Fishstock Finale

It was 9 pm on a Sunday night. A couple of my roommates and I were hanging out in the common room, when suddenly one of them blurted out, “Do you guys want to check out some live music?” The music junkie and entertainment writer in me looked over interested as I asked, “Live music?”

“Yeah, it’s called Fishstock,” he replied.

I smiled. In the few short months that I have been working as an entertainment intern in Door County, I have quickly come to realize that Fishstock is something of a local phenomenon.

“I’m in,” I said.

We drove in the dark, almost missing the modest sign by the side of the road reading ‘live music tonight.’ Feeling more like I was going to a house party than to a concert, I parked with other cars on a lawn next to an old farmhouse.

Following the sounds of the music, the three of us made our way into the barn, where it immediately became apparent that this was no mere house party. The audience filled the barn, spilling out onto the lawn. It looked like almost the entire population of Door County was in attendance.

On stage, the ever-wonderful Eric Lewis rocked out with a group of energetic and talented musicians. Blue lighting gave the scene a surreal, rock concert quality.

We went around back to the lawn and found, to our surprise, that there was a projector creatively set up to project a live black and white video of the performance on the barn wall. Watching the band members move around like specters on the wooden wall of the barn made me think of old videos of classic music performances, like the ones you see on PBS documentaries. I was at a unique vantage point, whereby leaning to the right, I could watch the whispery images of the musicians, feeling like I was watching a scene from the past, and leaning to the left, I could witness the colorful, vibrant present as the living, breathing musicians performed on the stage. It was a strange and exhilarating experience.

Although we were only able to catch the end of the concert, the songs that we did hear had an irresistible energy, and were performed with passion and skill. The music had an amped up, bluegrass feel.

The concert was the last in the line of performances starting on July 5. Other bands included Little Marsh Overflow, The Nicks, Karen Mal, Doc Heide, Jimmy Davis, and other great performers.

Fishstock is a popular event, and one that combines many of the elements of a Door County lifestyle – a sense of history, a comfortable, fun atmosphere, and quality entertainment. Be sure to catch next year’s concert series if you missed out on this year’s.

Sunday concerts run from 7 – 9:30 pm and Saturday concerts run from 9 pm – 1 am. Admission is $15 for adults and children under 12 get in free.