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The Muskegon Summer Celebration
began in 1993 as a ten day music festival with a budget of
$170,000 and has since grown into an 11-day all star music
extravaganza complete with family fun for all ages. Located
on the beautiful shores of Muskegon Lake in downtown Muskegon,
the Muskegon Summer Celebration is a tradition among locals
and out of town guests alike. In the beginning crowds were
mainly from the Muskegon area. Summer Celebration now attracts
fans from all over Michigan and surrounding states. Early
crowd estimates were approximately 350,000. Summer Celebration
now boasts anywhere from 600,000-625,000 people each year!
Musically, the Muskegon Summer Celebration
started with one National act, the Marshall Tucker Band
at a cost of $7,000. With a music budget well over $600,000,
Summer Celebration now plays host to some of the world's
best entertainers. There are very few musical genres that
have not been featured at Summer Celebration. Past performers
have included Aretha Franklin, Santana, Ray Charles, Gladys
Knight, James Brown, Bonnie Raitt, Earth, Wind & Fire,
Hootie and the Blowfish, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Joe
Walsh, Chicago, and the Temptations. All time crowd favorites
include the Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wallflowers,
Third Eye Blind, Collective Soul, Huey Lewis & The
News, and Creedence Clearwater Revisited. As they have
all along, Summer Celebration organizers round out the
long list of awesome entertainment with many local and
regional bands as well.
Countless hours are put into making
the festival one of Michigan's best. With the help of well
over 1500 volunteers, a number that has grown from 300-400
the first year…the Summer Celebration future looks
bright and bigger than ever. Keeping with the tradition,
the festival has grown to include something for fun-lovers
of every age group. |
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| The Muskegon Summer Celebration debuts as a ten-day music festival with a total
budget of $170,000! In its inaugural year, the Summer Celebration hosts a concert
every evening with one national recording artist. The other nine concerts feature
local and regional musicians. Other activities that are part of the Muskegon
Summer Celebration include an Art Fair, a Craft Market, a parade, fireworks,
and a midway! New this year is the Plumbs Community Picnic, Muskegon's largest
family picnic! |
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Out of Control
Gary Brennan
Endless Summer
Rick Hicks
Marshall Tucker Band |
Tropical
Connection
Invisible Lisa
Cimmarron
Grooveyard
Beach Bashers |
|
| Fresh off a successful inaugural
year, the Muskegon Summer Celebration in 1994 features
4 national recording artist on the Main Stage.
Performances by artists such as Three Dog Night,
Spinners, John Berry, and Lonnie Brooks are the
result of an increased festival budget of about
$300,000. Overall festival attendance also increases
from 350,000 visitors in 1993 to 390,000 in 1994. |
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Out of
Control
Classic Rock All Stars
Chenille Sisters
Rick Hicks
Three Dog Night |
Spinners
John Bery
Jan James
Lonnie Brooks
1964 - The Tribute |
|
| Legendary Diva Aretha Franklin
and Classic Rockers REO Speedwagon headline the
Main Stage lineup in 1995 and are partly responsible
for a festival attendance that has surged to just
over 500,000 visitors! All 10 Main Stage concerts
feature national recording artists for the first
time in festival history. The festival budget also
sees significant growth in 1995 reaching over the
half-million dollar mark! |
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Aretha
Franklin
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Grass Roots
Four Tops
Mitch Ryder |
REO Speedwagon
Spyro Gyra
Mavericks/Holly Dunn
Larry McCray
Guess Who |
|
| The Muskegon Summer Celebration
gets a new Main Stage! A new, permanent, stage
and canopy is constructed on the east side of Heritage
Landing. The new stage allows the festival to increase
seating capacity while opening up the west side
of Heritage Landing for an expanded midway. Artists
such as Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Grand
Funk Railroad, Gladys Knight, Aaron Tippin, Kansas,
Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and Kool & The Gang
featuring JT Taylor are among the first to perform
on the new stage! |
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Starship
Grand Funk RR
Up With People
Aaron Tippin
Kansas |
Blood,
Sweat, Tears
CCR
Gladys Knight
Bodeans/Snider
Kool & The Gang |
|
| The Summer Celebration reaches
a new milestone with a first ever sell out concert!
