The 9th Annual Winter Microbrew & Music Festival is on the move! This year’s festivities will take place February 10 at Mount Mancelona, a historic ski hill and lodge that sits just over a mile north of Mancelona, Michigan. The festival will offer unique activities like snowshoeing to a rare-beer tasting tent and professional snowboard and ski aerial viewing while guests warm up around giant bonfires. There will be fewer tickets and a more intimate atmosphere this year, but the event will again feature the great music and tasty brews you’ve come to expect from this award-winning music and food festival.
Music fans and lovers of craft beer, wine, cider, and mead are invited to pull on your liquid long-johns and join fellow enthusiasts under heated tents and beside roaring bonfires. The Microbrew & Music Festival will feature drinks from around the state (and beyond!) and acclaimed live musical acts including festival-favorite Mustard Plug, The Ragbirds, Slow Tako, Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe, Luke “Blue” Woltanski & His Worn-Out Soles, and many more.
Festival-goers will also enjoy local food vendors featuring BBQ, paella, tacos, and local treats; Silent Disco multi-stage DJ tent with 80’s–90’s throwbacks, a big country top hits DJ stage, DJ Dominate, Michigan DJs, Ski Juggler Tommy Tropic, hula hoopers, fire twirlers, vintage snowmobiles, Trucker Sno-Cat shuttles, and more to be announced!
Early bird doors will open at 2 p.m. and general admission doors open at 3 p.m. The event ends at 8 p.m.
“Our winter version of this festival is a blast, and this will be the best venue since we have weeks to build the experience,” says Sam Porter, event organizer and owner of Mount Mancelona. “It’s always such a pleasure to see so many good folks come together to celebrate our communities, dance, huddle around glowing bonfires, share stories and smiles, and raise a toast to the seasons of Northern Michigan.”
New this Year at Microbrew & Music
Super Fan Bus
“Get On The Bus” in Michigan’s craft-beer-lovin’ communities and experience Super Fan Buses presented by your favorite breweries, brewers, and bands. Top-of-the-line, 56-passenger Blue Lakes buses may include brewery films and in-depth education on rare beers you’ll get to try. It is BYOB on buses, but they will stop after pickup at a local retailer where sourced beers will be available for you to buy. Some buses will have live music in the aisles and a Silent Disco wireless dance party on the way home with classic sing-alongs to keep the party rocking. Look for shuttles from surrounding cities including Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Petoskey, Grayling, and Gaylord. Shuttles are free from Mancelona locations one mile away. Contact Microbrew & Music for private tour bus options if you have a large group or questions. All Super Fans also get a safe guaranteed ride to and from the event including the 2 p.m. Early Bird/VIP Entry and shuttle to the Mountain door with our 1962 Tucker Sno-Cat.
Brewers Dinner
Also new this year is the Friday, February 9 kick-off Brewers Dinner and evening with Delilah Dewylde and her roots alt-country honkey tonk band. The Brewers Dinner starts with appetizers, paella over the wood-fired stove, and many breweries. The dinner ticket includes a concert on the lodge’s 150-year-old barn-wood stage. The concert is the launch of a new story and film project called Live From The Lodge pairing Michigan music, Michigan beverages, and Michigan chefs. Only 40 tickets available to the public as the rest are reserved for the brewers, sponsors, and artists coming to join the gathering.
Ticket Information
VIP tickets include all festival experiences plus access to the historic Mount Mancelona lodge and live music, brew-paired nibbles, and a craft beer and liquid bar experience with brewers meet and greet. It also includes a custom tasting glass, 10 ½ pint drink tokens, private lodge, lodge restrooms, and lodge amenities like the pool table, wood-fired hot tub, and open lodge fire pit.
General admission tickets include all festival experiences, custom tasting glass, and 5 1/2 pint drink tokens.
- Early Bird VIP Tickets – Sold Out
- Early Bird GA Tickets – Sold Out
- VIP Tickets: $150, limited quantity, on sale now
- GA Tickets: $50, limited quantity, on sale now
- Designated Driver – Music Fest No Beer Only Ticket: $25
- Brewers Dinner, February 9: $50 includes food, music, and brews (only 40 tickets available!)
- Super Fan Bus Tickets range from $25–$40 and are very limited!
Tickets can be purchased online at MyNorthTickets.com. Attendees are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, especially with the reduced number of tickets this year. The festival has sold out in past years. Ticket buyers and attendees must be 21 years old, no exceptions. Mount Mancelona is located 45 minutes from Traverse City at 2497 Ski Run Road in Mancelona, Michigan.
Complete festival details, ticket information, and announcements can be found online at microbrewandmusic.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/microbrewandmusic. The Microbrew & Music Festival is presented with additional support from Michigan brewers and community volunteers. 100% of net alcohol proceeds benefit regional nonprofits.
“With more than 100 Northern Michigan festivals and events over 12 years, we have worked hard and are very dedicated to supporting local businesses and creating year-round events that promote and sustain local food, beer, wine, arts, merchants, businesses, and organizations,” Sam says.
Video: Winter Microbrew & Music Festival
This is how much fun MyNorthTickets had with 3,000 of our friends in downtown Traverse City during the seventh annual festival when it was single-digit cold, the beer was flowin’, and the music kept us all warm! We love our jobs!
More Winter Fun
- Your Guide to Traverse City Restaurants
- Northern Michigan Winter Festivals: The Super Guide
- 9 Gorgeous Northern Michigan Winter Vacation Ideas
- India Pale Ales Brewed in Northern Michigan to Sip This Winter