Free Beer

FREE BEER AT COWLEY'S THIS FRIDAY MAY 8th
JEFF BROOKMYER'S BIRTHDAY

Seems like old times doesn't it? Free Beer at their favorite venue (Cowley's) on the first Friday of the month. Back in the day (pre 2016 "retirement") Free Beer was guaranteed to play at least 12 times a year at Cowley's, and usually a few more. You could count on us for the first Friday of each month plus a bonus gig or two like the Founder's' Festival or St. Patrick's Day ... and lately BeerMas.

Though we don't NEED an occasion to be coaxed out of "retirement", it certainly helps me write these little blurbs before each gig. Our official Free Beer occasion for this gig is Jeff Brookmyer, our Bass Player's Birthday. Jeff joined our band as our sixth bass player, playing his first gig back on 10/20/00 for our annual Hall O Ween Party at the Knights Of Columbus Berkley. He took a hiatus to form his own band "Two Hour Limit" ... that's when Dewey Larkin joined the band. But when Dewey left, Jeff jumped right back in. So he has been part of the Free Beer Universe for over 25 years! Holy cow!

So let's celebrate this Friday at Cowley's. We'll hit the stage around 9PM and play till about Midnight or so. Oh ... did I mention that it's also the week of Jim Edelman's birthday?!? So if celebrating Jeff's birthday on the first Friday of the month isn't enough incentive to come out and see us, then come out and celebrate Jim's birthday too!!

John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop.
https://johncowleyandsons.com/
(248) 474-5941
​https://www.facebook.com/johncowleyandsons

FREE BEER! SATURDAY 5/2! NORTHVILLE EAGLES!
Our 2026 Spring Tour Kickoff is DERBY DAY at Northville Eagles!!
It’s been a while since BeerMas. Now that Free Beer falls into the class of “Retired Bands” we have started acting like retirees!! Once the snow hits, half the band takes off for Florida and talks about nothing but the weather.
Now that Winter is “over”, we can start to think about playing music again.
We are kicking it off with gig at the Northville Eagles Hall. If you haven’t experienced it yet, the Northville Eagles has a great stable of bands playing all year long. They’ve invited Free Beer back to fill the Saturday May 2nd spot on the schedule.
Saturday May 2nd is DERBY DAY and the Eagles take it quite seriously!! The hall used to be in the shadow of Northville Downs so the history of horses runs deep. The Kentucky Derby starts at 6:30 PM (and ends at 6:02:03). Then FREE BEER hits the "Stage" right after at 7 PM, so this is an early night for y'all. We should have it all wrapped up by 11 PM. For those of you using an alcohol clock, that's 5 Mint Juleps).
Cover is $5 for members $10 for non members. Doors open at 3 PM, race 6:30 PM, Free Beer at 7 PM. In addition to all of THAT, they will be serving “Burgoo Stew” (whatever that is ) and Derby Dogs.
The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479

Free Beer at Cowley’s this Friday
First Friday of Fall
Final Friday of September

It’s important to remember your roots. This Friday, September 26, Free Beer is heading back to the place that made us famous (or whatever you call this), John Cowley and Sons Irish Pub in Downtown Farmington.

It’s the First Friday of Fall, keeping with our long running theme night, but the Final Friday of September.

Last week we were on the road in Oscoda, this week we are back home where we belong.

Make sure you check out the Upcoming Gigs section of this e-mail. You will see that we have revived another tradition ... BeerMas. Look for us to shower you with musical presents at Cowley’s on Saturday December 6th. Wear your ugliest sweater!

John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 8:30P and play well into the night, or whenever our sciatica starts acting up.

All set up at Three Cats Café in Clawson. It’s on 14 mile just west of Maine. Can’t wait to start playing at 6 PM. Early evening over by nine!

Full bar. Make reservations for dinner (if they are not sold out yet!!) or just enjoy the bar!

DINNER WITH THREE CATS IN CLAWSON
Three Cats Cafe @ Leon & Lulu
Friday June 6 @ 6PM (6/6@6)

​Free Beer has a gig at a new venue. We will be playing at the Three Cats Restaurant at Leon & Lulu in Clawson on Friday June 6 at 6PM.

How did this happen?

Leon and Lulu have long been purveyors of fine baubles and trinkets and are a big supporter of the local Clawson and Royal Oak communities. They recently posted that they were looking for local “Dad Bands” to come share their music on Wednesday nights at Three Cats, the restaurant build inside of the shop at Leon and Lulu for low pay and high reward. Sounds like a gig made in heaven for Free Beer!!

Free Beer guitar player and band founder Jim Edelman has some connections to Leon and Lulu through his TV show Under The Radar Michigan (PBS Thursday Nights at 8:30PM, Saturday Mornings at 10:30AM). He mentioned that Free Beer would like to participate and somehow Leon or Lulu gave us a coveted FRIDAY NIGHT slot in their concert series. Maybe reserved for Grand DAD Bands?

So, we’re going to do it. Not the normal First Friday Free Beer gig. We start early. 6PM. We end early. 9PM. There is no cover. If you would like to eat, reservations are recommended. Just call 248-288-4858. Or you can show up at the door between 6PM and 9PM and enjoy the “dinner set” from Free Beer.

