Troubadours of the Inland Seas: "Song of the Lakes" Celebrates 25 years before the mast
A Press-Ready Travel Feature
From the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau
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Michael A. Norton
Media Relations
(800) 940-1120; (231) 947-1120, fax (231) 947-2621
mnorton@mytraversecity.com
Photo credit: Dietrich Floeter
For the past 25 years, the acoustic group Song of the Lakes (left to right: Lisa Johansson, Ingemar Johansson, Rick Jones, Mike Sullivan) have been entertaining audiences with their repertoire of Great Lakes sea chanteys, bawdy ballads and rollicking folk tunes. On Feb. 13, they’ll be celebrating their first quarter-century with a special anniversary concert at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
By MIKE NORTON
TRAVERSE CITY – Not many bands take their kayaks along when they’re on tour.
But Song of the Lakes isn’t an ordinary band. Ever since they first performed together in 1982, the Michigan-based quartet has blended outdoor adventure, environmental education and even a bit of social commentary into its repertoire of Great Lakes sea chanteys, bawdy ballads and rollicking folk tunes.
Which may explain why the four musicians are still playing together after 25 years -- and why their cadre of devoted fans (known affectionately as “lakeheads”) now encompasses several generations of Midwesterners. Parents who first heard Song of the Lakes at music festivals and school assemblies in their own younger days now bring their own children to their appearances.
"We've found that our music really resonates with people of all ages," says Swedish-born Ingemar Johansson, who acts as the band’s unofficial leader.
Song of the Lakes is based in Traverse City, a picturesque Lake Michigan resort community with a rich maritime tradition of its own; in fact, they played their first public show as the local talent at the opening of a nearby maritime museum. From that modest beginning, they’ve become one of the most popular folk groups in the Upper Midwest. They’ve released five albums, toured extensively (including three trips to Europe as “cultural ambassadors” at the Montreux Jazz Festival) and performed over 2,000 concerts before audiences from Chicago to Buffalo.
Johansson plays guitar, mandolin and the nyckelharpa (a Swedish folk instrument that’s like a hammer dulcimer crossed with a harp). The other three members include his wife Lisa, who plays flute and pennywhistle, Rick Jones on percussion – usually the Irish bodhran, but occasionally such outré instruments as a set of rattling deer antlers – and Mike Sullivan on guitar and bouzouki.
And although they began their career with such standard chanteys as “I’se the B’y” and “Haul Away, Joe,” the four members of the group quickly began producing original tunes of their own, blending Celtic and Scandinavian sounds with jazz, Latin and acoustic rock to create a good-natured blend they call “Great Lakes world music” – a sound that has become synonymous with Traverse City’s relaxed lakeshore lifestyle.
In summertime they even perform a weekly evening concert aboard the tall ship Manitou, a replica of a 19th century cargo schooner that doubles as a Traverse City excursion boat, serenading would-be buccaneers as they sail across Grand Traverse Bay.
“It’s a really interesting situation, because our early stuff seems to be just as popular as what we’re doing now,” said Sullivan, who doubles as a therapist and social worker when he’s not touring with the band.
Through all its musical transmutations and innovations, however, Song of the Lakes has remained true to its name. A common thread runs through all the music the group has created over the past 25 years: love for the beauty and power of the Great Lakes. That bond with America’s “sweetwater seas” struck a chord with Midwesterners who’d never learned about the romance and tragedy of their own maritime history, and it’s one reason for the group’s continued success.
Recently, in fact, Song of the Lakes received a commission to create music for another Great Lakes icon: the classic 1941 book “Paddle-to-the-Sea” by Holling C. Holling, which taught generations of youngsters about the Great Lakes as they followed the four-year journey of a toy canoe from the Canadian wilderness to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The band created eight songs and several instrumental interludes to accompany public readings of the book, and are hoping to release the collection on a forthcoming album.
On Feb. 13, Song of the Lakes will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their founding with a special reunion concert at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts. The concert will feature dozens of performers who’ve collaborated with the band in past years – from cellist Crispin Campbell to steel pedal guitar virtuoso Jerry Hendrix – and the musicians promise it will be an emotional event.
“We’ve already heard from a lot of people who plan to be there,” said Sullivan. “It’s going to be quite the reunion!”
For more information on Song of the Lakes and samples of their music, log on to the band’s web site at www.songofthelakes.com. To learn more about the Feb. 13 anniversary concert, contact the Interlochen Center for the Arts at (800) 681-5920 or on line at www.tickets.interlochen.org. For help with other performance events in beautiful Traverse City, and for a comprehensive listing of local attractions, accommodations and restaurants, contact the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-TRAVERSE or visit their Web site at www.mytraversecity.com.
