Steel Bridge SongFest

Music:

Member Since: 6/13/2006
Band Website: steelbridgesongfest.org
Band Members: Steel Bridge SongFest '08 Builds Bridges of Creativity while Benefiting a Historic Drawbridge

The Steel Bridge SongFest enters its fourth season, June 12 to 14, of bringing together musicians, songwriters, historic preservationists and music fans. The annual benefit for the Michigan Street Bridge has helped to raise almost $150,000 to save and maintain the bridge, and to build community awareness of the importance of preserving it.

www.SteelBridgeSongfest.org - Official SBSF Site

This year’s festival will once again feature singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, musician/singer Jane Wiedlin of The Go’s-Go’s, and co-founder and musician pat mAcdonald. mAcdonald also will once again host The Construction Zone, a week-long workshop for 25 invited songwriters. With headquarters at the Holiday Music Motel at the approach to the bridge, the songwriters will find their collaborative partners with a rousing game of Spin the Bottle. The songwriters will perform at various venues around town during the week and record their original songs for possible inclusion on a CD. In past years some 120 songs have been recorded as a result of The Construction Zone. One CD is complete and on the market and another is in production.

Christie Weber, the other co-founder of the festival and president of Citizens for our Bridge, has been a tireless crusader for the preservation and enhancement of the bridge. The two-lane structure spans the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in the central business district of Sturgeon Bay. Built in 1930, it is only one of two bridges of its type in the United States—an upper rolling lift bascule bridge. The 1,420-foot bridge is comprised of a counter-balanced, movable span and 12 concrete and steel truss approach spans. The bridge, a familiar sight for Door County vacationers and locals, is listed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places and recently was added to the National Register of Historic Places. With the bridge as its beneficiary, the songfest has developed into much more than a concert. It celebrates live music, activism, historic preservation and creativity. More than 100 bands from across the country donate their services to help raise money and awareness for the bridge. Components of the event include:

• Take It To The Bridge. An all-day, benefit concert headlined by Jackson Browne on Saturday, June 14, at the Great Lakes Yacht Services boatyard. Jane Wiedlin of Go-Go’s fame will also appear.

• Take It Inside. Three nights of live original music will be featured in multiple venues around town, including all-ages shows.

• The Construction Zone. This component brings original songwriting into the festival mix. Twenty-five songwriters are invited for five days of intensive collaborative songwriting at the historic Holiday Music Motel. Writers are encouraged to write songs loosely based around the metaphor of a steel bridge. (The Construction Zone is for invited musical guests only.) A group of people associated with the SongFest recently purchased the motel to preserve it and form a year-round headquarters for songwriting workshops. Songwriters can expect comfortable, sound-proof rooms with the original 1950 bedroom suites in pristine condition. Some rooms have been custom-designed by music legends such as Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s fame. The motel is located in the heart of the Sturgeon Bay Historic District within walking distance of restaurants, bars, art museums, the ship chanel, and historic sites including the Sturgeon Bay Bridge. Environmentalists will rest comfortably knowing that the hotel is a LEED-certified structure.

FOR HOLIDAY MOTEL RESERVATIONS call 920-743-5571 or check out our website at: www.HolidayMusicMotel.com

Alternative hotel reservations for Steel Bridge SongFest 4 call 920-743-6246 or 920-743-6800 to reach the Sturgeon Bay Visitor's Center who have cordial operators standing by to assist you.

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin is "The Gateway to Door County" and one of the premier travel destinations in the USA due to the scenic beauty and year round family entertainment. It's an easy mid-day drive from Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Madison, and even cities in Michigan such as Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Kalamazoo if you take the Lake Michigan Car Ferry .

Eric McDonald's Comment:

"I remember the time I first crossed this steel bridge...it was just this past August on a warm, sunny day in Northeast Wisconsin. I was wondering what the big hoopla was about, but now I understand-- This bridge is a gateway to another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. I was crossing over into a land of shadow and substance, of things, and ideas. I'd just crossed over into Door County. And then I stopped for ice cream."

"I fell in love with Sturgeon Bay! I think i met more creative people there that one week than in all the time I’ve been in L.A.!" Now if only i could get more of you to MOVE here... !!!" -Jane Wiedlin of the GoGo's (Los Angeles, CA)
Influences: SOME OF OUR VALUED SPONSORS:

If you or your business would like to help support this event, we offer a number of levels of sponsorship particpation. Please call 920-743-5605 or email us at [email protected]

For press credentials to cover Steel Bridge Songfest 4, send your name, title, media affiliation, email address, mailing address, and phone number to Linda Akins at [email protected]. or call 312-953-7830.

Sounds Like: THIS WEEKS SB4 FEATURED ARTIST IAN MOORE
Record Label: HolidayRecording
Type of Label: Indie