Three Cats at Leon and Lulu is located on 14 Mile Road in beautiful downtown Clawson, just west of Main Street on the north side of 14 Mile Road. Just look for the old Clawson Theater marquee and you have found it. Shop, have a beer, grab a meal, choose something from the eclectic collection of items sold by Leon and Lulu and enjoy the dulcet tones of Free Beer.

Three Cats Café at Leon and Lulu is at 116 W 14 Mile Rd, Clawson, MI 48017. For a menu or to make reservations visit www.threecatscafe.com or opentable.com. There is free parking around the building or municipal lots across or down the street.

FREE BEER'S S-M-R-T SUMMER KICKOFF IN NORTHVILLE!
Northville Eagles Lodge
Saturday, May 17th

Summer has to start sometime, right? Well, just like you we don't want anything to get in the way of our Memorial Day getaway. So we booked our gig at the Northville Eagles the weekend BEFORE the first weekend of the summer. S-M-R-T huh?!?

We'll polish off all of our Summer songs, throw some sand down on the dance floor, inflate a few beach balls and grab a couple of fake palm trees to get the Eagles Hall looking less like a dark bar and more like beachside resort. See you then!

Due to the astronomical cost of having Free Beer play at your venue, The Northville Eagles have requested a $5.00 cover charge from members and a $10.00 cover charge from non members to defray the costs. Fair enough. Kick off your summer right with Free Beer on Saturday.

The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Street in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the Summer so you might want to take the first parking spot you see.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479

BEERMAS at the Northville Eagles!
Saturday, December 14th!!
It's the most wonderful time to drink beer! BeerMas, our annual made up holiday that we use as an excuse to get together with the ones we love and enjoy to play some songs and knock one back. The location has shifted around over time from The New Way Bar to the Library Pub to Cowley's and this year to The Northville Eagles Hall.
We were set to play at Cowley's on the 7th but our personal schedules got in the way and Cowley's couldn't fit us in. Thankfully the Eagles came through so we can celebrate the most important holiday on the Free Beer calendar with you again this year.
We don't often practice but we do for this show since we are playing all of our Holiday classics along with the songs we already know. That takes practice!! The band has been rolling along for over 30 years now and this is just our way of saying Thank You as another great Free Beer Year comes to a close.

The Northville Eagle Aerie 2504 is located at 113 South Center Streer in Northville MI. It is right downtown and there is a parking structure directly behind it. Northville gets busy during the holiday season so you might want to take the first parking spot you see. Typically it is $10 for non members and $5 for members but the Eagles felt the holiday spirit and waived the members fee for this special performance.
www.facebook.com/northville.eagles2504/
(248) 349-2479

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Free Beer Tonight! John Cowley & Sons

The free Beer boys are taking over the Mai Tiki Resort on September 21st!

Come see us play on the beach in Oscoda!

It’s always a great time! There are some great rooms at Tiki, so if you want to stay at the resort, you need to book a 2 night minimum (Fri and Sat). 989-739-9971.

See you at Tiki Beer ‘24!!

Free Beer is back John Cowley & Sons on Saturday September 28th. Get the details here!! https://www.facebook.com/FreeBeerMichigan

Free Beer Free Beer is a band that plays music that other people like to dance to. Bars employ this "service" since it makes said people thirsty and said people always drink more when Free Beer plays.

Free Beer BACK AT COWLEY’S!!
Saturday, September 28th

As most of you know, Free Beer “retireded” as a “working band” a few years back. Instead of 50 to 70 gigs a year we have reduced our workload down to 2 or 3 gigs a year, mostly based on our desire to play music. No other agenda. Not trying to build an fanbase. Not trying to make money. Not trying to be the best Free Beer of all of the Free Beer bands around the country, heck THE WORLD. We have nothing to prove. It’s just for fun and our friend's enjoyment. But we are not saying you can’t come and see us if you are not a member of the band or a friend of the band, or a friend of a friend of ... you get it, right?

Actually, this is our way of letting you know that we ARE going to play music, and we DO want you to come see us. If you have only heard the legend of Free Beer but have never seen the band, this is our call to you. If you saw us in our infancy back in the early 1990’s, come see us now. It will be an interesting juxtaposition. If you used to come to our monthly “First Friday” gigs at Cowley’s and miss it as much as we do, then this is the Free Beer Bat-Signal across the night sky.

If you are wondering ”Why do I keep getting these posts from Free Beer?” maybe it’s because you know our singer , or our guitar player , or our Keyboard player . Maybe you know bass player or drummer and just were not aware they were in a self legendary cover band from Detroit called Free Beer! They are!!

So come see us. Free Beer plays at Cowley and Sons Irish Pub at the corner of Grand River and Farmington Road in Downtown Farmington on Saturday September 28th. The LAST Saturday of the month instead of the First Friday. You might have a great time. At least, you will likely not regret it.

John Cowley and Sons Pub is located at 33338 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48336. Park in the back. We play upstairs. We go on about 9:00P. We play until someone tells us to stop.


www.freebeernet.com