Not just one concert sells out, but a record setting
3 sellout concerts propel festival attendance to
an all time high of 541,000 visitors! A festival
budget of $900,000 is responsible for netting some
all-time favorite artists such as Collin Raye,
Daryl Hall & John Oates, America, Little Texas,
Isley Brothers, .38 Special, The Wallflowers, Rusted
Root, Santana, and Huey Lewis & The News. |
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Collin
Raye
Hall & Oates
America
Little Texas
Isley Brothers |
Lonnie
Brooks
.38 Special
Wallflowers
Santana
Huey Lewis |
|
| The number of volunteers
required to staff the Muskegon Summer Celebration
stands at 1200, double the number of volunteers
needed the first year of the festival in 1993!
An 11th evening concert is added to the Main Stage!
Traditionally kicking off on a Friday evening,
the Summer Celebration now begins on Thursday evening
with a Main Stage concert. Once again the Main
Stage experiences multiple sell out concerts and
total festival attendance rises to 580,000 visitors. |
|
Survivor
Travis Tritt
James Brown
Gap Band
Diamond Rio
Pat Benatar |
Third Eye Blind
Foreigner
Chumbawamba
Bonnie Raitt
Eddie Money |
|
| The Street Fair is added
to the list of Summer Celebration activities! Featuring
four music stages and a wide variety of other activities
such as a rock climbing wall and bouncy boxing,
the Street Fair is best described as a stationary
parade! Former cast members from MTV's Real World
are also on hand to meet fans at the Street Fair.
The festival hosts three more sell-out concerts
featuring Hootie & The Blowfish with Shawn
Mullins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Collective Soul, which
help push attendance to an all time high of just
over 626,000 visitors. Also by 1999, the festival
budget has increased to an amazing $1.6 million! |
|
The Rascals
Spin Doctors
Earth, Wind & Fire
Loverboy
Deana Carter
Pattie LaBelle |
Hootie & the Blowfish
Lynyrd Skynrd
Collective Soul
Doobie Brothers
ELO w/Symphony |
|
| Another new event, the Depot
Expo, is added to the list of Summer Celebration
activities! Featuring something for everyone, the
Depot Expo host events such as a teen dance, a
senior social, family interactive art, stunt shows,
and much more. The 2000 edition of the Muskegon
Summer Celebration sets a new record in terms of
the festival budget by spending $1.9 million! Festival
volunteer needs now require approximately 1500
people. |
|
Night
Ranger
Chicago
Verve Pipe
Stroke 9
Fred Hammond & Radical for Christ Choir
Plus One
Jennifer Knapp
Rare Earth
John Michael Montgomery |
Vertical Horizon
The Romantics
O'Jay's
Chaka Khan
Michael McDonald
Paula Cole
Joe Walsh
Buddy Guy
Peter Frampton |
|
| Continuing the tradition of new activities and events, Gourmet Avenue, featuring
three days of cooking demonstrations by area chefs, debuts! An ever-growing
festival budget reaches $2.3 million and the Main Stage hosts artists such as
Blues Traveler, Cheap Trick, Pointer Sisters, Poison, Styx, Bad Company, Billy
Squier, Ray Charles, and the Temptations! |
|
John Kay & Steppenwolf
Blues Traveler
Cheap Trick
Pointer Sisters
Poison
Joe Stark
Billy Squier
Bad Company |
Styx
Arturo Sandavol
Ray Charles
Montgomery Gentry
Bliss 66
Fuel
REO Speedwagon
The Temptations |
|
| Improvements to the Heritage Landing site continue, the new Pointe provides
more space in the Main Stage for our ever-growing selection of food vendors.
