WTIP’s 11th Annual Radio Waves Music Festival Reports High Numbers and Beautiful Weather

September 10, 2018—Grand Marais, MN--There was an impressive crowd of 655 music lovers who enjoyed a full day of pleasant weather and eclectic performances on Saturday, September 8 at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Recreation Area. Kicking off on Friday evening with the North Shore Community Swing Band, and closing with the SplinterTones on late, Sunday afternoon, overall attendance, Sept. 7 - 9, at this annual, three-day festival reached over 1,260 people. Record crowds were experienced on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with the largest on Saturday evening, when the dance floor reached full capacity during a performance by Cook County’s Most Wanted and leading up to a rousing set by the Carpenter Ants from Charleston, West Virginia.
  
“This annual music festival began as a give-back to the community, and it still is,” said Matthew Brown, WTIP executive director. Organized by the station and sponsored by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, the Grand Marais Area Tourism Association and Visit Cook County, the event showcases local, regional and national music acts. WTIP’s partnership with Legacy funding allows the station to keep ticket prices affordable for all, connects musical performers with new audiences, helps strengthen the network of local non-profits like North House Folk School, the Violence Prevention Center, the North Shore Music Collaborative and others, and serves as an amazing venue for visitors to experience the arts and culture of the North Shore. An independent, volunteer-driven radio station, WTIP relies on the support of community members, so this event also helps to connect the station to potential new listener members and fans of locally produced radio.

While the event is not a fundraiser for WTIP, it continues to be a welcoming event enjoyed by all ages. To paraphrase WTIP volunteer emcee Tracy Benson, “Radio Waves is a great way to end the summer, and helps us to usher in the fall.”