar to concert-goers as well. “We have our regulars we rotate,” says Barlow, but every year sees the festival bringing in new performers as well. Barlow says this year by happenstance seems to be featuring a number of banjo-centered acts. “We have at least nine banjo players or bands,” she says, pointing to headliners Molly Tuttle, Valerie June, and Abigail Washburn. (Washburn is “one of the best old-time clawhammer banjo players” according to Barlow, and also happens to be married to banjo superstar Béla Fleck.) There’s plenty beyond banjo as well, such as onetime Men At Work leader Colin Hay and the Sweetwater Warblers— Rachael Davis, May Erlewine, and Lindsay Lou—performing solo and together.

PAul nelson

Various Locations

Bluesy guitar slinger Paul Nelson is returning to the area as part of Tim Scully’s World Class Jazz n Blues Productions shows, performing in Elberta, Cadillac, Manistee, and other locations around the region. The Berklee grad was a studio ace for years before becoming Johnny Winter’s guitarist, producer, music director, and right-hand man, winning a Grammy Award for Winter’s posthumous album Step Back. Since then, he’s formed the Paul Nelson Band and toured behind the recording Badass Generation, bringing to mind the sounds he grew up with: Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Boston, Aerosmith, and others. Live, he and the band take some liberties with the songs. “I’ll go out on a tangent, go into … different changes. It’s a format for improvisation,” he says, though he notes it’s still based on the blues. “It opens. Johnny Winter was keen on that.”

A BAnjo YeAr

Blissfest Music Festival, Harbor Springs

Way back in 1981, a group of artists, folk musicians, dancers, and movie buffs from the Petoskey arts club got together with the folks from an alternative school to host a fundraising concert. All these years later, the Spectrum Center and the Bliss School are gone, but the concert remains. Today, the Blissfest Music Festival is a celebration of music, culture, art, and community featuring a variety of folk, world and roots music, and dance. Some aspects remain—Volunteer and Outreach Manager Caroline Barlow says they’re told to never replace the hand-painted main stage—and many of the performers are familiar to concert-goers as well. “We have our regulars we rotate,” says Barlow, but every year sees the festival bringing in new performers as well. Barlow says this year by happenstance seems to be featuring a number of banjo-centered acts. “We have at least nine banjo players or bands,” she says, pointing to headliners Molly Tuttle, Valerie June, and Abigail Washburn. (Washburn is “one of the best old-time clawhammer banjo players” according to Barlow, and also happens to be married to banjo superstar Béla Fleck.) There’s plenty beyond banjo as well, such as onetime Men At Work leader Colin Hay and the Sweetwater Warblers— Rachael Davis, May Erlewine, and Lindsay Lou—performing solo and together.

PAul

Various Locations

RED,

The MAnhATTAn TrAnsfer

Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Aug. 19

In 1972, the late Tim Hauser formed a vocal quartet from the ashes of his previous a capella/doo-wop group of the same name. The jazzy harmonies became both hits and inspirations for future jazz groups. Now touring behind the studio album Fifty, the Transfer is celebrating a half-century of hits (10 Grammy awards, 29 albums, millions of sales, and induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame) with its final world tour. Over the decades, the band has shifted its approach, from swing to pop, a capella to orchestral accompaniment, while always maintaining its peerless vocal approach, blending four voices to serve the songs. Hits like “Birdland,” “Boy From New York City,” “Operator,” and others showcased the vitality and beauty of the voice.

seTh BernArd And jordAn hAMilTon

Various Locations

Bluesy guitar slinger Paul Nelson is returning to the area as part of Tim Scully’s World Class Jazz n Blues Productions shows, performing in Elberta, Cadillac, Manistee, and other locations around the region. The Berklee grad was a studio ace for years before becoming Johnny Winter’s guitarist, producer, music director, and right-hand man, winning a Grammy Award for Winter’s posthumous album Since then, he’s formed the Paul Nelson Band and toured behind the recording Badass Generation, bringing to mind the sounds he grew up with: Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Boston, Aerosmith, and others. Live, he and the band take some liberties with the songs. “I’ll go out on a tangent, go into … different changes. It’s a format for improvisation,” he says, though he notes it’s still based on the blues. “It opens. Johnny Winter was keen on that.”

Seth Bernard is known throughout the area and beyond for his eclectic music combining contemporary folk, rock, pop, and more, along with his environmental activism. His penchant for musical exploration is evidenced in part by his collaborations with numerous other musicians, such as cellist Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton’s approach melds hip-hop, folk, soul, classical music, and technology. “He’s always exploring new territory, which I do as well,” says Bernard of Hamilton. Their exploration often continues in rearrangements of their songs, morphing from full band to duo or solo to duo-plus, given Hamilton’s use of technology, including looping. “We bring it all,” Bernard says, including acoustic and electric guitars, cello, foot pedals, a beat machine named Silas, samples, and more. “Things can get interesting—real symphonic,” he says. But never at the expense of the music. “It really goes back to what we want to say and be authentic. They’re just tools.”