Good morning, lakeshore. This is the calm before the storm, and not the bad kind. Highs sit in the low 80s all weekend, Lake Michigan is swimmable and easy, and the humidity hasn't shown up to ruin it yet. Enjoy it while it lasts, because next week the heat really turns up. Tonight kicks off Bolt Park's Tuesday concert series, the Muskegon South Pierhead Lighthouse opens for tours Friday through Monday, and we found out this issue that Muskegon has a real claim to one of the most famous songs of World War II. Issue 13 has everything you need to make the most of it.

In this week’s Lowdown:

Let’s get into it.

- Sam Johnson, The Lakeshore Lowdown

Muskegon Bike Time turns 20 this year, and it lands July 15 through 19 at Hot Rod Harley-Davidson downtown. If you have lived here a while, you already know what that means. If you are new, buckle up.

This started small back in 2007 and now pulls in six figures worth of visitors every summer. For five days, downtown fills with bikes lined up curb to curb, live music every night, and a crowd that treats the whole thing like a reunion more than a rally. Camping sets up right on site for riders who want to stay close to the action.

Same week, Rebel Road runs its own version a few blocks over on Western Ave, with proceeds going to the Child Abuse Council of Muskegon County. Two events, one wild week downtown.

Concert lineups for the main stage are not locked yet, the festival page still says "coming soon" for Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. We will have those names for you the moment they post.

Whether you ride or just like to watch, block off July 15 through 19. Muskegon gets loud that week, in the best way.

This weekend rides right along the same warm stretch we've been in. Saturday comes in mostly sunny and dry, high near 82, with an overnight low dropping to 64. Sunday holds just as warm at 82 but turns more humid, sunshine mixing with a few clouds and lows near 67. Rain chances sit low both days, right around 18 percent, so plan outdoor time without much worry.

Lake Michigan is sitting close to 69°F, easing down slightly toward the upper 60s by the weekend. That is comfortable, swim-ready water, not a shock when you go in. Winds stay light out of the northwest Saturday and southwest Sunday, in the 6 to 8 mph range, so conditions at Pere Marquette and the Grand Haven piers should stay calm and easy both days.

The verdict: This is a genuinely great beach weekend, warm without being brutal yet. Get out and enjoy it before the humidity really sets in.

7 Day Glance: The heat holds steady into next week, low to mid 80s through Wednesday, but humidity climbs noticeably as the week goes on. Expect a muggier feel by Tuesday and Wednesday even with plenty of sun. A rain chance moves in Friday morning, mostly light and passing, before things dry back out for the following weekend. Morning hours will be your most comfortable window once the humidity really kicks in.

Weather sourced from the National Weather Service the day prior to this issue.

Tonight kicks off the Sounds of Summer series at Bolt Park in Grand Haven, 7 PM, free, with HyRdr taking the stage. Grab a chair and call it your Tuesday.

Thursday brings something you don't see everywhere. The Grand Haven Beach Vault returns to Grand Haven State Park, an afternoon of pole vaulting right on the sand with the lake as a backdrop. Worth a drive over even if you've never watched vaulting in your life.

Saturday, Merchants and Makers sets up at Chinook Pier from 9 to 4, over 100 local vendors along the riverfront plus food trucks and live music. It's become the "Etsy in person" of the lakeshore, and this stretch of summer is when it's at its best.

And if you've lived here your whole life and still haven't climbed it, the Muskegon South Pierhead Lighthouse is open for tours this weekend, Friday through Monday, 1 to 5 PM. Fifty-four steps up a 1903 tower for a view of the channel you don't get anywhere else, with docents on hand telling the actual history instead of the tourist version.

Grand Haven Free Fridays brings Molly to the Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium this Friday, July 10th, free and outdoors from 6 to 8:30. Good one to close out the week on.

Over at BoDocks on Muskegon Lake, Plain Jane Glory takes the dock Saturday from 7 to 10, always a reliable pick if you've caught them before. Sunset views from that marina hit different.

Down at Pere Marquette, The Deck keeps its nightly beach lineup going. Harry Dean and the Dusty Boys play tonight, Tuesday, at 6, toes in the sand while the sun goes down.

