Saturday’s return of the popular Michigan festival and band competition will rev up two dozen venues on Grand Haven’s East Side. The lowdown and schedule at Local Spins.
Takin’ It To the Streets: Grand Haven’s Walk the Beat returns Saturday. (Photo/Local Spins)
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The time has come, once again, to close the Beechtree corridor on Grand Haven’s East Side to all vehicle traffic and let music take over
The Walk the Beat festival returns Saturday (Aug. 9) to this lakeshore community, with more than four dozen Michigan bands and solo artists performing at two dozen locations.
The 2025 edition of this free popular event rolls out from noon to 5 p.m., with fans strolling dozens of stores, businesses and other “venues” along South Beechtree Street — effectively “walking the beat” to experience a wide variety of music while voting for their favorite bands.
The band competition will split performers’ sets into two time slots, with the first half taking stages from noon to 2 p.m. and the second half from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. In between, attendees will enjoy “halftime” sets from two past Walk the Beat winners: Simply in Time from 2024, and Candid Antics (formerly known as Pocket Watch) from 2023.
Sign of the Times: The festival boasts two dozen ‘venues.’ (Photo/Local Spins)
This year’s band competition lineup includes established Michigan artists such as Eric Engblade, Spike the Media, Money Soup, Dunegrass, The Blue Pines, Kate Hinote Trio and Heather Bartman as well as a host of newer, up-and-coming acts.
Fans will use a text-to-vote system to cast ballots for their favorite performers, with the winner taking home a grand prize package that includes $3,000 in studio recording time from Third Coast Recording Company in Grand Haven, as well as a paid performance slot in the 2026 Coast Guard Festival parade.
The festival also features a raffle for attendees, with a grand prize of $5,000, as well as door prizes at many venues. Nearby restaurants and food trucks will also be on hand to entice those walking the beat.
The community support factor drives the event, says Becky Newman, president of Walk the Beat Grand Haven and festival director.
A FESTIVAL WITH ‘SO MUCH ENTHUSIASM’
When Newman first experienced Walk the Beat, she was blown away by the atmosphere and the quality of performances, and she just wanted to be part of that.
“That is still true today,” she said of her passion for the event. “It feels really good to support both the musicians and the community.”
Walk the Beat is a Grand Haven-based nonprofit organization, dedicated to building communities through music. The events now reach across the three separate communities of Grand Haven, Albion and the White Lake area.
Last Year’s Winning Band: Simply in Time (Photo/Jeff Brinn)
(White Lake’s Walk the Beat took place on July 19, with Asamu Johnson & The Associates of the Blues taking first place. Albion’s Walk the Beat takes place Aug. 23, with The War and Treaty performing a special post-festival show. Details here.)
The Grand Haven-based nonprofit sponsors lessons for those who may not be able to benefit otherwise, donates musical instruments to students or classrooms around the area and beyond, and helps sponsor various public school music programs. The Walk the Beat festival serves as the main source of funding for the rest of the year’s activities.
“It’s an afternoon street party, full of music,” Newman said. “I am always so surprised at how excited and enthusiastic everyone, especially the festival’s volunteers, are to come back. There is so much enthusiasm.
“Also, many of the past bands, who are finished with the event, whom I may never see again… many of them take the time to reach out to me later on, and say how much what we did meant to them.”
Revisit Local Spins coverage of the 2024 Walk the Beat: Simply in Time wins Grand Haven’s 2024 Walk the Beat amid festival’s biggest-ever turnout
GRAND HAVEN WALK THE BEAT 2025: THE SCHEDULE
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