No Winter Blues Here: 40+ Concerts & Shows

Check out these Up North concerts in January and February 2026

By Ross Boissoneau | Jan. 10, 2026

Things may slow down in the winter compared with summer’s hectic pace, but there is still plenty to do in northern Michigan…and plenty to hear. Whether your preference is folk or metal, classical or punk, there’s bound to be something on stage this winter to get everyone out of the house and into a concert venue.

The Bay Theatre

Bay Theatre Executive Director Graham Powers says that idea—a little something for everyone—informs the booking approach at the cozy theater in Suttons Bay. Performers there have included students from Interlochen, folk icon May Erlewine, Celtic music ambassadors Kennedy’s Kitchen, Jimmy Buffet tribute band Doc Probes and the Riptides, and more.

The next two shows are emblematic of the desire of Powers and the board that oversees the nonprofit to showcase different styles and performers. Canadian folk troubadour Garnet Rogers performs Jan. 24, while the multi-faceted Paxton Spangler delivers a N’Awlins-themed show for Mardi Gras, from Dixieland favorites like “Bourbon Street Parade” to rhythm and blues staples like “Goin’ Down to New Orleans” and more.

Powers says the theater’s increasing number of live shows, from the original slate of six to one a month and possibly two per month next year, stems in part from COVID, as the downturn in movie-goers has been balanced by an increasing appetite for live shows. “Post-pandemic, the numbers [for films] have never recovered. I don’t expect they will,” he says.

But the pandemic also led to a resurgence in live performance, where people can share the experience with one another and the performer. “People need community,” Powers says. “Live music is … an opportunity to be around others.”

Freshwater Gallery

To the north, Boyne City’s Freshwater Gallery showcases various artworks during the day, from jewelry to steampunk-inspired items to furnishings. But come concert time, that’s all shunted aside as owners Tony Williams and Robin Lee Berry reset the room and welcome musicians to the diminutive stage in the back corner. “We’ve been booking concerts for 15 years,” says Berry.

While much of the music may lean toward folk and Americana, such as Chris Smither or Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, blues performers like Thornetta Davis and guitarist Larry McCray have taken the stage there as well. “We do shows once a month,” says Berry. Like the Bay, Freshwater draws many from its hometown area, though both are welcoming to audience members from elsewhere.

Freshwater will showcase the bluegrass sounds of Full Cord on Feb. 14. The Grand Haven-based band is popular in the region, as evidenced by its show the night before at Milliken Auditorium at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. The band’s members boast lengthy careers individually, and came together to win the 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in Colorado, and gained further honors when the International Bluegrass Music Association named Full Cord its “Momentum Award Band of the Year.”

Traverse City Venues

Another string band will be playing Traverse City when Invoke visits atthe City Opera House on Jan. 30. Its members play everything from violin, banjo, violin, and viola to mandolin and cello. Just don’t try to pigeonhole the group’s sound, as it lies somewhere between and beyond classical, folk, bluegrass, and Americana.

Perhaps no venue demonstrates the saying “Variety is the spice of life” quite like the Alluvion. The self-described “Traverse City’s living room” has hosted intimate shows by Organissimo, Bob James and Dave Koz, and the Tip O The Mitt Songwriters collective.

The home of Funky Fun Mondays, with Big Fun alternating with Funky Uncle, the Alluvion also showcases the Interlochen In Town series, a world music series, a jazz series, and numerous other acts. Blue Note President Don Was personally selected the Alluvion to open his tour with the Pan-Detroit Ensemble. Whether homegrown talent or nationally celebrated performers, the Alluvion has established itself as a destination venue.

Your Concert Playlist

So if it’s bluegrass or blues that sets your toes to tapping, country twang or classical overtures that make you smile, guess what? You’re in luck somewhere sometime in the next month—and beyond. Here’s a sampling of January and February shows across the North:

The Alluvion, Traverse City
Jan. 12 Big Fun
Jan. 14 Expand Storytelling
Jan. 15 Jeff Haas Jazz 4 All
Jan. 22 Jeff Haas Jazz 4 All
Jan. 24 Hamilton De Holanda Trio
Jan. 25 Alluvion Big Band
Jan. 26 Big Fun
Jan. 29 Jeff Haas Jazz 4 All
Jan. 31 Super Nuclear presents Surfadelic w/Ramble Tamble and Magic People
Feb. 14 Bill Sears Quintet

Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay
Jan. 24 Garnet Rogers
Feb. 14 Paxton Spangler

Cheboygan Opera House, Cheboygan
Jan. 16 The Steves and Stevies Feat. Dale Rieger and Friends

City Opera House, Traverse City
Jan. 17 The Friars, a capella subset of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club
Jan. 30 Invoke

Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey
Jan. 31 Jeff Haas Quintet
Feb. 14 KalHaven Strings

Freshwater Gallery, Boyne City
Feb. 14 Full Cord

Garden Theater, Frankfort
Feb. 7 Sisters of Soul featuring Jenni Rae of Barefoot

Gopherwood Concerts, Cadillac
Feb. 7 Mary Sue Wilkinson & Mark Schrock

Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor
Feb. 7 A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Interlochen Center for the Arts
Jan. 15 The Fischer Duo, Cello and Piano
Jan. 15 Student Music Recital
Jan. 19 Re-Imagine The Dream
Jan. 28 American Brass Quintet
Jan. 29 Detroit Opera Residency Artist
Jan. 31 Composers Forum
Jan. 31 Winter Wind Symphony
Feb. 1 Faculty Chamber Music Recital
Feb. 5 Student Music Recital
Feb. 8 Faculty Black History Month Concert
Feb. 11 Faculty Recital: Christopher Goodpasture and Kara Huber, piano duo
Feb. 13-15 Romeo and Juliet

Milliken Auditorium, Traverse City
Jan. 16 Joan Shelley
Feb. 13 Full Cord

Traverse City Philharmonic
Jan. 17 Backstage Pass
Jan. 18 American Fireworks
Feb. 14-15 Side By Side

The Venue Event Center, Cadillac
Jan. 16 Grunge Fest
Jan. 22 Blackhawk
Jan. 23 That Arena Rock Show
Feb. 12 Fire From the Gods