Conditions stay easy again this week, calm enough that Muskegon Lake and the channel out to Lake Michigan are wide open for anything you want to do out there. Kayaks and paddleboards have had a good run lately, and this stretch keeps that going, mornings especially before any afternoon boat traffic picks up. If you've got a boat sitting in the driveway instead of the water, this is the week to fix that.

For the anglers: King salmon are starting to show back up out on the big lake, mixing in with coho, steelhead, and lake trout for anyone trolling deeper water. Closer to shore, smallmouth bass fishing has been strong on both the Muskegon and Grand Rivers thanks to the recent warm stretch, and topwater action has been good in the mornings. If you're chasing browns or rainbows on the river, get out early, water temps are already climbing into the upper 60s.

Runway views just got a breakfast spot. A new café opened this spring inside the Muskegon County Airport terminal, filling a space that sat empty for nine years. It is a small thing, but there is something genuinely fun about watching planes land over coffee and eggs on a Tuesday morning.

If you are in Muskegon Wednesday, Legends Bar & Grill runs Wine on Western from 4 to 9, a 9oz pour priced like a 6oz, paired with a small-plates menu built for grazing. Good excuse to make a weeknight feel like a plan.

Over in Grand Haven, Snug Harbor keeps doing what it has done for 30 years on the Grand River, and the lobster roll is still the move. Grab a seat on the 80-seat deck, or head upstairs to Jelly's for a tiki bar pour with the same river view.

The Clippers are rolling. Muskegon exploded for 17 runs against Flag City on July 2nd, an 11-run sixth inning doing most of the damage, and the win pushed the club above .500 for the first time all season. Isaiah Domey and Nick Moss both went deep, and Andrew Pohlmann picked up the win on the mound. They're back at Marsh Field tonight for a doubleheader against Southern Ohio, and if the bats keep doing what they've been doing, it's worth the trip out.

Worth noting for the high school crowd: North Muskegon's Ben Meyers has been a steady bat in the Clippers lineup all summer, a nice reminder of how many local names cycle through that roster every year.

On the Grand Haven side, the Young Bucs football program already has its eye on fall, with practice fields booked starting the week of August 18th ahead of the September opener. Early, but it's on the calendar.

If you have ever needed a bike tuned up in a hurry before a weekend ride, chances are someone pointed you toward Breakaway Bicycles & Fitness. They run two shops, one in Grand Haven and one in Muskegon, and between the two of them they have picked up the local People's Choice Award sixteen years running. That kind of streak does not happen by accident. The staff will talk you through a repair instead of just handing you a bill, and if you are visiting without your own ride, they rent bikes by the day so you can still get out on the trails. Come winter they pivot to cross-country ski gear, so really they just keep the lakeshore moving no matter the season.

Next time you walk past the USS LST 393 downtown, look for the bronze statue of a soldier mid-note on a bugle. That is Clarence Zylman, and Muskegon has a real claim to one of the most famous songs of World War II.

Zylman was born in Muskegon in 1906, left high school early to chase music, and trained on the streets of Chicago before touring the country as a jazz trumpeter helping to pioneer the boogie woogie sound. When he enlisted in the Army in 1942, he became a bugler, playing reveille with the same swing he brought to a bandstand. Soldiers in his company got out of bed to a wake-up call that sounded nothing like anyone else's.

Stars and Stripes and Billboard both named him as the inspiration behind the Andrews Sisters' wartime hit about a trumpet man from Chicago who gets drafted and turns reveille into something the whole company remembers. The timeline is a little fuzzy since Zylman enlisted after the song was already a hit, but Muskegon has never let a good detail like that get in the way of a good story.

Sculptor Ari Norris, a Muskegon native himself, cast the statue in 2018. It has stood ever since as a quiet reminder that this town has always known how to make some noise.

Get out on the water while it's calm, catch a show at The Deck or BoDocks, and go climb that lighthouse if you haven't yet.

We’ll see you Friday.

-The Lakeshore Lowdown
Email: [email protected]