There's a stretch of every lake day that nobody plans for. The kids are out of the water. Everybody's sun-tired. Dinner isn't ready. It's too early to call it a night and too late to start anything new.
On select evenings at Chesnut Bay Resort, that stretch has a soundtrack.
Live music happens right here on property, a short walk from the resort homes, and it's included with your stay. No tickets, no cover, no drive into town. You wander over, you find a spot, and the awkward part of the day turns into the part everybody remembers.
Is live music free at Chesnut Bay Resort?
Yes. All concerts are included for resort guests at no extra charge. If you're staying with us, you're on the list.
One honest note before you get too attached to the idea: live music here is scheduled entertainment, not a nightly fixture. Shows land on select dates through the warm season, usually tied to weekends and holidays. If hearing a band is a must for your trip, pick your dates around the schedule rather than hoping for the best.
The 2026 season, start to finish
The 2026 lineup ran from Cinco de Mayo through Labor Day. Here's how it played out:
| Date | Performer | Set time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, May 5 | Double Portion | 5:00 to 7:00 PM |
| Friday, May 22 | Double Portion | 5:00 to 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 23 | Double Portion | 3:00 to 5:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 13 | Ryan Lang | 6:00 to 9:00 PM |
| Friday, June 19 | Local Honey | 6:00 to 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, July 4 | Double Portion | 6:00 to 8:00 PM |
| Friday, July 24 | Brayden Stewart | 7:00 to 9:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 22 | Saltwater Cowboy Entertainment | 1:00 to 4:00 PM |
| Monday, September 7 | Double Portion | 5:00 to 7:00 PM |
A few things that table tells you.
Holidays are the safest bet. Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July and Labor Day all got shows in 2026. If you're building a trip around a long weekend anyway, the odds are in your favor.
Set times move around. Most evening sets landed somewhere in the 5:00 to 9:00 PM range, which is exactly the window a lake day needs filling. But not all of them. The August 22 poolside set with Saltwater Cowboy Entertainment ran from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Check the time along with the date.
The lineup has range. Double Portion is a twin brother duo playing pop, rock, oldies and Christian favorites, and they're the most familiar face on the calendar. Ryan Lang brings Southern soul and acoustic country. Local Honey is a husband-and-wife duo, Jake and Taylor Johnson, working a country-blues-gospel blend. Brayden Stewart plays straight-ahead country. Saltwater Cowboy Entertainment is the outlier and the fun one: Jimmy Buffett-style island sets, tropical props and all.
Dates and performers change every season, so treat the table above as a picture of what a typical summer looks like rather than a promise about next year.
What a show night actually feels like
It's outdoors, it's casual, and it's built for families. Nobody's checking wristbands at a stage door. People drift over from their homes, kids run around, somebody's grilling. The music is the reason everyone's in the same place, not the thing you have to sit still and pay attention to.
Bring a chair if you like having one. Bring the cooler. Bring the dog if the dog is having a good day.
Quiet time at the resort starts at 10:00 PM, and outdoor music wraps well before that, which is worth knowing if you've got small kids on a bedtime or you're the one who wants to be asleep by ten.
How to plan your dates around a show
If live music is a priority, the sequence is simple.
- Check the schedule first. Look at the live music page before you look at the calendar. There are fewer show dates than there are weekends.
- Book the night of the show plus one. Shows run into the evening, and nobody wants to drive home from a concert. Arriving the day before also means you get a full lake day first.
- Watch for holiday weekends. They carry the most reliable programming and the most going on around the resort in general.
- Confirm the time. An afternoon set changes how you plan lunch and the waterpark. An evening set doesn't.
The rest of the day, handled
Live music is two or three hours. The rest of the day is Weiss Lake.
You've got 30,200 acres of water out front, known well enough for crappie that people plan whole trips around it. There's a swim beach, pools, kayaks, walking trails and Pirates Bay Waterpark just steps away, though waterpark admission is a separate fee from your stay.
If you want to leave the property, Cherokee Rock Village and Little River Canyon are both close enough for a morning trip and back before an evening set. Centre is the nearest town of any size for supplies. Gadsden is an easy drive for dinner or a bigger grocery run, and Birmingham is roughly an hour out, which is why so many of our guests here are weekenders rather than long-haul travelers.
Coming from out of town
Chesnut Bay Resort sits at 4480 County Road 44 in Leesburg, Alabama, on the Cherokee County side of Weiss Lake. Birmingham is about an hour. Atlanta, Chattanooga and Huntsville are all within a comfortable half-day. That makes a show night a very reasonable Friday-to-Sunday plan rather than a production.
Worth saying plainly: the concerts are a guest perk, not a public venue. The resort is private and gated, and the music is part of what you get when you stay.
Questions we get
Is live music free at Chesnut Bay Resort? Yes. All concerts are included for resort guests at no extra charge.
Is there live music every night? No. Shows are scheduled on select dates, mostly weekends and holidays through the warm season. Check the schedule before booking if music is central to your trip.
What kind of music is it? Mostly acoustic, country, Southern rock and easy-listening sets, with the occasional island-themed poolside DJ. Family-friendly across the board.
Do I need tickets? No tickets and no reservations for the show itself. You just need to be staying at the resort.
Can I come just for the concert? Chesnut Bay Resort is private and gated. The concerts are for guests staying on property.
What time do shows end? Most wrap by 9:00 PM. Quiet time at the resort begins at 10:00 PM.
Are you booking performers? Yes. If you're a solo act, duo or full band, there's an inquiry form on the live music page.
Pick a date with a band on it
The best version of a lake weekend is the one where you didn't have to plan the good part. Somebody else booked the band, set up the speakers and put it fifty yards from your front door.
Check the live music schedule, find a date that works, and book your lake home. We'll handle the soundtrack.
Questions about a specific date? Call us at (256) 526-7778.