A 48-year family event has been cancelled for the 2026 season due to site logistics.
What began in 1976 at the new Kiwanis Gazebo has seen over 400 concerts (including Iggy Pop, MC5, the Contours, Steve King and the Dittlies, and Moose and da sharks, U.S. Army Band and U.S. Marine Band), $1 million in local sponsorships, and over 800,000 attendees, has been put on hold for the 2026 season.
The concerts had been held at the Mill Pond Gazebo (and later the AMP) until four years ago when the Main Street upgrades reduced the seating area at the park, limited the classic car parking on the street, and the fees the City of Brighton was charging to close Main Street. In 2023, The concerts moved to Brighton High School, which provided great onsite parking, convenient rest rooms, and room for parking 225 classic cars. The new location was successful in attendance and popularity.
In January 2026, BAS Superintendent Matt Outlaw informed Kiwanis of an agreement between BAS and the Pine Creek Homeowners Association that prohibited non-school events on Sundays at the athletic field area. An agreement dated 2011 had been made to allow for the expansion of the current football field and support areas, and prior to January, Outlaw was not aware of it.
Brighton Kiwanis started to look at alternate locations for the 2026 season to continue the family event, including Mt. Brighton, which would require special use permitting. The process would not allow Kiwanis to secure a location for the concerts for 2026.
Kiwanis is considering a series of indoor concerts with many of the bands that would perform on Sundays. Updated information will be found on the Brighton Kiwanis Facebook page.
The concerts and car show provided free music, as well as $350,000 given back to the community in service projects, scholarships, programs for Brighton Schools (both public and private), American flags on Main Street, funding for the Child Life Department at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, and Mill Pond Park improvements.
