Sunset Straits Cruises

June 8, 2008

Most people have been over the Mackinac Bridge. But how many have been under the bridge?
Your chance comes again this summer as part of the Straits of Mackinac Summer Music Cruises. Under the auspices of CMU Public Broadcasting, patrons can partake of hors d’oeuvres from Audie’s Restaurant in Mackinaw City while listening to jazz, music and stories of the Great Lakes, or Irish music. All the while you’ll be scudding across the waters of the Straits of Mackinac aboard the Algomah, part of the Arnold Line.
This is the third year for the WCMU Summer Music Cruises, and the eclectic musical selections feature artists familiar to area audiences. This year’s shows kick off Thursday, June 26, with Claudia Schmidt and her Funtet. The Funtet consists of Schmidt, Steve Little, and Jack Dryden. Schmidt’s jazz incorporates blues and folk into a style all her own.
A frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” Schmidt has recorded numerous albums over the years, ranging from outright folk to blues to jazz to amalagams of all the above. She’s performed and received accolades from across the country.
On July 17, Lee Murdock performs songs of the Great Lakes. He says Great Lakes songs are made of hard word, hard living, ships that go down and ships that come in. His most recent CD, “Wordless” is Murdock’s 13th CD and his first all-instrumental work. The music is grounded in the work song tradition, from the rugged days of lumberjacks and wooden sailing schooners.
August 7 finds Equinox performing Irish music. The Saginaw-based sextet incorporates such traditional Irish instruments as pipes, fiddle, flute, whistles, and concertina as well as guitars, mandolin, Middle Eastern and West African percussion. That allows the band to expand this ancient music to new dimensions.
The cruises are $40 per person,
and leave the Arnold Transit main dock in Mackinaw City each night at 8 p.m.
For tickets and information, call
800-727-9268.