Marquette, MI – August 24, 2018 – The overcast skies and rain weren’t enough to stop us from having a great time at Lower Harbor for Day 1 of HarborFest 2018! We kicked things off around 4:45pm with our first band of the evening, Strung Together. The local Marquette band performed some bluegrass and folk tunes with Ethan VanLete on Guitar, Ryan Moin on Mandolin, and Russel Harmon on the Banjo.
While sitting under the tents, attendees enjoyed delicious snacks like The Rollin’ Split from Rollin’ Smoke Barbeque and freshly made pretzels from DaH Pretzel Guys. Double Trouble set up corn hole under the big tent for people to play free games while sipping on a cold craft brew from the beer tent! The Way Outs, a group made up of members from Minneapolis, Munising, and Marquette took the stage around 6:30 pm to deliver their take on neo-80’s, nu-wave, and 90’s rock. The Wayouts have a heavy focus on the lead vocals of Cheryl Peterson and the keyboard antics of local music legend Matt Suomi. The band’s unique sound is retro, synthy keyboards, groove-heavy drums from Kris Schaefer, and rock ‘n’ roll guitar from Tom Osier and Rodney Gendron.
Around 8:45 pm the crowd really started to grow as community members gathered in anticipation of our Friday night headliner, Bumpus! Returning to HarborFest for a second year, the Chicago band took over the stage and energy immediately surged through the crowd. Their powerful brand of soul music channeled the uplifting energy of Sly & the Family Stone, the energy of James Brown and the reflective cool of Marvin Gaye as they played a mix of original music and covers. If it was possible to forget how great Bumpus is live after last year’s performance, the band quickly reminded everyone in the crowd how great they really are! The crowd roared at the end of each song until finally, Bumpus wrapped up their stellar performance around 11pm.
Couldn’t make it today, or just want more of HarborFest, join us tomorrow as we kick off day two around 11am. Starting at 11am we’ll have the Saturday-only Car and Motorcycle Show running until 4pm. Catch and release for the South Shore Fishing Association also starts around 11 with weigh-in and awards at 2:30pm! Bring the kids and let them have a go at the U.P. Luge Club Demo station until 5pm or let them tire themselves out in the Double Trouble Inflatable Kids Zone from 12-7pm! Live music will continue Saturday starting at 12:30pm with Gerry & Allison Brown, a couple who focus on acoustic modern country with some classic rock and modern pop thrown in. Live Bullet Detroit, the Bob Seger Tribute Band from the Lower Peninsula closes out in the evening starting, 9-11pm.
To see the full band schedule for Saturday, click here.
To see photos from Saturday, Day 2 of HarborFest, click here.
Special thanks to all of our sponsors:
Miller Lite, Coors, Eagle Mine, City of Marquette, Travel Marquette, Vango’s Pizza & Cocktail Lounge, Great Lakes Radio, Double Trouble Entertainment, Fox Motors, Ojibwa Casinos, Upper Peninsula Health Plan, Integrated Designs Inc, WLUC TV6, TriMedia Environmental & Engineering, Outlanders, Rollin’ Stones BBQ, Copper Crust Co., Señor’s Food Truck, DaH Pretzel Guys, Superior Mobile Koney, Saddleback Photography, and GigSnax
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