Bayfield, Wisconsin's 2026 'Concerts By The Lake' Schedule

Living by Lake Superior is a treat for many reasons. Heck, even when it keeps us "cooler by the lake" or brings lake effect snow, there's still a lot to enjoy.

I don't want to think about that snow thing right now, though. It's summertime, and while we occasionally see that "cooler by the lake" thing make us need a sweatshirt around parts of Lake Superior, enjoying some live music right on the shore of the big lake is hard to beat on a Northland summer night.

Bayfield, Wisconsin's Concerts by the Lake music series gives you more than 20 opportunities to enjoy some great live music right near Lake Superior this summer. Even better - each of the shows is free!

The 2026 music series includes 21 shows on this year's calendar, plus the kickoff show last night that featured the music of Marlee Paine.

These shows are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in Bayfield's Memorial Park, which is between the marina and pier along the shoreline. Each show starts at 6 pm and wraps up at 8 pm. In the event of uncooperative weather, shows will move to the Bayfield Lakeside Pavilion, with updates given on the event's social media.

Bring a chair or blanket to sit on and enjoy the show! If you want to bring your pooch, dogs are welcome, as long as they are on a leash.

Here's the full 2026 lineup, which includes a variety of different kinds of music this season:

Bayfield's 2026 Concerts by the Lake Schedule

Tuesday, June 16: Marlee Paine, country music singer-songwriter

Thursday, June 18: Chance Ensemble, made up of the vocal and cello duo Cheryl Leah and Ed Willett, who are also popular performers at Big Top Chautauqua

Tuesday, June 23: Todd Albright, twelve-string guitar player and vocalist, playing country blues music

Thursday, June 25: Golden Era Jazz, a four-piece jazz group

Tuesday, June 30: Barry Riese, a singer-songwriter who plays folk, bluegrass, and classic Americana music

Thursday, July 2: James Shafstall, a composer, guitarist, and singer-songwriter from Washburn who plays blues, rock, jazz, and more.

Tuesday, July 7: Molly & the Danger Band with Miles Phelan offers an evening of original and cover songs spanning genres like rock, country, bluegrass, Celtic, and Americana

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Thursday, July 9: Danielle Diamond, a piano-playing singer-songwriter

Tuesday, July 14: Drew Peterson, an Americana singer-songwriter

Thursday, July 16: Buffalo Galaxy, a Twin Cities-based physchadelic bluegrass quartet with originals and genre-spanning covers

Tuesday, July 21: Celtic Calling brings back featured artists Molly & the Danger Band, Marlee Paine, and Miles Phelan from earlier in the summer for a Celtic-themed evening of music.

Thursday, July 23: Dan Scott & The Banjo Express, a gritty bluegrass trio

Tuesday, July 28: Sean & Ian Okamoto, a father-son duo from Northern Wisconsin who both sing. Sean also plays guitar, while Ian plays piano.

Thursday, July 30: Sara Thomsen, a Duluth-based soulful folk singer

Tuesday, August 4: Midnight River Choir, A Texas-style country-rock trio

Thursday, August 6: Idle Rose, an Ashland-based folk duo made up of Laura Idle and Rose Spieler-Sandberg

Tuesday, August 11: Golden Era Jazz returns after their June 25 show, with the Ashland-based jazz quartet providing a later-summer encore

Thursday, August 13: Two Below Zero, an acoustic folk rock & Americana duo made up of two singer-guitarists, Nathan Bean and Mark Phillips

Tuesday, August 18: Rucksack Revolution, a Wisconsin-based folk duo made up of singer-songwriters Sarah Vos from the group Dead Horses and Adam Greuel from the band Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

Thursday, August 20: Aquamélon, a fusion group blending genres like reggae, hip hop, Latin, and Americana music

Tuesday, August 25: Triple Fiddle, a Minnesota-based group of fiddle players, singers, and a guitar player, drawing inspiration from folk, honky tonk, jazz, bluegrass, and other genres

Thursday, August 27: Molly & the Danger Band returns for a season finale encore, playing a variety of rock, country, bluegrass, Americana, Celtic, and Jazz music

2026 Wisconsin State Fair Main Stage Performers

Here is the schedule of all of the performing acts that have been announced to play at the Bank Five Nine Main Stage at the 2026 Wisconsin State Fair. As more acts are announced, we'll update this schedule.

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth