Music on the Lakefront: The Southern Shore Music Festival

The Guy Foreman Amphitheater and surrounding beach area greeted the twelve hour long Southern Shore Music Festival with some cloud cover and light rain. This newest addition to the Michigan City SummerFest featured bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, and electro-funk bands from Northwest Indiana and Chicago along with local food and drink vendors.

“When choosing the lineup, I had a lot of inspiration from Vocalo connections. I really wanted to diversify the genres. This is a regional event and my goal was to have all of our acts be from around the Midwest,” Mike Hale, Event Chair of the Southern Shore Music Festival and Secretary of the Michigan City Summer Festival Committee, said.

Those on the Michigan City Summer Festival committee made sure to highlight bands in a unique way—some are new and some are well known throughout the region. By including these two sides of the spectrum, those on the committee hope to promote those performing and bring awareness to the community on some local and original flavor.

“This is not only for the public, but also for the benefit of the Michigan City SummerFest Committee; I wanted to help us be known throughout the artist community. We want to help those who want to get their name out there,” Hale continued.

The band Ghosthouse headlined the night and was also joined by The Diggity, Killbilly Ramblers, Add-2, and Makeshift Prodigy.

Food venders also added to the event’s essence with a wide variety of tastes. All of the various provisions helped keep guests happy and ready to enjoy a full day of festivities. Local craft brews and other well-known alcoholic beverages were also available to those over 21.

First Ward City Councilman Richard Murphy assisted with the direction of the event and where it was going to be located. North End development projects pertaining to local culture such as the Southern Shore Music Festival and First Fridays Art Walk have been advocated by Murphy.

“Mike and I shared a vision to bring an all original band line up to the Guy Foreman Amphitheater which is just shy of Lake Michigan’s shore. Bringing the cultural renaissance from downtown Michigan City to the lakefront was a very positive aspect of this event,” Murphy said.

Hale noted that Murphy always has a great vision for Michigan City’s holistic outlook as well.

Another large influence to the music festival was Vocalo 90.7FM, “Music, views, & conversations from a fresh generation.” Silvia Rivera, the Director of Vocalo, has been the leader and revolutionist of this Chicago public radio and media station.

“Most commercial radio stations just play the top twenty songs, but they never hear stories of the community; Vocalo brings that plus more. Silvia’s experience with community radio stations has helped our station out a lot. The music lineup has really changed the dynamic of what is being listened to on the air,” Marketing Coordinator for Vocalo and WBEZ Chris Davila said.

To close up the night, “Big Once,” the U.S. Champion DJ of the Red Bull Thre3style in 2011, filled up the southern shore with party music.

Sponsors of this event included: Vocalo, @Events, Ideas In Motion Media, La Porte County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Blue Chip Casino, Sahara Restaurant, Fiesta Valenciana, Scartozzi’s Trattoria, St. Joseph Young Men’s Society, the Michigan City Exchange Club, Don Przybylinkski (City Council), Lakeshore Misfits of The Iron Order MC, NIPSCO, Comcast, the Port Authority of Michigan City, and South Shore Media.

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