Great Lakes Center for the Arts to kick off celebratory summer programming with Cory Wong

BAY HARBOR — The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is in the midst of celebrating its five year anniversary and is set to kick off summer this Sunday, May 29.

The kick off show will feature funk guitarist and Grammy nominated musician and producer Cory Wong, who is a soloist, has a band backing and who is also known as a member of both Vulfpeck and the Fearless Flyers, who have Michigan roots.

The News-Review interviewed Wong about his multi-faceted music career and upcoming performance at the center. Here's what he had to say.

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"Meeting the guys in Vulfpeck seemed quite serendipitous. They came out to a club called Bunkers in Minneapolis to see the band I was in at the time. We connected and became friends that night, and eventually just started hanging out anytime we were in the same city," Wong said.

"Eventually Jack (the band leader of Vulfpeck) started inviting me to more and more things and eventually just kind of absorbed me into the band. Michigan is an incredible place, and the band formed in Ann Arbor, so obviously there's a lot of Michigan roots and Midwestern feel to the band. I'm the only one that didn't go to University of Michigan, I went to the University of Minnesota. So, technically, we still consider it a 'U of M' band."

Wong has previously performed in Michigan. One of his very first "Cory Wong" shows was at Michigan Tech in Houghton.

"It was around the time that I started doing some of my own music and one of the student directors reached out to ask me to come play," he said.

Wong has since performed as a sideman for other musicians and has a love for the Mitten State; primarily Grand Rapids.

"Paw Paw Park is one of my favorite disc golf courses in the country and I've always been big on MadCap coffee," he said.

Wong has had a long and prosperous music career with his Grammy nomination, performances across the globe, dozens of record releases and shared performances with the likes of Jon Batiste, Dav Koz, Billy Strings and more.

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He credits his music upbringing and gateway to funk to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who he claims has a lot of funk and R&B in their playing.

"It's that but with punk rock energy," he said.

"They got me interested in other bands like The Funkadelic, Earth Wind and Fire and of course Prince. Growing up in Minneapolis it's just kind of in the water. A lot of the bands that I played with as a teenager and in my early 20's had members of Prince's band in them. That upbringing in the Minneapolis music scene really helped me form the way I play and feel funk music," Wong added.

Those interested can get a feel for Wong's funk and high energy live show this coming weekend on Sunday, May 29.

Wong says he's excited to be performing in Petoskey and that the audience can expect a "high energy live show."

"My live show is high energy and a lot of fun. We strive for the highest level of excellence in musicality but don't take ourselves too seriously, but it's a lot of energy and high firepower," he said.

Tickets toWong's upcoming show at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts on Sunday are currently for sale starting at $30 with varying prices dependent on seating. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.

Tickets and more information are available on the center's website at www.greatlakescfa.org/events/detail/cory-wong.

Contact reporter Sean Miller at smiller@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @seanmillerpnr, and Instagram, @sean_everest.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Cory Wong to kick off Great Lakes Center for the Arts summer