Interlochen Center for the Arts is one of the great quiet successes in American arts education — a boarding school and summer arts camp set on 1,200 acres of pine forest between Green Lake and Duck Lake, about 25 minutes southwest of downtown Traverse City. Through its summer concert series, Interlochen brings a lineup that punches well above the size of the small town it sits in.
Yo-Yo Ma has played here. The Boston Pops are regulars. Past summers have brought Sarah McLachlan, Brad Paisley, Brandi Carlile, and the entire concert band of the United States Marine Corps. Most evenings of the summer, you can find a major act on the Kresge Auditorium stage — a covered outdoor venue under a high pine canopy that’s possibly the best summer concert listening room in the Midwest. If you’re with us in summer, an Interlochen evening is the closest thing to a guaranteed memorable night the region offers.
What’s on the 2026 schedule
The World Youth Symphony Orchestra — high school students from around the world, concerts most Sunday evenings of the summer, free admission
Major touring artists — typically 15-25 ticketed shows across June, July, and August
Faculty and student showcases — most weeks, mix of classical, jazz, world, vocal, theater
Special events — the annual Patriotic Music Festival around the 4th of July, the Les Préludes opening ceremony in late June (a 75-year tradition)
The full 2026 lineup typically publishes in early spring. Check interlochen.org/tickets for the schedule and to purchase tickets.
Practical details
Where: Interlochen Center for the Arts, 9900 Diamond Park Rd, Interlochen, MI · 25-30 minutes from downtown TC
When: Concerts run June through late August · Most evenings; weekends are the busiest
Tickets: $25-150 for major touring acts · Free for many student/faculty performances · Lawn seating typically available at lower price
Parking: Free on campus, but lots fill 30-45 minutes before showtime. Arrive early.
Food: Limited concessions on campus. For a full meal, eat in TC before driving out, or stop at Oaky’s Tavern in Interlochen — a longtime local favorite, casual, the kind of place you can walk into in shorts after a day at the lake.
Official source: interlochen.org for the full 2026 calendar and tickets.
Three things locals do that visitors miss
- Lawn seats at Kresge are the move. Reserved seats inside Kresge Auditorium sell out for the bigger acts and run $75-150. Lawn seats — outside the open-air pavilion, on the grass — are usually $25-35 and the sound is honestly almost as good. Bring a blanket and low chairs.
- Walk the campus before the show. Arriving 45 minutes early gives you time to wander Interlochen’s grounds — Green Lake on one side, the bowl, the practice cabins, the small chapel. It’s a deeply pleasant 30-minute walk and most concertgoers don’t do it.
- Eat at Oaky’s Tavern in Interlochen. Local favorite, walking distance from campus, the kind of place that’s been there long enough to know what it is. A solid pre-concert dinner that doesn’t require a reservation.
Where to stay for an Interlochen concert weekend
Interlochen is about 25 minutes from our three Traverse City cottages — Leland’s, Esch’s, and Oneida’s — which sit right next to each other less than a block from the State Park beach and the TART Trail. The drive out to Interlochen winds through farmland and forest, and the drive back at night with the windows down and the show still in your head is one of the better small experiences of a summer trip.
If you’d rather basecamp on the Lake Michigan coast and drive in for the show, The Bou is also about 30 minutes from Interlochen — a different setup (Frankfort coast, private beach access) but a similar drive time.