Winter Concert Series

White Gull Inn winter concerts feature contemporary and traditional folk and bluegrass artists from all over the country, who perform in an intimate and acoustic setting in the White Gull dining room. The concerts are held approximately once a month in winter, usually on Wednesday nights. Each 7:30 PM concert is preceded by an optional 5:30 PM dinner, featuring a special fixed price menu prepared by the chef, which varies each month.

The Special Consensus
Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $35

We are excited to welcome back this Grammy-nominated bluegrass band celebrating its 50th year of performing, touring, and recording.  The Special Consensus continues to deliver a vibrant contemporary bluegrass sound deeply rooted in tradition.  The band released a brand-new album, Been All Around This World, on Compass Records in June.  Led by Founder and banjo player Greg Cahill, a recipient of the prestigious International Bluegrass Music Associatioon (IBMA) Distinguished Achievement Award and an inductee into the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Hall of Greats, Special Consensus has been a cornerstone of the bluegrass community for five decades.  The group has released 22 acclaimed recordings, earned nine IBMA awards (including 2023 and 2025 Male Vocalist of the Year by guitarist Greg Blake) and two Grammy nominations – a testament to their enduring artistry and innovation.  In addition to Cahill and Blake, the band also features Brian McCarty on vocals and mandolin, and newest member Nico Humby on vocals and bass.

Special Consensus is well known to Door County audiences, having performed at the Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek Concerts in the Park series and previous sold out shows at the White Gull.

Optional fixed price dinner served at 5:30 PM. Santa Fe Stew (Pork, black bean and sweet potato), cornbread, Southwestern Salad with romaine lettuce, red pepper, sweet corn, avocado and tomato in a cilantro ranch dressing, Apple Crisp for dessert. $28.95

Ellis Paul
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $35

Ellis Paul doesn’t just write songs; he’s a guitar-carrying reporter who covers the human condition and details the hopes, loves, losses of those he observes, turning their stories into luminous pieces of music that get under your skin and into your bloodstream. And much like the artists who have influenced him, everyone from Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to the singer-songwriter who is undoubtedly his greatest inspiration, Woody Guthrie, Paul weaves deeply personal experiences with social issues and renders them as provocative works that are as timely as they are timeless.

Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship and in the evenings became a fixture on the city’s open mic circuit. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught the ear of folk luminary Bill Morrissey, who produced his indie album Say Something in 1993. This led to a seven-album contract with Rounder Records and the 1994 album, Stories. His songs have appeared in several blockbuster films (Me, Myself, and Irene; Shallow Hal, Hall Pass) and have been covered by award winning country artists (Sugarland, Kristian Bush, Jack Ingram). Through a steady succession of albums of his own – a remarkable 23 releases so far – and a constant touring presence around the world, Paul’s audience has grown into a loyal legion of fans. Along the way, he has picked up an impressive number of awards including the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, 15 Boston Music Awards, An Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maine, the 2019 International Acoustic Music Awards Artist of the Year and most recently his album, The Storyteller’s Suitcase, was named the 2019 NERFA Album of the Year. His new album “55” touches on the necessity of gratitude in a difficult era of the pandemic and divided political stances on his own imprint, Rosella Records.

Optional fixed price dinner served at 5:30 PM.  Menu: Shepherd’s Pie, Salad with spinach, pear, and toasted walnut salad in a sherry vinaigrette, Cranberry Pie for dessert. $28.95

Showman & Coole
Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $35

Through twenty years and a couple of thousand shows together in bands such as The Foggy Hogtown Boys and The Lonesome Ace Stringband, John Showman and Chris Coole have developed a deep and instinctual musical bond.  Their music lurks in a truly unique space that is somewhere on the outskirts of old-time, bluegrass, and folk. The songs of John Hartford, Hank Williams, Dock Boggs, and The Band share space with the fiddle tunes of Eck Robertson and Ed Haley. The duo’s original songs and tunes take in all these vistas and paint something both personal and timely. 

They have performed across North America and Europe at festivals such as Merlefest, Rockygrass, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Mariposa, Wintergrass, Gooikroots, and The John Hartford Memorial Festival. In 2022, the duo released two albums; “ Afield” a collection of old-time fiddle tunes, and  “Much Further Out than Inevitable – A Tribute to Some Music of John Hartford.” 

Optional fixed price dinner served at 5:30 PM. Menu:  Guinness braised short ribs served over mashed potatoes, Winter Salad with roasted butternut squash, pumpkins seeds, and Sartori black pepper Bellavitano cheese tossed in sherry vinaigrette, and Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake for dessert. $28.95

The White Gull Concert Series Turns 42

In 1983, on a cold November evening, a small group of Door County visitors and residents gathered at a local inn, enjoying the first of what has become a popular tradition: monthly winter folk concerts. During this time, more than 175 talented folk singers and songwriters from all over the country have performed at the White Gull Inn.

