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“You’ve got to do what you dig, / Dig what you do / On this rock spinning through the sky …” So sings Patrick Niemisto in one of his original songs that you can hear on the summer sundeck at Boonedocks in Glen Arbor, or on the CD N3C by the local power folk trio New Third Coast. That’s just one of the bands and venues frequented by Niemisto, the busiest man in local show business. Besides gigging every day all summer (sometimes twice, for years), Patrick produces other’s CDs in the Holy Wah sound studio in his basement, provides gear and/or sound for countless gigs and musicians, arranges for the seven-nights-a-week summer of music on the Boonedocks deck, teaches private lessons, champions the next generation of up-and-coming musical stars, teaches audio tech at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, and presides over the spiritual epicenter of the local folk music scene at his home in the woods in Leelanau County with his wife, Mary Kay.

Boone Dock’s in Glen Arbor features live music every weeknight on its popular outdoor deck. The schedule is as follows: Boondoggies every Sunday and Monday evening; Cabin Fever every Tuesday; New Third Coast every Wednesday and Friday; Uncle Z every Thursday; bands rotate Saturdays.

The Empire Area Community Emergency Fund has gone into overdrive. Instead of the usual Sunday afternoon concert at a local venue, organizers Gerry Shiffman and Chris Skellenger have planned a day-long Summer Solstice Celebration for this Sunday, June 23, from noon until 9 p.m. at Empire’s Johnson Park. Two stages will feature continuous live music performed by 29 talented local musicians who have volunteered to support this effort.

This Sunday, Sept. 11, the water access nonprofit 11 Oaks will hold its sixth annual Music Fest and Fundraiser, at Boonedocks in Glen Arbor. Featured bands beginning at 2 p.m. include Song of the Lakes, New Third Coast, Andre Villoch and Doug Zernow/Zack Light. According to 11 Oaks’ Chris Skellenger, technologies in extreme urban gardening and gravity fed drip irrigation will be on display for all to see.

Maple City area resident Jan Waling (pronounced “Yon Whaling”) is used to being incognito. His job has been to make others shine at what they do. For more than 30 years, Waling has sweetened the sound of performers’ music and voices at concert venues near and far, helping with the setup, running the mixing board and, eventually, recording performances — live and in the studio.