Ross Boissoneau | Author
27 Years In, The Iceman Still Cometh
Oct. 28, 2017
Even the name sounds foreboding: The Iceman Cometh. Kind of gives you the shivers. And while participants may warm up on the 30-mile race from Kalkaska to Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort on the eastern edge of Traverse City, the weather might not be especially cooperative. Over th...
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After a 100-year Absence, Michigan’s Hop Crop is Coming Back Strong
Oct. 21, 2017
With apologies to Dr. Seuss, it’s no longer “Hop on Pop.” It’s now hops on top.
Given the continuing explosion of microbreweries and tap houses across the state and the region, it seems only logical that the production of hops would increase as well. And th...
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If the Day Ends in "Y" ...
Oct. 7, 2017
Brian Confer has had some crazy ideas. There was the one where he turned from his successful gig as a photographer to brewing beer for a living. Then there was the time he enlisted an entire town to tout the virtues of beer.
Welcome to the Fourth Annual Frankfort Beer Week. Stormc...
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Interlochen Takes Stock
Sept. 2, 2017
Ian Anderson has left the building, and the crowds have followed suit. The Jethro Tull frontman’s flute might still be echoing from the rafters of Kresge Auditorium as the curtain falls on Interlochen’s summer concert season. But Rory Baker is already looking ahead, as he&rsqu...
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The Best Live-Music Venues You’re Missing in Northern Michigan
Sept. 2, 2017
So you know about the shows at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Ditto Traverse City’s City Opera House, Manistee’s Little River Casino, and Northwestern Michigan College’s Milliken Auditorium. But what about Red Sky Stage, Dhaseleer Events Barn, Rotary Park Pavilion, or ...
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Mozart of the Guitar
Aug. 19, 2017
For some artists, their instrument becomes an extension of themselves. Rather than playing the piano or trumpet, they are simply playing music. That’s no doubt the case with Pierre Bensusan.
The French guitarist performs at Sleder’s Family Tavern in Traverse City...
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Jethro Tull Frontman Steps Out on His Own
Aug. 12, 2017
Ian Anderson refuses to live in the past. The longtime frontman and songwriter for Jethro Tull continues to play that group’s best-loved songs but now goes by his name rather than that of the group. Both 2012’s Thick as a Brick II and 2014’s Homo Erraticus appeared under...
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Replicas of Columbus’s ships to dock in Traverse City
Aug. 12, 2017
Columbus would be proud. It’s been more than 500 years in coming, but two of his ships are making their way to Traverse City. The Niña and Pinta will dock at Clinch Park’s northwest wall on Aug. 17 and will be there through Aug. 22. The ships will open for tours fr...
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A Brilliant Idea
Aug. 5, 2017
When fashion model and designer Anina returned to visit her hometown of Traverse City from China earlier this year, she sought to encourage and excite others about the intersection of fashion and technology. The first-name-only Traverse City native grew up with brothers who went to code c...
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Benzie brings the man behind Michigan Notable Book author Viola Shipman
July 22, 2017
Wade Rouse didn’t set out to be a novelist. Trained as a journalist, he worked as a reporter and then in public relations. Along the way, he wrote four best-selling humorous memoirs, contributed to People, Good Housekeeping, and Coastal Living magazines, a...
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Detroit-area Author Tom Stanton’s Triple Play
July 22, 2017
Author Tom Stanton will make three stops in northern Michigan while promoting his latest book, “Terror in the City of Champions.” First Stanton will be a guest at Off the Pages, the Benzie County program for authors, appearing at the Mills Community House July 18 at 7 pm. On J...
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Baroque on Beaver
July 15, 2017
The last Baroque composer died over 230 years ago. Yet the rich music, considered highly dramatic and exaggerated in its 1600s-era heyday, is still a mainstay in concert halls across the world — and on Beaver Island. This year’s Baroque on Beaver, which runs July 29 through Au...
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Paul Nelson Returns
July 1, 2017
Paul Nelson has won a Grammy Award and performed in front of millions. The onetime guitarist and producer for famed blues-rock guitarist Johnny Winter has toured the world and been on TV, playing on The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Now he’s returning to nort...
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After Late Night
June 17, 2017
Paul Shaffer is known to millions for his longstanding role as the bandleader on David Letterman’s TV shows — “Late Show with David Letterman” and, previously, “Late Night with David Letterman” — not to mention the time he spent before that on&nbs...
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Wine Town Ramp Up
June 3, 2017
New tasting rooms, new websites, new chefs, new vintages — there’s a host of changes and enhancements afoot at the wineries and vineyards throughout northern Michigan.
Most recently: The move of Michigan Wine Month from May to April. Traverse City Uncorked, a marketing...
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Five Generations Of Schmidts in Real Estate
April 29, 2017
Ken Schmidt thought he was going to be an attorney. After a year of graduate study, he returned home to Traverse City, unsure that he wanted to return to school come fall. “I wasn’t real excited about it,” he said. His father and brother were both in the family business,...
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Winter driving: Speed, caution and snow tires
Jan. 14, 2017
It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but ice and snow make it the slipperiest, whiteouts the hardest to see in, and temperatures certainly make it the coldest. Winter is not for the faint of heart, and for drivers it presents numerous challenges.
How do you make the best...
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Car enthusiasts and their first car
Jan. 14, 2017
For many people, their first car is a well-used machine, something that will (hopefully) get them from point A to point B. A beater, in the parlance. But what about those for whom a car is more than just transportation? Those who grew up worshipping automobiles before becoming members of ...
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Resorts looking forward to slopes season
Dec. 1, 2016
“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let snow!” goes the refrain of the popular holiday song, and that’s certainly the mantra for resorts across the region. From Cadillac to Harbor Springs, whither Boyne Mountain or Shanty Creek, the hope this year is for plenty of ... Read More >>