The Tuesday night series spotlighting local and regional acts kicked off with a packed Meijer Gardens amphitheater for “Family Appreciation Night.”
Cross-Generational Collaboration: Students from The Piano Cottage joined Afro Zuma on Tuesday. (Photo/Tori Thomas)
By David Specht
LocalSpins.com
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It’s not often that the term “cute” comes to mind when describing a performance at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
Then again, it’s not every day that the kids of The Piano Cottage – a Grand Rapids-based music academy – take the stage in the 1,900-seat amphitheater, which just so happened to be the case this week during the Tuesday Evening Music Club’s first-ever interactive Family Appreciation Night.
Stars in the Making (Photo/Tori Thomas)
“These are by far the cutest musicians we’ve ever shared the stage with,” announced Jen Wilson of Afro Zuma, a 12-piece Afro-beat ensemble that not only headlined the performance on Tuesday but also collaborated with the children, vocally and percussion-wise, throughout the evening.
For the past decade, the amphitheater known for pulling in legendary acts such as Santana also has hosted local and regional acts on Tuesday nights in July and August, presenting them at reduced ticket cost (regular Meijer Gardens admission of $12 for adults) and in more relaxed fashion (no height restrictions on chairs).
Tuesday’s opening show of 2014’s Tuesday Evening Music Club series began with an interactive traditional African/Afro-Cuban drum performance hosted by Grand Rapids-based WaZoBia. After that, dozens of students accompanied by their instructors from The Piano Cottage rushed the stage, bringing with them an array of covers from The Beatles to Earth, Wind & Fire to Pharrell Williams.
Grand Rapids’ Afro Zuma, formed four years ago, also had no shortage of talent, managing to round up all 12 members of the group for a quick and exhilarating set.
The first Tuesday Evening Music Club of the season drew a huge crowd. (Photo/Tori Thomas)
Weaving together the sounds of jazz, rock, funk and a range of influences drawn from each member’s unique musical background, while also paying homage to traditional Afro-beat artists, Afro Zuma packed the exact sound that landed the band “Album of the Year” honors at the 2014 WYCE-FM Jammie Awards. Seamlessly running through a handful of fresh tunes, as well as a few award-winning classics including “Together,” the outfit kept the audience, themselves, and, most importantly, the children grooving.
Afro Zuma closed its set with socially conscious tunes, joined by the children of The Piano Cottage Piano as backup vocalists and clappers.
“When I heard the kids from The Piano Cottage the first few times, I was blown away by the pure talent,” Wilson said afterward, moments before a gang of children huddled around her in hopes of sharing a few words. “Some of them are more talented than I’ll ever be. It makes me think to myself ‘What was I doing when I was nine years old?’ Clearly not enough.”
Next up for the Tuesday Evening Music Club: singer-songwriter Matt Gabriel and Americana duo The Mickeys. For a full schedule, see this Local Spins story.
TUESDAY EVENING MUSIC CLUB: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tori Thomas (Click on photo to enlarge gallery)
Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
