The fields at Backyard Burdickville in Empire Township will come to life once again with the sound of music. The LivelyLands Music Festival returns, Aug. 20-22, to the former Empire Eagles’ campground on M-72, which the Lively family purchased in 2019. LivelyLands was canceled last year during the COVID-19 shutdown. With guitar picking and beautiful maladies crooning through the fields and forests, this intimate, “backyard” festival carries the legacy of Leelanau County summer music festivals.
The Leelanau Community Cultural Center will host the performance of the Mark Lavengood Band at the Old Art Building in Leland on May 31 at 8 pm. Lavengood will be joined by Justin Wierenga on Guitars, Justin Avdek on bass, and Dutcher Snedeker on Keys.
On Aug. 17, visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore can listen to eclectic bluegrass artist Mark Lavengood from 8 to 9 p.m. at the D. H. Day Campground amphitheater. The concert is part of the free Find Your Park Concert Series in celebration of the National Park Service (NPS) Centennial. Members of the Quest music program, led by Earthwork Music founder Seth Bernard, will be opening the show. Because of limited parking at D. H. Day Campground, visitors who are not camping will be asked to park in Glen Haven and hike or bike to the D. H. Day Campground amphitheater via the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.
The Glen Arbor Art Association is partnering with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to offer three additional summer Manitou Music Festival concerts this summer, to be held at the D.H. Day Campground amphitheater. The expanded lineup is part of the National Park Service’s 100th birthday celebration in 2016. The public, park rangers and campers are invited to join in the celebration with a concert in the park this summer and “find your park” through music.