New ‘Music On The Ship’ Concert Series Lineup Announced

Duluth has a few really cool, unique music venues that traditionally host music. Take Bayfront Festival Park, for example. Or Glensheen's lakeside "Concerts on the Pier" free concert series. But the iconic William A. Irvin is in on the water-oriented music venue thing, too!

The owners of the well-known Canal Park landmark (er, water-mark?) announced a free series of concerts for this summer that are going to offer something you won't be able to get anywhere else in town. A concert on a ship!

The concert series will feature 6 different dates this summer, where you'll be able to enjoy some great local music for free while aboard the William A. Irvin!

The idea of doing concerts on the ship came to DECC Executive Director Dan Hartman courtesy of a Duluth Central grad named Charity Benedict, who was inspired by events like Concerts on the Pier and thought the deck of the ship would make a great, one-of-a-kind concert venue.

READ MORE: Glensheen's free Wednesday Concerts on the Pier schedule

Hartman agreed, saying in a release "It’s a great idea and frankly, I’ve been hoping to use the Irvin as a venue, but just lacked the capacity to organize it." Thanks to Charity teaming up with the DECC's staff to make it happen, we'll be getting six different Thursday evenings of music live aboard the Irvin.

The family-friendly event is limited to only 140 people (first come, first served) where attendees will be able to go aboard the ship and watch bands on the spar deck (top level) of the ship while also enjoying views of Canal Park and the lift bridge.

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This year's lineup includes a variety of music that ranges from jazz to hard rock and 80's pop, and is as follows:

• Thursday, July 25: Charity & Nate / Eldri Snow and The Wintery Mix
• Thursday, August 1: The Hot Club of Duluth
• Thursday, August 8: Derecho
• Thursday, August 15: Teague Alexy and The Common Thread
• Thursday, August 22: Nvr Tgthr/ Sadkin
• Thursday, August 29: Boss Mama / and the Sonja Martin Band

Each show starts at 7 pm. Mocktails and other soft drinks will be available, but no alcohol sales will be available at these concerts. In addition, Pizza Luce is a sponsor and organizers are working on securing some food trucks.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own bagged chairs to have a place to sit (other, less portable types of chairs won't be allowed). The DECC does note that the Irvin is not wheelchair accessible and does require climbing stairs to get aboard.

While the limited crowd size (and the aforementioned accessibility limitations) aboard the ship might leave some people feeling left out, it will make for a neat, intimate music experience for those able to attend. Depending on where they place the bands, maybe people will also be able to watch from the ground at street level on the sidewalk, too.