ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Escanaba Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is hosting a first-of-its-kind street concert this summer.
The inaugural LogJam Music Festival is set to take over Ludington Street between 10th and 12th Streets on Saturday, June 28. The free event will feature live bands, food vendors, a lumberjack show with chainsaw carving and axe throwing, and competitions. The activities will be centered around the area’s timber heritage, from the Billerud Paper Mill to local log-rolling champions.
“We’re also looking at the rich music history that we have,” said DDA Director Craig Woerpel. “Having somebody like my brother [Mark Woerpel] come back and be the headline band shows what the music history was like here in Escanaba in the past. With the timber show, we’ve got someone who’s gone all over the country—Bruce Belanger—putting on shows now here in our own town.”
Four acts will perform on the main LogJam stage, including Mark Woerpel’s Minneapolis band, Them Pesky Kids. Representing the U.P.’s vibrant music scene will be Sit Down Francis of Escanaba, Sky Pilots of Munising, and Stonewall of Escanaba.
The LogJam Music Festival is shaping up to be a major event. Organizations like the Bonifas Arts Center and the Delta Conservation District are getting involved to help make it a success.
“We’ve had music, obviously, through the downtown but nothing large like this,” Craig Woerpel said. “It’s also going to take advantage of the social district that’s just been recently approved for the downtown, so it’s our first social district event, and it is going to be celebrating what Escanaba is all about.”
The DDA is looking for more vendors to join the Escanaba LogJam Music Festival. To learn more about the festival or how to get involved, click here.
