If you live Up North and you want to see big-name musicians live, you often have to drive to Grand Rapids or Detroit. That’s because it’s difficult – and expensive – to get popular artists to travel so far out of their way.
But 50 years ago, a small teen nightclub in Harbor Springs was drawing acts like the Beach Boys and Roy Orbison. Club Ponytail was a major hot spot for young people all over northern Michigan until it burned down in 1969.
On Thursday night, a group of fans will get together for a Club Ponytail reunion party, complete with 60s music, dinner and dancing. They’ll also hear the story of the club from local historian Rick Wiles. Wiles spoke with IPR's Aaron Selbig about how a small nightclub way Up North became a well-known stop for the biggest musicians of the day.