In addition to hooking some prize-winning fish during Alpena’s upcoming Michigan Brown Trout Festival, folks are invited to get Hooked on Music.

This second annual Big Tent event hosted by the Thunder Bay Arts Council features local bands sharing their music on July 14 from 8 p.m. to midnight. Cost of admission is $5.

“Last year we had outstanding audience participation,” said TBAC member Clint Kendziorski. “Overall it was a good kickoff for the Brown Trout Festival.”

As in 2017, Hooked on Music will showcase four local bands: Chris Crown & The Get Down Band, High Speed, Obesity Boys and Old, Not Dead.

“They are all very excited to participate in the Brown Trout Festival because it is considered by musicians as one of the top venues to play here locally,” Kendziorski said.

TBAC traditionally plans its annual summer arts and craft extravaganza known as Art on the Bay to coincide with the Brown Trout Festival. This year marks the 42nd year for Art on the Bay, which will take place July 14 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and July 15 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Bayview Park.

In 2017, the Arts Council decided to get even more involved during the first weekend of the Brown Trout Festival when they heard the festival was struggling to keep going.

“Originally, we jumped on board because Brown Trout was struggling a little and we wanted to help them keep it going for the citizens of Alpena,” Kendziorski said.

Money raised at Hooked on Music goes both to Brown Trout Festival operations and TBAC, which last year used the funds to help complete the Departure of the Great Blue Herons sculpture installed near the Duck Park. This year, TBAC’s share of the proceeds will be used for another Brown Trout Festival event taking place the next day on July 15.

With major support from PNC Bank, volunteers from the Arts Council will help with a Family Day inside the Big Tent, where from noon to 4 p.m. kids can enjoy a wide variety of hands-on activities and hear a high-energy, children’s concert by Mustard’s Retreat. TBAC is sponsoring the 1:30 p.m. concert

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Chris Crown and

The Get Down Band

Chris Crown, an acoustic fingerstyle blues artist, blends many music styles from folk, rock and jazz while always rooted in traditional blues. He studied Music Industry Management at Ferris State University and began to delve deeper into blues music.

“Blues music has always been my favorite genre, and my first guitar lessons included 12-bar blues jams with my dad,” Crown said.

His recent obsession with the blues genre and its history has taken him on pilgrimages to Detroit, Chicago, Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. He has met a number of his blues idols, including John Hammond, Jr., Rory Block, Kelly Joe Phelps, Eric Bibb, Chris Smither and James Cotton.

Crown will be performing with his group, The Get Down Band, featuring Dave Lawrence on bass, Lee Kitzman on harmonica, Jeremy Smith on drums and Conor Larkin on lead guitar.

Obesity Boys

The Obesity Boys played together as a group for the first time on Aug. 5, 2017 at a benefit for Larry LaFleure, and rocked the house. Since then, they have continued performing and shared the stage with some great local talents like High Speed, Charles Madison, State The Odds, Last Shot and WayOut Wayne.

The band is comprised of Brian Centala on bass and vocals, Darin Emery on drums, Josh Mischley on guitar and Brandon Szatkowski, who have all been involved in various bands over the years. Together as the Obesity Boys, they do an all ’90s pop/rock/alt playlist.

The foursome are honored and humbled to be a part of this year’s Brown Trout Festival lineup.

Old, Not Dead

Making up the band of Old, Not Dead are Steve Cripps, Bruno Hirzel, Harry Crocker and Joe DiMarzo. Cripps has been playing guitar since the early 1970s. He retired and moved to Alpena in 2015, where a friend suggested he hook up musically with Hirzel, whose own musical career started in the 1950s playing with his father.

Crocker has enjoyed playing bass guitar for 50 years, including playing on the road and managing or owning music stores. Joining up later was music veteran DiMarzo as the drummer.

The preferred style of music for Old, Not Dead is blues with some good time rock and roll.

High Speed

High Speed is comprised of a band of Alpena natives who grew up together playing music on and off since the mid-1980s. They bring a variety of different musical backgrounds, genres and playing styles which assists in their song selection and diversity.

Members of High Speed include Ryan West on vocals, Kris Yachcik on bass, Charlie Kendziorski on drums and Tim LaFleche on guitar.