Northern Michigan Arts: Harry Connick, Jr., Josh Groban, Brian Wilson, ZZ Top, The Avett Brothers, Trace Adkins, Kris Kristofferson, Melissa Etheridge, Steve Miller Band, Brandi Carlile, Dwight Yoakam, and Garrison Keillor will be just a few of the stars lighting up the Kresge stage this summer, as Interlochen Center for the Arts presents the 2013 Summer Arts Festival.
Tickets for the summer concert series go on sale at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 19. Save yourself some time and purchase your tickets online by using our new and improved ticketing site at tickets.interlochen.org.
Over the course of two and a half months, Interlochen will present more than 30 major performances, starting June 25 with singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile and continuing into August when Interlochen alumni Josh Groban takes the Kresge stage. The diverse line-up features something for everyone: from the legendary Harry Connick, Jr. to the chart topping group The Avett Brothers; from the powerhouse country vocals of Trace Adkins to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top; from Shakespeare’s most compelling tragedy to the hilarious puppet friends of Kevin Johnson, and a whole lot more!
The summer series includes:
JUNE
Brandi Carlile with special guest the Lone Bellow
Tuesday, June 25 @8pm, Kresge Auditorium A literate singer-songwriter whose music splits the difference between pop/rock and folksy Americana, Brandi Carlile has earned her reputation as a fearless and consummate performer who is undoubtedly in a class of her own.
Shemekia Copeland
Wednesday, June 26 @8pm, Kresge Auditorium Crowned “Queen of the Blues” at the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, Shemekia Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency. While only in her early 30s, she’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic and shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.
“Hamlet” Interlochen Shakespeare festival
June 27-29, July 3, 5, 6 @8pm, Upton-Morley Pavilion
The Interlochen Shakespeare Festival proudly presents “Hamlet” and electrifies the Upton-Morley Pavilion with a tale of treachery, intrigue and obsession. Written at the height of Shakespeare's career, “Hamlet” is renowned for its exquisite poetry, spellbinding plot and universal themes of morality and mortality. Join us as we delve into a world of murder, melancholy and madness in this powerful story of devotion and revenge.
Kevin Johnson
Saturday, June 29 @7pm, Kresge Auditorium Acclaimed ventriloquist Kevin Johnson generates laughs with the help of his hilarious puppet friends. You'll fall in love with Matilda, laugh hysterically with Clyde and delight at the relate-ability of Harley. A longtime performer at Legoland California with appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “America's Got Talent,” Johnson even had “American Idol's” Simon Cowell tell him "America loves you,” and so will you! This family-friendly show promises great comedy and punchy puppet gags.
Triple Trombone Concerto, World Youth Symphony Orchestra
Sunday, June 30 @8pm, Kresge Auditorium WYSO is pleased to welcome back nationally recognized conductor JoAnn Falletta. She leads the orchestra in performances of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” Albert Roussel’s “Bacchus et Ariane, Suite No. 2” and Eric Ewazen’s “Triple Concerto for Three Trombones and Orchestra” featuring Buffalo Philharmonic trombonists Jonathan Lombardo, Timothy Smith and Jeff Dee.