The concerts were conceived by the Innkeeper Andy Coulson, a banjo player himself and lover of traditional and contemporary folk music. Coulson was frustrated by the lack of live entertainment during the long quiet Door County winters. The first concerts were loosely based on the "house concert" concept, in which traveling folk musicians, often on tight budgets and in need of work, are invited into the homes of fans along the route of their travels. The fans provide the musician with food and lodging in return for a concert to a small group of friends, often right in their living rooms. A collection at the door goes to the artist to help defray expenses.

The house concert circuit has provided work and travel expenses for generations of singers and brought folk music to many rural areas that are too small to otherwise provide such entertainment. "I wasn't sure who would come to a concert on a weekday in winter in Fish Creek," Coulson recalls thinking in the beginning. "But we had plenty of room and board , and figured that we had nothing to lose. At the very least, we'd have some quality folk music in Fish Creek."

In the beginning, it was not easy finding artists willing to come so far for such a small turnout. However, as word got around, more and more musicians decided that a "working holiday" in the quiet beauty of the Door Peninsula was worth the trek to the north country. The series has gradually been able to attract in more and more well known performers, such as Anne Hills, Ruth Moody, Chris Smither, Tom Paxton and Cheryl Wheeler, many of whom normally play in much larger halls.

The pre-concert dinners, now almost as popular as the concerts, were added in recent years at the request of local residents. White Gull chefs responded by offering an optional fixed price dinner, served at 5:30 pm for each concert.

Concert tickets can be purchased at the door, although most concerts are sold out, so advance ticket purchase and reservations for the pre-concert dinners are recommended. You may purchase tickets at the White Gull front desk, or you can do it by phone, using a credit card.

Folk Musicians Previously Featured at the White Gull
Date: 1983-2024

Musicians who have appeared in the White Gull folk concert series in the 42 seasons since its inception in 1983: Tom Paxton, Cheryl Wheeler, John McCuen, Bob Gibson, John McCutcheon, Chris Smither, Michael Smith, Bill Miller, Fred Alley, Vance Gilbert, Neal & Leandra, Lou and Peter Berryman, Michael Johnson, Garnet Rogers, Pat Donohue, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Joel Mabus, David Mallett, Suzzy and Maggie Roche, Cindy Mangsen and Steve Gillette, Bill Staines, Buddy Mondlock, Bryan Bowers, Peter Keane, Mark Dvorak, Anne Hills, Willy Porter, Michael Miles, Bob Bovee and Gail Heil, Jim Hurst and Missy Raines, Dave Moore, Cathie Ryan, Small Potatoes, Matt Watroba, Peter Mayer, Kenny White, Natalia Zukerman, Eric Lewis, Tommy Burroughs, Andy Ratliff, Hans Christian, David Roth, Brooks Williams, Steppin In It with Rachel Davis, James Keelaghan, Chuck Pyle, L. J. Booth, Johnsmith, Dan Sebranek, Clay Riness, Tom Pease, Louise Taylor, Christopher Shaw and Bridget Ball, Mark Dvorak, Priscilla Herdman, Claudia Schmidt, Moe Dixon, Susan Smentek, Heartwood, Cosy Sheridan, Becky Schlegel, Don Stiernberg, Victoria Vox, Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin, Michael Johnathon, May Erlewine and Seth Bernard, Peter Mulvey, Jonathan Byrd, Jerry Rau, The Special Consensus, Phil Passen and Highland Road, Antje Duvekot, the Waymores, the Honey Dewdrops, David Wilcox, The Steel Wheels, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, Paul Cebar, Dayna Kurtz, Kelly Joe Phelps, Count This Penny, Carolyn Martin, the Stray Birds, Molly O'Brien and Rich Moore, Nora Jane Struthers and the Party Line, Rita Hosking, Red Molly, Jake Armerding, Tim Grimm, Mipso, 10 String Symphony, Robbie Fulks, The String Ties, Molly Tuttle Band, Scott Cook, Ruth Moody Band, Robinson & Rohe, Harmonious Wail, Claire Lynch Band, Freddy & Francine, Susan Gibson, Mile Twelve, Joshua Davis, and April Verch Band, Slocan Ramblers, Third Coast Bluegrass, Nick Dumas & Branchline, Western Flyers, Joe Newberry & Kenny White and Christine Lavin.

The concerts are held approximately once a month, November through April, beginning at 7:30 pm, after an optional dinner served at 5:30 pm.