Kristi Kates | Author
Hot Concerts for Cold Nights
Dec. 2, 2017
Sure, there’s something super special about listening to live music on the dunes and under the trees in the summertime. But when the winter winds blow, you’ve got to admit there’s something about crowding elbow to elbow as your favorite artist lights up the stage inside ...
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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill – The Rest of Our Life – Sony Nashville
Dec. 2, 2017
Not that it’s anything new for McGraw and Hill to get personal in their tunes, but this album pretty much presents their entire relationship in music for everyone to hear. It’s their first fully realized duet album, although on some tracks, one or the other takes more of the l...
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Mike and The Streets Hit the Road
Dec. 2, 2017
Electronica/rap artist Mike Skinner (pictured), and The Streets, who did a farewell tour for fans six years ago, are returning to the live stage with a big comeback tour that will be their first since their tour in support of The Streets’ fifth albu...
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Don’t Ski? Don’t Worry!
Dec. 2, 2017
With so much of northern Michigan’s winter culture revolving around skiing, it’s tough for those who never took to the sport. But that doesn’t mean you can’t join friends or family at the lodge! Cheer them on as they head to the ski lift, enjoy an on-site meal and ...
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Bistro FouFou’s Steak-Frites
Dec. 2, 2017
Picture a nattily dressed couple sitting in a fine European brasserie, enjoying a perfectly cooked steak with a side of … French fries.
Considered to be one of the favored dinner choices of the French and the Belgians (bo...
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International Good
Nov. 25, 2017
Northern Michigan’s charitable folk often extend their reach well beyond our own borders. Here’s how some of our local people are making a major difference in far-flung parts of the world.
Mancelona Vet Dale Ackler Nov. 25, 2017 The building that houses the Torch Lake Cafe has a long history. According to owner Leanna Collins, it was a church back in the 1800s. When she and her husband, Jim Hettinger, bought the building, they decided to restore it to its former glory. Nov. 25, 2017 No Doubt singer-turned-solo artist Gwen Stefani has just released her first holiday album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, a set that includes a blend of covers of holiday standard tunes and original festive songs of Stefani’s...
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Nov. 25, 2017 You can’t really go wrong with Pentatonix for vocal harmonies, and with nearly every Christmas carol featuring harmonies en masse, the pop ensemble is a great pick for a holiday album. On this set they spend half the tracks sticking to the classics: “Away in a Manger,” &...
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Nov. 25, 2017 Want to get in good with the man in red? (And help your community while you’re at it?) Here’s 25 ways you can make this holiday season a little better for someone in need. Dec. 1. Make sure a foster child, homeless teen, or kid in a struggling family g...
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Nov. 18, 2017 BELLAIRE Nov. 18, 2017 The River’s Loop Trips Nov. 18, 2017 A couple of months ago, the team at Kahvi Cafe in Cadillac did a bit of scouting in a search for some new ideas to pep up their food menu. Nov. 18, 2017 A.J. Morgan Sunglasses Nov. 18, 2017 Amazon Echo Show Nov. 18, 2017 Inspired by Nature Lids Nov. 18, 2017 Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails Nov. 18, 2017 Adam Levine and his Maroon 5 bandmates have a brand new full-length album, Red Pill Blues, heading your way this week. They’ve also announced dates for a massive 2018 tour that will keep the band busy for the latter half of the spring, and then all of next fall, inc...
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Nov. 18, 2017 With their highway-ready, picturesque name and Oklahoma roots, this Americana outfit (featuring singer Evan Felker) draws on personal experiences, sketched as rough as charcoal on fiberboard, to craft genuine, rootsy tunes that make the most of their guitar-based format. Whether it’...
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Nov. 11, 2017 Anyone who’s heard Horan’s acoustic cover of Julia Michaels’ “Issues” knows that he’s more than just an ex-boy bander. From One Direction to his solo career, his distinctively understated voice is best heard on more pensive numbers like the bittersweet ...
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Helping Animals in India...
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Rockin’ Eats at the Torch Lake Cafe
“We put a porch on it and ...
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Gwen Stefani is Ready for Christmas
Pentatonix – A Pentatonix Christmas Deluxe – RCA
One Good Deed a Day for December
Get in the Spirit: Holiday Events Around the North
Bellaire’s 8th Annual Light Up the Night community holiday part is happening on Dec. 2 this year, with a full day of family friendly events including the popular Parade of Lights, tree lighting with caroling, and the competitive soup cook-off, where f...
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5 Gifts for Adventurers
Gift a novice adventurer a summer excursion that goes by both tires and water. The River in Traverse City offer three loops that include the TART trail and the beautiful Boardman river: The YMCA trip features a 1-hour bike ride and 3-hou...
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Kahvi’s Waffle Bar
“We were checking out restaurants from our area up to Traverse City, and down to Gr...
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5 Gifts for Fashionistas
Stylish northern ladies know that sunnies are just as de rigueur in the winter as they are in the summer — not only for the fashion effect but also to deflect those harsh winter rays from the giant northern Michigan snowbanks. And A.J. Mo...
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5 Gifts for Techies
If you’ve already picked up an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot — the Wi-Fi-connected media devices that can do everything from play music to report the weather, search any question, or even tell you a joke — then you know how fun they are ...
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5 Gifts for Foodies
Plastic wrap is a pain. And so is spending ten minutes riffling through a drawer of Tupperware lids in search of one that fits. Enter Charles Viancin’s Inspired by Nature silicone lids. Stylish, re-usuable, and able to seal tightly on an...
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5 Gifts for Kids
The Ticket to Ride series of tabletop games are fantastic diversions for two reasons: One, they’re immersive and educational. Two, they’re just plain fun, with as many adults playing the games as kids, collecting train and...
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Adam and Maroon 5 Get the Blues
Turnpike Troubadours – A Long Way from Your Heart – Bossier City
Niall Horan – Flicker – Capitol