Behind the Curtain with the National Cherry Festival’s Entertainment Team

Setting the stage for the festival's concert lineup

By Anna Faller | June 29, 2024

The 98th annual National Cherry Festival (NCF) is upon us, and with it, eight nights of live entertainment. The NCF lineup ticks a variety of musical boxes and often features star-studded headliners, some of whom paved their paths to fame from the Pepsi Bayside Music Stage.

So, what’s the secret sauce to the festival’s music success, and how do they sniff out upcoming stars? Northern Express has a VIP pass to all things Cherry Festival entertainment—from booking to brushes with fame and beyond—and you’re invited into the green room with us!

Starting Now

The thousand-piece puzzle of assembling the NCF’s performances begins about a year in advance, when producers and talent buyers start zeroing in on possible acts. (For those of you doing the math at home, that means next year’s plans are already in the works.)

To do this, the festival has long relied on the talents of Meridian Entertainment, a Michigan-based production company, to help select and book the performers that eventually grace the stage.

Through an administrative lens, though, this process isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds. “It’s not a bunch of people sitting around and throwing out names,” says festival CEO Kat Paye, though staff has been known, and are even encouraged, to toss their favorites in the figurative hat.

Instead, Paye explains, the conversation unequivocally revolves around budget.

“It’s very much [Meridian] talking to us about what will fit in our budget, how that could span across our eight days, and what that looks like for us,” she says. From there, booking reps submit offers to artists, who either do or don’t accept, and the process continues on until all days are filled.

The Two-Step

Narrowing down that list of performers, though, is where the real heavy lifting comes in.

For starters, Cherry Fest is a PG zone. “We even have a contract [stipulation] that these are family-friendly shows, and we don’t allow cursing or things like that,” Event Operations Manager Brett Knaus notes. This requirement eliminates some acts right from the jump.

The NCF team also prioritizes building a set list to appeal to a broad audience. The Bayside Stage has its staples, which usually comprise a classic rock artist—past performers in this category have ranged from Foreigner to Sugar Ray and REO Speedwagon—an oldie or “throwback” act, and the requisite Fourth of July country blowout.

In recent years, this has expanded to include a few non-music acts—like award-winning comedian Larry the Cable Guy and ventriloquist-turned-vocal sensation Darci Lynne—as well as big-name rappers and hip-hop musicians, like Flo Rida, Chingy, and even Nelly, whose 2022 appearance grossed the fastest-selling general admission tickets in festival history.

“We always look to have an eclectic lineup, so that we can offer something for everyone, but we had no idea that Traverse City needed Nelly so much!” Paye says with a laugh.

These key performances aren’t always reflective of the region’s most popular genres, though both Meridian and Cherry Festival staff agree that local tastes do contribute to the lineup. Instead, Meridian producer and promoter Rick Shimel explains that what works in Traverse City is also what’s holding industry-wide. “What you’re seeing as strength in our market is also strength in every market,” he says.

Other limiting lineup factors include artist availability—which often depends on established tour dates and Traverse City’s proximity to travel hubs, like Chicago, Grand Rapids, and Detroit—as well as expected audience turnout and how a show might resonate within the community. “From there, it’s just a juggling act,” Shimel notes.

The Rising Stars

That juggling act seems to be working. In the last 20 years, the song and dance of performance assembly has highlighted the festival’s knack for pinpointing country acts in particular before they hit the bigtime.

In fact, some of the genre’s heaviest hitters graced the Bayside Stage first, including the likes of Justin Moore, Kane Brown, Dierks Bentley (whose 2005 appearance was “pin to get in,” aka nearly free of charge), and Dan + Shay, who were actually in Traverse City the night their 2018 single “Tequila” hit number one on Top Country Albums.

Are instances like that a fluke? “I don’t know. We like to think the music gods came together and made it happen for us,” Paye jokes.

Spur-clad powers notwithstanding, Paye and Knaus also underscore that much of this phenomenon comes down to the skill of a group like Meridian that has decades of industry experience. Per Shimel, the search for these newcomers starts in the fall, with producers and agents scouring the landscape to get a read on promising creators. Who’s touring and where they go is important, as well as who’s getting radio play and their monthly streaming-service listens coupled with classic record sales.

“In general, we’re looking at what an artist is doing to promote themselves and what sort of hype is going to be created down the road,” Shimel explains. From there, it’s mostly educated guesswork, experience, and a sprinkle of “pure art.”

“You know that of all the freshmen coming in, someone’s going to make it,” he adds. “We look at all the data we can, and then it’s mostly just a gut feeling.”

VIP Pass

As for perks these performers enjoy? The short answer is, it depends on the artist.

Once an act is booked, the show is “advanced,” which involves adjusting that performer’s contract to align with festival infrastructure. For some, that includes accommodations, while others need help finding space to house a caravan of tour vehicles. There are other incidentals to consider, too, like stage layout or extra equipment.

“There’s a lot of logistics involved in the mapping of how those things will go, but we have a great team, and it works out well,” Knaus says.

Each artist also comes with a rider—that’s a specially-tailored document laying out the requirements of their performance—wherein they can ask for specialized snacks (which are often included as Easter eggs to make sure the crew has read the whole thing), stipulate backstage provisions, or lay out other requests. Paye even remembers one artist who asked the Cherry Festival crew for Yoo-hoo delivered in a glass bottle.

Once the final details are set, it’s up to the festival’s seasoned staff to turn their venue’s backstage area into a performer’s paradise. For starters, there is no “fangirling” for the artists, no lenience for photos or autographs, and a finite number of backstage passes.

“It’s a very closed bubble back there for the artists to feel comfortable,” says Marketing and Communications Manager Mandy DePuy. “They can walk outside of their buses and just be a human, and everybody gives them their space.”

Then there’s the splendor that only Traverse City can provide. Bands can prep for their performance by watching the air show, artists traveling with children can indulge in a spin around the Midway, and Paye even once got to deliver cotton candy to Home Free’s dressing room.

It’s these little nuances that not only separate the Cherry Festival from a stadium performance, but also tempt acts to return. “We make sure they see our community, because they will end up being visitors in the future, and they tend to love it here,” Paye says.

For her, the cherry on top of years’ worth of celebrity sightings was watching Nelly take the stage decked out in Cherry Festival gear. “I think that is one of the coolest things I’ve seen,” she says. “What our team and Meridian do is very different, and it sets us apart as a smaller festival, even though we’re big.”

This Year’s Music Lineup

So, who’s on the Cherry Festival docket this year? The week kicks off on June 29 with Grammy Award-winning rock group Stone Temple Pilots with special guest opener Moon Fever. Rapper T.I.’s performance on Sunday, June 30, was canceled, replaced by a free benefit concert featuring Fresh Horses Garth Brooks Tribute and The Insiders Tom Petty Tribute Band.

Reality TV star and former Poison frontman Bret Michaels takes the stage on July 1, accompanied by seventies icons Jefferson Starship. They’re followed by up-and-coming country vocalist Leanne Morgan on July 2.

Mid-week, we’ll see Grammy-nominated band Goo Goo Dolls with special guest The Sedonas, plus Dylan Scott with opener DASHA, on July 3 and 4, respectively. To round out the week, comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglasias performs on July 5, with local folk band The Accidentals and guest Joshua Davis closing the concert series on July 6.

To purchase concert tickets or learn more about the festival, visit cherryfestival.org.

Photo courtesy of the National Cherry Festival