Door County 2009 Visitor Guide - (Page 19) MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE n the land of 100 galleries where the arts are appreciated and revered, it’s not surprising that the independent music scene should thrive as well. The Door Peninsula is home to dozens of small-town bars and taverns, rumor mills, pool tables, bar dice and everything you won’t find in your suburban food courts. It’s in these “hole-in-the-wall” venues that the soul of music thrives, with live music of nearly every genre most nights from May through October. Fish Creek’s Bayside Tavern has been a staple of the Door County music scene for decades. Home of local rock legend Pat MacDonald (his parents own the place), the “Slide,” as it’s known in the local parlance, has long been the place to catch rock, blues and soul music from all over the state. In recent years it’s been joined by Husby’s, Sister Bay’s seminal bar since the 1930s, where one can catch reggae, rock and blues on a regular basis all year. In 2006, Sonny’s Pizzeria in Fish Creek stormed into the music scene on the back of its owner, musician Early Thomas, whose band always fills the dance floor with a riveting funk, rock, and soul extravaganza. The Mink River Basin (just call it “the Basin” if you want to sound local) is a regular stop for local favorites the Mullet Hunters and Little Marsh Overflow, a Madison act which got their start here. The C&C Supper Club is the most consistently booked of county locales, with live music every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer and fall, heavy on blues and reggae. While the AC Tap, a dive bar in the best of ways, may look lonely out on Hwy 57, inside it is anything but. Bluegrass guitar extraordinaire Eric Lewis and various band mates of American Folklore Theatre fame are regulars there. BASS PLAYER © DAN EGGERT - by Myles Dannhausen, Jr. I A vacation to a County with more miles of shoreline than any other in the country wouldn’t be complete without taking in a cocktail and music on the water. There’s no better place than Fred and Fuzzy’s on Tuesday nights. The Nicks and various guests entertain here with a mix of pop, folk and bluegrass every week to a backdrop of an unbeatable sunset view. Door County’s myriad festivals pulse with musical culture, but two outdo the rest. Sister Bay’s Fall Fest, held every October, features a streetscape of revelry and guitar chords, as bands line the street by day and fill the bars at night. A stroll from one end of the closed-off Bayshore Drive to the other might take you from reggae to rock and folk to soul. It’s easy to hear why the weekend has long been the favorite of locals and visitors alike. But while Fall Fest may be the most exuberant weekend of the year, for sheer music volume and variety, Sturgeon Bay’s SteelBridge Songfest is unparalleled. Now a regional music festival celebrating diverse area musicians and national acts, the mid-June celebration features an entire week of songwriter’s workshops and performances in bars and coffee shops up and down 3rd Avenue. It culminates in a massive Saturday concert at the foot of the bridge, headlined the last three years by rock and roll hall-of-famer Jackson Browne. Finally, there’s Camp David, quite possibly the coolest place to take in a performance on the Peninsula. Dave Ellman has turned an old county barn into a music hall complete with professional sound and lighting, forming an unrivaled atmosphere home to rock and soul shows and bluegrass/folk whimsy. SISTER BAY MARINA FEST © DARRYL BEERS ROCK ISLAND STATE PARK STATE PARK COUNTY PARK BEACH Jackson Harbor Ridges WASHINGTON ISLAND School House Beach Dolphin Beach Percy Johnson Memorial Park Sand Dune Beach Beaches CHAMBERS ISLAND GILLS ROCK Ellison Bay Town Park ELLISON BAY Europe Lake Europe Bay Beach Newport Bay Beach PENINSULA STATE PARK Fish Creek Beach SISTER BAY EPHRAIM Sister Bay Beach Nicolet Beach Sandy Bay Town Park NEWPORT STATE PARK FISH CREEK Ephraim Beach Door County’s shoreline offers plenty of spacious and swimmer-friendly public beaches, including these in Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Baileys Harbor, Jacksonport, Sturgeon Bay and Washington Island. Swimming beaches also are located in Peninsula State Park, Potawatomi State Park, Newport State Park, Whitefish Dunes State Park and Rock Island State Park. For more information about Door County beaches go to www.doorcounty.com/outdoor/beaches.aspx EGG HARBOR Egg Harbor Beach JUDDVILLE Kangaroo Lake CANA ISLAND Baileys Harbor Ridges Park Anclam Park GREEN BAY Frank Murphy Park BAILEYS HARBOR CARLSVILLE Clark Lake JACKSONPORT WHITEFISH DUNES STATE PARK CAVE POINT Lakeside Park POTAWATOMI STATE PARK Haines Park Otumba Park AIL Sunset Park INSTITUTE MAPLEWOOD AH NA PE E ST AT E TR Sturgeon Bay Canal Recreational Area STURGEON BAY NAMUR BRUSSELS FORESTVILLE LAKE MICHIGAN 19 http://www.doorcounty.com/outdoor/beaches.aspx
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.