Mackinac Island has been known as a gathering place for centuries and musicians from across the country will gather August 17-19, 2010 for the Mackinac Island Music Festival.
Presented by the Grey Goose-the World’s Best Tasting Vodka, Classic Rock THE BEAR and Great Turtle Festivals, performances abound around the car-less Island’s quaint pubs, historic theatres and includes a tribute to the mega concert Festival Express.
Veteran blues musician/comedian DC Malone will headline on August 18, incorporating some incredible guitar work and a great blues voice. Malone relates “I love to perform; to form an instant rapport with a live audience is a great feeling.” With his slightly warped take on life, relationships, drinking and with great music to back it up, DC Malone is very entertaining. Opening the show is Detroit Music Award Winner Audra Kubat, one of the Motor City’s most well known voices. Incorporating folk, rock, alternative and indie styles, her instrumental ability is only overshadowed by her unique and unforgettable voice.
This season the festival will pay tribute to the 1970 mega concert/rockumentary “Festival Express” which was a multi-band, multi-day extravaganza that captured the spirit and imagination of a generation and a nation. Musicians included Janis Joplin, The Band, Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, Traffic, Sha Na Na and more. It is considered “one of the best performance films of all time” by Hollywood Reporter.
Detroit Music Award winning blues/folk singer extraordinaire Barbara Payton (Bob Seger/Kid Rock vocalist) will perform with guitarist Chris Brantley (Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels) and take on the tunes of Janis Joplin while Billy Brandt and his band of musicians will take on the Grateful Dead. Island musician Mary McGuire and friends will interpret the music of Traffic while the Forbes Brothers, recipients of over 25 Detroit Music Awards, will revive the tunes of The Band.
Island musician and festival director Mary McGuire shares “performing with friends immersed in the beauty of Mackinac Island makes this festival something special. We all get to live together on a beautiful Island and jam before and after all the gigs.” She adds “the Mission Point Theatre is charming, it was built with fifty foot trusses made of Norway Pine from nearby Bois Blanc Island and forty-five tons of native stone so not only is it beautiful, the sound quality is amazing.”
Tickets are available from the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau (800) 454-5227, at the door and online from www.ticketriver.com
• Mackinac Island Music Festival Schedule
• Mackinac Island Music Festival Brochure (pdf)
• Mackinac Island Music Festival Blog
• Mackinac Island Music Festival Website
The Mackinac Island Music Festival was created to celebrate the musicians living and working on Mackinac Island as well as to support regional and national touring musicians.
Genres have included folk, country, rock, blues, bluegrass, classical, jazz and country. What started as a one day event began has now expanded to a three-day festival and has become one of Mackinac Island’s most exciting festivals of the season.
We hope you will join us as we celebrate those who have dedicated their lives to music and the music scene here on Mackinac Island.
Visit Mackinac Island Music Festival Website >>>>
