Steel Bridge Songfest comes to Door County once again June 10-13!
Every year, thousands of people make their way to our lovely peninsula for a music festival called Steel Bridge Songfest. It boasts a roster of nearly 150 musicians this year with names like James McMurtry, Todd Carey, Purgatory Hill, Little Marsh Overflow and Geri X. Concerts are held both indoors and out throughout the city of Sturgeon Bay.
“Take It Inside”, the first phase of Steel Bridge Song Fest, is taking place from June 10-12th at 15 venues around the city offering an array of music by the 150 musicians attending the festival. “Take It to the Bridge” on June 12-13th is the final phase of SBSF when the headlining acts take the main stage at the foot of our historic bridge. Donations are raised through ticket sales, volunteer donations and sales of the Compilation CD created during the Construction Zone and CD Project. The SBSF began June 11th, 2005 with a free concert that drew in 3,000 people. In the last five years, it has grown to be a must see event known throughout the Midwest.
The Construction Zone and CD Project are a major source of donations to the Bridge with proceeds going towards the Michigan Street Bridge Fund and raising national awareness and promoting historic preservation. The Holiday Music Hotel, which is mere steps from the Michigan St. Bridge, opens its’ doors to the musicians invited to participate in the CD Project and becomes headquarters for the operation. Boasting two sound studios as well as on-staff engineers, musicians can create music 24/7. The musicians collaborate to create great original songs to be performed on the main stage during “Take it to the Bridge” and featured on the Steel Bridge CD sold at the festival. 
The Michigan St Bridge was opened on July 4th, 1931 as the only overhead-truss Scherzer-type double leaf rolling-lift bascule bridge in the state of Wisconsin. At that time, it was the largest spanning bridge in the state reaching 809 feet across. In 2005-2006, after close inspection, the State of WI agreed to build a sister bridge to the east of the Michigan St. Bridge in an effort to reroute some of the traffic and slow the breakdown of the bridge. Before the rehabilitation began in 2008, the bridge was deemed unsafe for vehicles over five tons. The Oregon St. Bridge was completed and opened to traffic in late 2008. It is listed on both the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places and has become a landmark of the Sturgeon Bay horizon.
For more information, check out http://www.sbsf5.com/
