Mike Performs with His Band

or Tracks

1- 2 1/2 Hour Show

Provides Sound and Production

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248-891-3955

Mikes performances have consistently drawn crowds to experience "Up North" culture though songs of the woods, the lakes, lost loves and broken hearts. Cheboygan Opera House, a stage that has hosted shows as varied as local theater productions, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Russian, Ballet and troupes of Chinese acrobats, has tarpons lining up to see Mackinaw City singer/ guitarist Mike and the band whispers of the North performs The Gordon Lightfoot Tribute. 

In 2012 Mike has played approximately 50 shows, with increased bookings already scheduled for 2013 and beyond. The appeal of the tribute act is spreading to other states and to Canada. 

Be ready for a visual, acoustic trip from the Great lakes to the Canadian Rockies: through the pain of lost loves and haunting melodies. Features the hit songs "Sundown," " Beautiful," "Carefree Highway," Rainy Day People," "If You Could Read my Mind," "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," " The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald," and more.

The Gordon Lightfoot Tribute—The Stories, The Songs:

For those desiring a full musical program, this can’t-miss repertoire of Lightfoot’s biggest hits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s will have audiences singing along and remembering the inspirations of an era gone by. The woods, the lakes, lost loves, and broken hearts are the themes from a playlist that includes Sundown If You Could Read My Mind, Rainy Day People, Carefree Highway, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and more. An act that has been performed for more than a dozen years, Mike Fornes IS Gordon Lightfoot!

Mike  Presents: “Stories, Songs, Ships, and a Bridge”

Libraries, historical societies, senior centers, and tour groups have hosted award-winning presentations by Mackinaw City’s Mike Fornes. A member of the Historical Society of Michigan, Fornes has taken his programs to Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ontario and has been a guest speaker in more than 100 communities in Michigan. The author of five books, his 90-minute topics include:

• 101 Things That Happened on the Mackinac Bridge
• An entertaining historical perspective on the link between Michigan’s two peninsulas. Amazing photographs are linked to the stories of perseverance, politics, irony, humor, and tragedy on the five-mile span. If it happened on the Mackinac Bridge, you’ll see it and hear about it!
  

Past Performances:  Calumet Theater, the Braumart Theatre in Iron Mountain, the Ramsdell Theater in ?manistee, the northport Community Arts Center, the Cheboygan Opera House, the Ontonagon Theater, The Kirtland and Macomb Performing Arts Centers, the Charlotte Performing Arts Center, Adrian's Croswell Opera House, and ...the list could continues...

Reviews:

Five-piece band that replicates the songs, styles and moods of the Canadian singer-songwriter’s best!

Be ready for a visual, acoustic trip from the Great Lakes to the Canadian Rockies; through the pains of lost loves and haunting melodies.

“Both in audience numbers and in net proceeds, your concert has broken the record.” 

— Cheboygan Opera House, Cheboygan, Mich.

“A terrific concert! It was obvious that you had the audience wrapped around your little finger.” — Cheboygan Area Arts Council, Cheboygan, Mich.

“We were blown away by your Lightfoot concert and just couldn’t get over what a fantastic job you and the band did that night…a night we’ll never forget.” — Cadillac, Mich.

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was incredibly haunting. The whole show was just great!” — Petoskey, Mich.

“You not only sounded like Gordon Lightfoot, but you actually looked a lot like him too…we thought we were seeing and hearing the legend himself.” — Mackinaw City, Mich. 

“Lots of romantic ballads and fun songs among Lightfoot's list of hits … Music from the north - music from our culture, from our way of life.” — Cheboygan Daily Tribune.

“You were quite authentic in vocals and your instruments. Having seen Lightfoot many times I can honestly say that we thought it was him onstage.” — Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

“Mike’s vocal tones are very similar to Lightfoot’s … an amazing tribute!” — Michigan This Morning TV 9&10 News.

“WOW! What a truly magnificent performance … absolutely stunning.” — Traverse City, Mich.

“A tribute to the music and songs of Gordon Lightfoot.” — Gaylord Times Herald