Cold-Weather Concerts (and Other Shows to Get You Out of the House This January)

January is packed with northern Michigan shows

By Ross Boissoneau | Jan. 4, 2025

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is no longer on the radio, but never fear—January offers its own slate of events, one with no worries about running into Santa, Frosty, or any bobtails with ringing bells. While you could doze in front of the fireplace with that cup of hot cocoa on the table next to you, wouldn’t you rather hear voices raised in song? Guitars and fiddles and trumpets, oh my? 

“It’s the perfect time to offer locals a way back out of the deep dark winter,” says Chad Lindsey, executive director of the City Opera House in Traverse City. Rather than experience any lingering letdown from the end of the holidays, “You can have fun with friends.” 

Interlochen Center for the Arts

“We have some great shows coming up in January,” says Executive Director of Interlochen Presents Brent Wrobel. “It’s how we can connect with the community throughout the year.” He points to some very different performances as standout shows that demonstrate the breadth of the institution’s appeal.  

“There are three in particular,” he says, starting with a trio featuring two French horns and piano on Jan. 17. “Lanta Horn Duo in the chapel, with Lauren Hunt from our faculty and Katy Ambrose. It features all female composers.” Hunt and Ambrose, an assistant professor of horn at the University of Iowa, will perform with pianist Ya-Ju Chuang. The show will include a discussion on the experiences many women share in male-dominated spaces.  

Second is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day performance, a multi-disciplinary show on Jan. 20. “We hadn’t had an actual performance before. It’s a great time for students to reflect and put their passions out there,” Wrobel says.  

Third is a cooperative effort: “Bon Appétit!: An Opera About Julia Child,” will be performed at The Alluvion in Traverse City on Jan. 24. “We’ve been trying to program some new and fun things,” says Wrobel. When the faculty came to him with this idea, his response was, “Perfect.” 

And that applies to the venue as well. “We hear a lot from people that it’s tough to get to Interlochen. Post-holiday, they don’t get out as much.” So at least part of the solution is the Interlochen In Town series, where performances and presentations are at The Alluvion, City Opera House, the State Theatre, or even at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, where ICA students were putting on Duke Ellington’s “The Nutcracker Suite” in December. 

“There’s not really an offseason. There are a lot of events and performances [by] students,” Wrobel says. “It’s part of their curriculum.” Many of the shows are free of charge.

City Opera House

Lindsey points to the upcoming performance by the Harlem Quartet as another example in which area venues work together. 

“It’s a cooperative effort,” he says, noting that Interlochen Arts Academy was bringing the group in for a master class for students. So Lindsey inquired whether the quartet would want to come into town to perform. Spoiler alert: they would, and they will. “We’re really trying when we can accommodate [scheduling] to put our heads together.”

The Alluvion

The listening room in the Common Grounds building on Eighth Street in Traverse City has hosted a variety of performers since opening its doors in April of 2023: national touring acts, local favorites, chamber music, spoken word, music for kids—most anything is fair game. 

Director of Operations & Booking Matt McCalpin says continuing to expand the venue’s slate of performers is a key to continuing to build an audience. 

“We have one mission: To put incredible stuff on that stage,” he says. And lucky for him, “It turns out people in our area and beyond have been craving it.”

He says performers have enjoyed the venue as well. “Word got out pretty quickly [to artists] that the experience here is really standout, it’s really special. There are a lot of people calling us.” 

McCalpin says two shows in early January are among those he’s most looking forward to. “Molly from Grand Rapids is one of my favorites. Her original songs are incredible. She’s bringing her full band. She’ll sit at the grand piano and play a ballad, then get the audience on their feet racing through and making it a dance party.”

He hopes the audience is ready for more. “The next night we have an incredible visual artist. Super Nuclear provides live psychedelic visuals, and he’s presenting his own rock show with two Detroit bands. There’s a void of rock shows, and we want to let it be known this is the space for that kind of thing.” He describes Bonehawk as Black Sabbath-style stoner rock, while Angel of Mars leans more in the direction of metal. 

Another performance he’s looking forward to is the Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet, which blends rhythms, sounds, and textures from across the globe.  

“It’s our newest series,” says McCalpin. The band embraces music from Turkey, Egypt, Ukraine, India, Bulgaria, and Greece and original tunes with an improvisational jazz mindset. It’s all played on oud, violin, electric bass, synthesizer, and a dizzying variety of world percussion instruments, including djembe, bodhran, congas, bells, and more.

30+ January Shows Up North

The Alluvion
Jan. 2, 9, 16, 23: Jeff Haas Trio featuring Laurie Sears and Lisa Flahive
Jan. 3: Molly
Jan. 4: Super Nuclear + BoneHawk + Angel Of Mars 
Jan. 6, 20: Funky Uncle
Jan. 10 : Farewell party for longtime Groundwork Center executive director Hans Voss with music by Seth Bernard, Dede Alder, and Gregory Stovetop
Jan. 11: Anthony Stanco Quintet “Live Recording”
Jan. 13, 27: Big Fun
Jan. 15: Here:Say live storytelling 
Jan. 17: Joan Shelley and Nathan Salsburg
Jan. 18: Laura Rain and the Caesars with special guests Medicinal Groove
Jan 20: Building Bridges with Music Presents: A Day of Service and an Evening of Voices to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Jan. 22: EXPAND Storytelling #7
Jan. 24: Bon Appétit! An Opera About Julia Child with soprano Lindsey Anderson and pianist Susan Snyder
Jan. 25: The Alluvion World Music Series with Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet and special guest guitarist Elden Kelly
Jan. 26: Alluvion Big Band
Jan. 28: Leelanau Historical Society presents "Lake Leelanau: Spirit of the Lake" documentary

Cheboygan Opera House
Jan. 17: “One Hit Wonders,” with Dale Rieger and friends returning to the Opera House for the fourth year in a row, performing radio hits from the ’50s through the ’90s

City Opera House
Jan. 25: The Friars, the a capella subset of the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club
Jan. 29: Harlem Quartet
Jan. 31: Paul Elia, Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, originally from Detroit

Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey
Jan. 18: Basic Comfort Band, Kalamazoo’s alternative pop band, taking inspiration from artists like Parcels, Gil Scott Heron, Daft Punk, and Men I Trust

Dennos Museum Center at Milliken Auditorium
Jan. 8, 9: Steppin’ In It, playing traditional Americana, folk, and blues favorites

Gopherwood
Jan. 11: Elks Lodge, Cadillac welcomes Steppin’ In It with special guest Zak Bunce 

Great Lakes Center for the Arts
Jan. 18 (two performances): Mermaid Theaters’ Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny
Jan. 24: Comedian Andy Beningo with special guest Kate Brindle

Interlochen Center for the Arts
Jan. 15: An Evening with Jacques J. Rancourt / The Writing House
Jan. 16: Music Recital / Music Center 1010
Jan. 17: Lanta Horn Duo in “Amplifying Women’s Voices” / Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall
Jan. 20: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day performance / Corson Auditorium
Jan. 24: 2025 Interlochen Animated TV Pitch Competition / Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall
Jan. 24: Bon Appétit!: An Opera About Julia Child / The Alluvion
Jan. 24-26: One-Act Festival / Harvey Theatre 
Jan. 25: Composers Forum / Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall

Traverse City Philharmonic
Jan. 19: Traverse City Jazz Orchestra with violinist Jeremy Cohen at Corson Auditorium. The seven-time Grammy nominee puts his classical expertise to use in jazz, tango, swing, and more.