New Summer Music Festival Brings Big Names to Upper Peninsula

Music festivals and Michigan summers go hand in hand. From our amazing concert venues to those special music events, the biggest artists in the world make their way to Michigan every year for music fans.

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This year you can add another great music festival to your summer bucket list. The new Northern Lights Music Fest is heading to the Upper Peninsula with an inaugural year jam-packed with major performers.

The new two-day summer music festival is taking over the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Escanaba on July 21st and 22nd.

“We’ve had a growing demand from locals and tourists for more live music events to supplement our annual U.P. State Fair grandstand performances and various Ludington Park music series,”said Visit Escanaba CEO Robert Micheau in a press release.“The fairgrounds have a capacity of 15,000 and we hope this event sells every seat in the house! This is really the first event of this magnitude and we intend to make it an annual summer occurrence.”

With a "Go Big or Go Home" attitude, organizers are bringing in some pretty heavy hitters for entertainment.

To kick things off, Friday night, July 21, will be Rock Night. Taking to the stage will be American 1980s rock band Steelheart; Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, and Michigan's own Pop Evil.

Saturday night the festival goes country. Headlining is one of the biggest stars in country music, Grammy Award-winning country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist Keith Urban.

Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased at NorthernLightsMusicFestival.com and VisitEscanaba.com. If you purchase a ticket for Saturday’s lineup you will receive free entry for Rock Night on Friday, July 21, when you present a valid ticket at the gate. Showtimes will be announced as the festival gets closer.

Those looking for campsites and camping information can click here.