Beach Chickens, Sault Swing Band To Perform at This Year's Boat Show

The Beach Chickens will perform Friday night, August 11, in downtown Hessel at a free street dance.

Performances by local musicians will provide the entertainment for this year's Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show. The Beach Chickens will play Friday night, while Hessel native Callie Hausler and the Sault Swing Band will perform Saturday.

The Beach Chickens, led by Jeff King of Pickford and Ken Izzard of Cedarville, will play on Lake Street in Hessel from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Mr. King is a former Hessel resident who has sung and has played guitar since he was 12. Mr. Izzard has played guitar for more than 30 years. The two musicians have played since the 1980s with bluegrass, blues, and rock bands, including their own bands and North Country Band of Cedarville.

The band now includes Mr. Izzard's son, Josh, 21, on drums, and his daughter, Lauren, 18, a vocalist.

Guest appearances by other local musicians are anticipated throughout the evening's performance.

Callie Hausler now lives in Petoskey, but many remember her singing at the boat show, Les Cheneaux Community Schools, and as a member of a Sault Ste. Marie band while she attended college. She will sing the Star Spangled Banner during opening ceremonies Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Sault Swing Band has performed classic big band, swing, jazz, and blues for nearly 10 years at the boat show. Two performances Saturday will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The band features vocalist Lise White of Sault Ste. Marie. Members come together from around the Eastern Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and include Fred Bryner and Pete Goehring, both residents of Hessel.

The band has been together for almost 20 years and features saxophones, trombones, trumpets, bass, keyboard, and percussion. The band rehearses every week, and gives close to a dozen performances a year.