Event Information

The 9th annual Houghton Lake Blues Festival features high-quality live blues music
at a FREE (Goodwill donations accepted) two-day event on Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18, 2026.
At 6 p.m. on Friday, we will start out leisurely with emerging Michigan blues artists. The headliner for Friday evening is Jabo Bihlman. Jabo is the lead guitarist and founding member of Grinder Blues with King's X front man Dug Pinnick. Their latest record El Dos, debuted at #8 on the Billboard Blues charts and stayed in the top 20 for weeks. Jabo is also a 4-time Emmy award winning guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. The evening will be wrapped up with a blues jam. On Saturday, the stage will be taken over by giants like Detroit Guitar Hero Jim McCarty and Chicago Blues Legend Lil'Ed and The Blues Imperials.
Remarkably, the festival includes performances by Blues Challenge winners from the Detroit Blues Society, the West Michigan Blues society and the Capital Area Blues Society. Winners go on to compete in the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Just Magnetic and Brendon Linsley won their regional competitions in 2025, and the Weezil Malone band just won the West Michigan Blues Society Blues Challenge last May.
You do not want to miss this spectacular live blues event! Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the shows. Food and beverage vendors will be at the venue site (behind the Chamber of Commerce). The event also includes a signed guitar raffle and fifty-fifty raffle. Free parking on site, with overflow parking nearby.

Date and Time: On Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:00 - Sat, 18 Jul 2026 22:00

Venue details: 1625 West Houghton Lake Drive, Houghton Lake, Michigan, 48629, United States

Artists: Lil'Ed and the Blues Imperials, Jim MCarty and Mystery Train, Jabo Bihlman, Just Magnetic, Weezil Malone Band, Brendon Linsley, Jon Archambault Band, Tosha Owens