Date: Sunday, October 8, 2017

Arlo Guthrie’s father Woody hoped one day to have enough kids to form a family band, traveling the country and singing their songs together – Generations.

The Re:Generation tour is the spirit of an American family making music together. Arlo’s children Abe and Sarah Lee will be joining their dad to present music of the Guthrie Generations.

“The road continues to beckon and the kids, with kids of their own, are hearing the call of their own thoughts. Onward!” ~ Arlo

Headlining Sponsor:
Cynthia Stiehl & The MMG Foundation in Celebration of the YMCA
Major Sponsor:
Al Johnson’s Restaurant & Butik
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Friday, August 25, 2017

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are Indigo Girls. Rolling Stone describes them as the “ideal duet partners.… When they sing together, they radiate a sense of shared purpose that adds muscle to their lanky, deeply felt folk-tinged pop songs.” The Grammy-winning duo became overnight folk-rock stars in 1989 and have maintained that status ever since, delivering their unique brand of openhearted songwriting and lush harmonies to sellout crowds worldwide. Indigo Girls’ constant touring, as well as their staunch dedication to social and environmental causes, has earned them a fervidly devoted fan following over the years.

Opening Set by Becky Warren!
As heard on NPRs All Things Considered, Nashville singer/songwriter Becky Warrens debut solo album War Surplus relays the affecting, gritty and candid tale of the relationship between an Iraq-bound soldier named Scott and his girlfriend, June. As the story unfolds, the two meet, fall in love, and struggle to hold it all together when he returns from his deployment with PTSD. From the records award-winning lead track straight through til the last note, Warrens potency as a songwriter is on full display, as she weaves a compelling musical narrative rooted in her own life experiences and the rich sounds of Americana and rock & roll.

Headlining Sponsor:
Main Street Market
Major Sponsor:
Door County Medical Center
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Monday, August 21, 2017

DCA welcomes two crowd favorites back to its stage: Luther Dickinson and the Cooperators (Dickinson appeared at DCA last year with his band North Mississippi Allstars) and Birds of Chicago (Door County’s favorite “secular gospel” band). Fresh off of a Grammy nomination for his album “Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook: Volumes I & II),” Dickinson returns to DCA with his band The Cooperators, bringing a little bit of Beale Street to Fish Creek. Birds of Chicago have been beloved in Door County since they began playing on Washington Island in the ’90s as JT and The Clouds. Now an internationally touring band with a fervent fan following, Birds of Chicago bring their joyful rock and roll psalms back to their Door County home base.

Major Sponsors:
The Fireside Restaurant, Parkwood Lodge
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Sunday, August 6, 2017

Ricky Skaggs struck his first chords on a mandolin when he was five years old. Within a year, the child prodigy was sharing stages with bluegrass legend Bill Monroe. Fifty years later, this 14-time Grammy Award winner continues to work at the forefront of the current roots music revival. In 1982, he became the youngest musician ever inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Since then, he’s had 13 number-one hits, including “Highway 40 Blues” and “Country Boy,” and played with luminaries like Flatt and Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby, Vince Gill, and countless others. Backed by an ensemble of world-class pickers—the renowned band Kentucky Thunder—Skaggs will take over DCA for a blazing evening of bluegrass music.

Major Sponsors:
Al Johnson’s Restaurant & Butik, Green Bay 7UP, Sugar Maple Asset Management
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Saturday, July 29, 2017
Plus, Pre-Show Courtyard Concert & Potluck

Dozens of artists from Steel Bridge Songfest—the annual collaborative songwriting festival mAcdonald founded more than a decade ago—will join forces to celebrate mAcdonald’s storied creativity and musicianship.

Singer, guitarist, and songwriter pat mAcdonald grew up in Green Bay, gained fame in the duo Timbuk3 (known for their hit “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”), traveled the world as a musician, and now lives in Sturgeon Bay. Artists as well-known as Aerosmith, Cher, and Billy Ray Cyrus have recorded his songs, but on this evening at DCA, it’s musicians with Door County connections who will give voice to mAcdonald’s acclaimed canon of work.

