Outdoor summer concerts are plentiful in any given town in the Great Lakes Region. You don’t need to purchase an expensive ticket in a large arena to enjoy great music. Now that the warm weather is here, check out your area or the place you are visiting and see what bands are playing.

So much money and attention is given to musicians who are famous worldwide that sometimes the little known bands go unheard of. Just look around your area and you will find many bands playing their music to any size group. They don’t need to fill an arena to get their music out there.

Phoenix Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin has concerts every Thursday evenings during the summer. The Sue Orfield band, a local favorite in the Chippewa Valley region, gets everyone’s attention with Sue’s unbelievable talent when playing jazz on her saxophone.

The Patchouli band keeps their fans on the move as they play in various cities throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. If you are a lover of folksy music, their tunes will be just what you are looking for.

A few years back my husband and I were riding motorcycle in Door County, Wisconsin. We had come to a stop sign and noticed a four-piece band playing across the road. It was time for us to take a break from riding so we stopped to see who was playing. Fortunately for us, we discovered a musician new to us, Jeanne Kuhns from the Door County area. What a treat to hear her music! She didn’t need a huge crowd to get her music out there. As it turned out, her son was the second runner up on America’s Got Talent – Eli Mattson. So you never know who you will run into at a summer concert.

Another time, we were traveling through the small town of Trempealeau, Wisconsin that sits along the edge of the Mississippi River. We had driven by an old historical hotel with a sign that announced Steppenwolf, a band from the 60s. Wow, I remembered listening to their music as a kid. As it turned out, there were two members of the original band that were playing that night. What an enjoyable evening!

No matter what city or town you are passing through across the Great Lake states, take a few minutes and stop by venues that are hosting live music. Enjoy the outdoors while listening to some great tunes. You never know what band you will come across.