The Community Stage becomes the Regional Showcase and attracts a wider range
of quality regional entertainment. Children's' activities are improved and now
include the first community art project. The festival's 10 year anniversary
is celebrated with the 4th of July Party. |
|
War
Heart w/ Ann & Nancy Wilson
Sinbad
The Ohio Players
The Beach Boys
Mark Chestnutt, Joe Diffie & Tracy Lawrence
Epidemic
Jerry Cantrell
Nickelback |
.38 Special
George Thorogood & The Destroyers
Earth, Wind & Fire
Gin Blossoms
Spin Doctors
Seven Mary Three
Sponge
Journey
Richard Marx |
|
| The Southern Comfort Tiki Bar is a huge success on the Pointe. The Country Fresh
Senior Social moves to Hackley Park and generates record crowds. The Depot Expo
moves to Seventh and Western and enjoys huge crowds. The midway continues to
add new and exciting rides, and the skybox makes it's first appearance to the
festival. |
|
LL Cool J
Kakaty
Huey Lewis and the News
Commodores
Pinmonkey
Aaron Tippin
Blues Traveler
Pat Benatar
Moody Blues
Joe Cocker |
Karl
Denson's Tiny Universe
The Allman Brothers Band
Ingram Hill
Michelle Branch
Shinedown
Seether
Our Lady Peace
3 Doors Down
Boston |
|
| The Tiki Stage is expanded and enjoyed by many. The Exotic Tanning Beach Party
celebrates its inaugural year at Pere Marquette Beach. The midway continues
to add new and exciting rides, and great entertainment at the Children's Activity
Stage. |
|
Wynonna
Jeff Bates
Nickelback
Alan Parsons Live Project
John Wait Accoustic
Isaac Hayes
Creedence Clearwater Revisited |
LiveMelissa
Etheridet
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Kool & The Gang
ZZ Top
Crosby, Stills and Nash
U.S. Army Field Band |
|
| Art in the Park, Village Craft Market, Michigan Marketplace move to the first
weekend. The Bistro is added to the artisan weekend at the corner of Third and
Clay. Partnering with Every Women's Place, the Bistro is a success. A total
of 24 Miller Headliners on the Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge Mainstage marks a new record. |
|
Los Lonely Boys
The Salvador Santana Band
Boyz II Men
112
Dark New Day
Lit
Seether
CrossFade
Smokey Robinson
Michael Tolcher
Howie Day
Gavin Degraw |
Ingram
Hill
Rick Springfield
Foghat
Styx
Journey
Bombshell
Brad Paisley
AlterBridge
Whitesnake
Buckwheat Zydeco
Cowboy Mouth
Collective Soul |
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| The Bronold Builders Skydeck
is put in place and is well received. The
festival hosts the first Community Concert with
Raven. Over 9000 patrons enjoyed the afternoon
show. AAA becomes the Sand Sculpture Contests
first sponsor and over 75 entries vied for the
great prizes. |
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| Tesla
Everclear
Brian McKnight
Alice Cooper
Trapt
Shinedown
Smash Mouth
Howie Day |
Sugarland
Emerson Drive
Macy Gray
Toto
Eddie Money
The Steve Miller Band
Train
Raven |
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Esurance joins the festival as our presenting partner. Daughtry is the first concert to sell out before the festival even begins. Reserved Seating is added to the main concert venue. The Regional Stage hosted their first Muskegon Idol Karaoke competition to large crowds. Rozzi Fireworks joined our Fireworks committee to put on a show to remember. |
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“Weird Al” Yankovic
Goo Goo Dolls
Lifehouse
Cobie Caillat Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Black Stone Cherry
Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
George Thorogood & the Destroyers Ryan Shaw
Corbin Bleu
Drake Bell |
Daughtry
Day of Fire
Umphrey’s McGee
The Wailers
Cowboy Mouth
Phil Vassar
Rodney Atkins
Taylor Swift
B.B. King
The Spinners
INXS
The New Cars
Jordan Pruitt
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Over 150 national recording
artists have rocked the Heritage Landing Stage during
Summer Celebration. |
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