Major Sponsor:
Bruce Stevenson
2017/2018 Passport Program – Cultural & Educational Opportunities for Door County Students & Families
Program Sponsors:

Supporting Sponsors:

Reduced Ticket Sponsor:

Date: Monday, July 24, 2017

Bruce Hornsby’s work displays a creative iconoclasm that’s been a constant in the artist’s two-and-a-half decade recording career. His commercial stock soared early on, when “The Way It Is”—the title track of his 1986 debut album—became one of the most popular songs on American radio. Despite his early mainstream successes, Hornsby has pursued a more personal, idiosyncratic musical path, focusing on projects that spark his creative interest, including collaborations with the Grateful Dead, Spike Lee, Ricky Skaggs, Don Henley, Bob Dylan, Béla Fleck, Bonnie Raitt, Pat Metheny, and Robbie Robertson. Hornsby’s dynamic live performances offer a glimpse of a restless spirit who continues to push forward into exciting new musical terrain.

Headlining Sponsor:
Main Street Market
Major Sponsors:
Bob & Paula Cummings, Lori & David Nicholas
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Thursday, July 20, 2017

For more than fifty years, The Temptations have been a hit-making machine, releasing dozens of records and selling out performances worldwide. An essential fixture on the original Motown scene, The Temptations began their musical life in Detroit in the early ’60s. In 1964, after recording Smokey Robinson’s “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” they became stars. A steady avalanche of hits followed, including “My Girl,” “Get Ready,” and “I Wish It Would Rain.” No matter what changes time wrought in popular culture or the group’s own personnel, The Temptations retained their signature flair, flash, and musical excellence. “Great singing,” says founding member Otis Williams, “will always prevail.”

Underwriting Sponsor:
Donald & Carol Kress
Headlining Sponsor:
Main Street Market
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Saturday, July 15, 2017

Beloved by fans worldwide for his ebullient performances and inventive songwriting, Idaho native Josh Ritter has released seven albums over the course of his career. They’ve drawn acclaim from fans, critics, and fellow writers alike—novelist Stephen King called Ritter’s landmark album “The Animal Years” “the most exuberant outburst of imagery since Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.’” Ritter is joined at DCA by folk-pop songwriter Brett Dennen, who honed his craft at summer camps in the Sierra Nevada foothills. With a knack for hooky melodies and joyful lyrics, Dennen has made a name for himself. According to NPR, Dennen is “capable of cranking out big, beautiful pop songs … [capturing] both the ornate and the simple.”

Major Sponsors:
Al Johnson’s Restaurant & Butik, Bob & Paula Cummings, Peninsula Pulse

Date: Friday, July 7, 2017

2017 marks the 47th anniversary of America, the perennial favorite rock band that exploded onto the music scene in 1971 with the hit song “A Horse with No Name.” Founding band members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell met in their London high school in the late 1960s and quickly made their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their memorable tunes and signature harmonies. Following the success of their first number-one single, America became a global household name with an impressive string of hits, including “Ventura Highway” and “Sister Golden Hair.” More than 40 years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world, and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.

Major Sponsors:
Al Johnson’s Restaurant & Butik, The Doerr Family, Lori & David Nicholas
Supporting Sponsors:

Date: Thursday, July 6, 2017

Michael Franti & Spearhead have made a name for themselves well beyond their Bay Area roots with their potent hybrid of hip-hop, rock, folk, and reggae. Their latest album, “Soulrocker,” is a collection of deeply impassioned, danceable music. Franti couches his gutsy, candid lyrics in bright synthesizers, cascading guitars, and intense beats, channeling frustration and worry into music that’s both thought-provoking and triumphantly hopeful. Rolling Stone says, “Such is Franti’s unyielding belief in the power of music and message, it’s hard not to believe him.”

Major Sponsors:
The Doerr Family, Peninsula Pulse
Supporting Sponsors: