The annual Walk the Beat White Lake music festival returns to the area Saturday, July 18 with 26 acts scheduled to perform at 13 venues in Whitehall and Montague between 1 and 5:30 p.m.
The southernmost venue, the Lewis House Bed and Breakfast on Mears Avenue in Whitehall, is one mile away from the northernmost venue, the Book Nook and Java Shop in Montague, creating the opportunity to literally "walk the beat" and enjoy as many acts as desired. Each venue will host one act from 1-3 p.m. and a second act from 3:30-5:30.
In addition, one of the venues, Covell Park in Whitehall, will play host to the musical instrument 'petting zoo,' where children are welcome to try out various instruments and see if one, or many, strikes their fancy and stokes a desire to explore making music themselves.
Many of the 26 acts are returning from prior Walk the Beat festivals. Last year's fan vote winner, Asamu Johnson and the Associates of the Blues, are slated for the 1-3 p.m. shift at Jimmy'z Pub in Montague. Other returning artists include Izzy Joy, Greg Hillebrand, Tommy Foster, The Smiths, Lightly Salted, SmittyVision and many more. The full schedule of venues and performers is available at walkthebeat.org/musical-acts.
Attendees will be able to vote for their favorite acts at the festival, with the top three vote-getters receiving prizes. The top prize will be either $1,500 cash or 18 hours of recording time at Third Coast Recording Company in Grand Haven, plus a spot at the 2027 Arts Council of White Lake-Nuveen Center's free summer concert series. The second and third-place acts will receive $750 and $500 respectively.
Along the way, attendees can register to win over $2,600 worth of door prizes and enter raffles to win up to $5,000. Many local nonprofits will be on the beat selling raffle tickets, and whether you win or not, the area wins, as participating nonprofits get to keep half of the raffle proceeds.
Following the Walk the Beat festival, an afterparty is planned at Goodrich Park in Whitehall from 6-8:30 p.m., where door prizes and raffle winners will be drawn at 7 p.m. The Velvet Mushroom Syndicate will perform.
