When rock band OK Go pulls into Interlochen Center for the Arts to perform tonight (Friday), their arrival will herald a flurry of activity on campus – and throughout the surrounding village of Interlochen.

Tailgaters will show up early for elaborate pre-concert parties in nearby parking lots. Music fans without tickets will claim a spot on the campus mall outside Kresge Auditorium – or motor their boats up to the back of the venue on Green Lake – to eavesdrop on the concert for free. At Interlochen restaurants Hofbrau, Maddy’s Tavern, Bud’s, and Cicero’s Pizza, an all-hands-on-deck staff will cater to massive crowds in the hours leading up to and following the show. 

An estimated 90,000 ticketholders pass through Kresge’s doors each summer for the Interlochen Arts Festival, a concert series that comprises a high-profile portion of the 600-plus performances that occur on campus year-round. “I think the (local) impact is invaluable,” says Interlochen Presents Executive Director Rory Baker. “It’s a nice symbiotic relationship with our community. We see a lot of diverse customers; the crowd for ZZ Top won’t be the same as for an orchestra concert.” In 2017, Interlochen is attempting to further expand its demographic reach, bringing in both younger groups like OK Go and hip-hop acts like Tone Loc and Salt-N-Pepa.

“We wanted to program for a younger and more diverse audience this year,” says Baker.

Interlochen is also working to cater to the subculture that has grown around pre and post-concert activities on campus. While Baker points out non-paying concertgoers don’t actually “get to see the show,” the venue has no objections to people listening to concerts for free, he says. “We don’t mind if they’re on the lake or coming and sitting in the mall,” says Baker. “They’re just listening and supporting Interlochen in that way.” Taking advantage of the captive audience, Interlochen will introduce new food trucks to the mall area this summer; the school will also operate its grill tent and Scholarshop again this season.

Also new for 2017: a designated Interlochen Summer Concert Bus that shuttles concertgoers to and from Traverse City, and a new $2 million waterfront park funded by the estate of Dorthy S. “Dot” Corson. The Concert Bus, offered by Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA), offers round-trip shuttle service from either the BATA Hall Street Station or Grand Traverse Mall to Interlochen and back for a flat $5 fare. The service is available for 14 concerts this season.

The first phase of new waterfront improvements on Green Lake is also now complete and accessible to concertgoers, according to Executive Director of Facilities and Maintenance Eric Gray. The new park area - slotted for the public space adjacent to the Stone Hotel and Kresge Auditorium - will provide barrier-free access to the beach and waterfront, as well as scenic overlooks, remodeled historic buildings, a promenade with lighted walkways, seating and garden areas, and a new lakeside café.

“We have received our final occupancy permit, so the new Dot Corson Building is open for use along with Dottie's Deck,” says Gray. “The roof deck on Minnesota is also complete and available for use. All site concrete work is complete, and the ADA path is open. This ADA path also includes a wheelchair lift from Dottie's Deck down to the waterfront.” When construction on the Minnesota Building is complete – targeted for July 21 – Interlochen will open the new CJ's Cafe in the building.

For many concertgoers, exploring campus amenities like the new park improvements and tailgating before shows is a popular annual tradition. “As a camp (alumnus), I love tailgating before, watching the bustle around campus, then wandering down to see my old cabins before the show starts, trying to remember which practice huts I used," says Lisa Hollenbeck Stewart. Rebecca Payne is also among the contingent of visitors who bring their own supplies and host picnics or tailgate parties before shows.

“We tailgate before with our own music (usually of the artist we're about to see) with fine food, white tablecloth, and real dishes and silverware. If there's still time, we throw in a card game,” she says. “After the show, we pull the dinnerware back out and partake in a wonderful home-baked dessert. Usually by then, most of the traffic is pretty thin, and we can go right home.”

Alcohol and tobacco are strictly prohibited on Interlochen’s campus. But the off-campus parking lots – popular among tailgaters – are a gray area, Baker acknowledges. “We certainly don’t condone illegal behavior or excessive drinking,” he says. “We are a school, so we want to make sure we protect our students. We have the state police at every show, and they help keep an eye on (tailgaters). If people come out to enjoy the weather and behave responsibly and aren’t a cause of concern, we’re OK with that.”

In addition to spawning its own campus ecosystem, Interlochen’s concert series has also had a reverberating impact on nearby businesses. “If it wasn’t for Interlochen Center for the Arts and the concerts, I don’t know that we’d own this place or be here,” says Hofbrau owner Brian McAllister. “Their six weeks of camp is truly our summer. Then you add 5,000 people driving by for concerts, it’s just going to be slamming.”

McAllister says he and his wife and co-owner, Laurie Bouwman, look over the concert schedule at the beginning of each season to plan for busy nights. “There are always at least 12 to 14 shows where we’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s going to be a day,’” McAllister says. “For some shows, like Michael McDonald this week, you’ll get a line out the door before the concert, there’s this big sucking sound when everybody leaves for the show, and then the show’s over at 9:30 or 10 and it fills right back up. Trace Adkins will be like that. Salt-N-Pepa. Those are two-fer nights.”

Hofbrau employs 85 staff during concert season – more than twice the size of its off-season payroll. McAllister says the success of Interlochen’s concerts helps keep his and other village businesses above water, able to survive slow winters due to the thriving summers. “Everything they do down there in Kresge directly affects everything we do,” he says. “It’s a windfall that’s hard to measure.”

Photo credit: Interlochen Center for the Arts