*** Mackinac Island Music Festival August 17-19, 2010
Brought to you by Great Turtle Festivals and Grey Goose, the World's Best Tasting Vodka,, the Music Festival features a lineup of talented musicians who perform at a variety of island venues. Past musicians have included Forbes Brothers, Barbara Payton, Jill Jack, Kraig Kenning, Colin Gilmore, Rachel Davis, alto saxophonist (and Music Director at Grand Hotel) Alex Graham and Ash Can Van Gogh with JC Whitelaw, Billy Brandt, Mary McGuire & Nino Dmytryszyn.

During the 2008 festival, the big highlights were Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels at Mission Point and the tribute to the legendary film by Martin Scorsese of The Band's farewell performance: The Last Waltz. The jams in the pubs are legendary and feature some of Michigan's best musicians each season.

*** Grand Hotel Labor Day Jazz Weekend
Each year Grand Hotel welcomes the artistic excellence of nationally known entertainers which makes this Labor Day Jazz Weekend one of the most popular with guests.  Past headliners include Herbie Hancock, Tito Puente, Pete Fountain, John Pizzarelli and Diane Schuur.  You will be treated to daytime concerts in the Tea Garden and evening concerts in the elegant Theatre.  The Jockey Club at the Grand Stand provides a more relaxing atmosphere for late evening jazz.  Then Sunday morning you will awake to the inspirational and soulful sounds of gospel being played on the Front Porch. Tickets are available at Grand Hotel during the festival, though we recommend staying at Grand Hotel to get the full experience. Special accommodations packages at Grand available here.

*** Mackinac Island Nightlife
Grand Hotel offers nightly entertainment for their guests and non-guests alike. All guests, however, must be dressed properly after 6 pm, meaning that men must wear proper jackets and ties and women must wear their finest couture. The Terrace Room is home to Alex Graham and the Grand Hotel Orchestra. The Hotel Iroquois' piano bar in their Carriage House Dining Room is a popular spot to listen music, watch the sunset and view the boats entering the harbor.

*** Downtown Club Scene
Tuesday night is wine and jazz night with the Alex Graham Quartet at the foothills of Grand Hotel in the new Grand Gate House, formerly the French Outpost. The room is excellent for live jazz.

In the center of Mackinac downtown nightlife, Patrick Sinclair’s Irish Pub offers opportunities to drink the night away with traditional Irish sing-a-longs on weekends. Contemporary acoustic musicians may be heard singing Great Lakes ballads on weeknights.

Just next door, Horn’s Gaslight Bar (recipient of the Best Venue to See a Live Band award from a Detroit news readers poll) presents seasoned rock, blues, and reggae bands every weekend during the peak season. On Wednesdays, DJs bring music and light shows for those who are ready to dance the night away.

Across the street past the Arnold Line, the famous Pink Pony Bar & Grill where well-known Michigan acoustic artists perform nightly and involve the crowd with requests as much as possible.

Mission Point Resort offers acoustic music in the Round Island Bar and Grill, one of its many restaurants. Weather permitting, acoustic musicians perform on the deck of Mission Point’s Bistro on the Green outside overlooking the Greens of Mackinac, the Resort’s 18-hole executive putting course.

Up to date information on who’s playing where can be obtained from front desk personnel, websites of the Island watering holes and in the entertainment section of the Town Crier.