ArtPrize dominated the entertainment landscape in its final week, but there was some boffo music to be found in the Grand Rapids area if you knew where to find it. Local Spins did.
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The flurry that is ArtPrize can sometimes distract and detract from Grand Rapids’ array of live music options, especially during the art competition’s final week.
That competition seemed to affect turnout for some performances this week at The Eddy music festival and a few shows at other venues.
But that didn’t seem to faze the performers themselves, who churned out singularly dynamic sets across the board:
• American WiFi and Big Sherb kicked off WOOD TV 8’s Talsma Concert Series on Wednesday at Rosa Parks Circle, followed by performances Thursday from Tony Lucca and Lucas Wilson & The Bad Disciples and Friday from Kalamazoo-bred Matt Giraud and his band (leading up to announcement of this year’s big ArtPrize winners).
• In a crowd-pleasing early show that was moved from The Eddy across the street, Billy Strings and Mark Lavengood churned up a bluegrass storm for a jam-packed SpeakEZ Lounge as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series, followed by a full night of blues from Hank Mowery & The Hawktones.
• New York “dirty funk” band TAUK, along with West Michigan’s Desmond Jones and Pleasant Drive, powered up The Stache inside The Intersection for a bevy of jam-band fans.
• The same night, Detroit’s Flint Eastwood, plus MPV and hi-ker, played a celebration of Michigan House – which sponsored a pop-up venue during ArtPrize – at The Pyramid Scheme.
• Thursday was “Wanderers Night” at Founders Brewing, with California psych-rock’s The Tumbleweed Wanderers and Chicago bluegrass outfit The Way Down Wanderers on stage.
• Valentiger led the way, with I Believe in Julio, TART and Zach Vinson combining efforts for an unprecedented combo of regional bands at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on Thursday.
• Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and The Go Rounds played to a small but effervescent group of fans at The Eddy on Friday night, a show that was moved into the music festival’s tented Silent Disco. The Go Rounds followed this up by performing at a late-night Grand Rapids house concert. (Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers and Vox Vidorra play The Eddy tonight. Ticket info online here.)
PHOTO GALLERY 1: TALSMA CONCERT SERIES
American WiFi, Big Sherb photos by Anthony Norkus
Matt Giraud photos by Tori Thomas
PHOTO GALLERY 2
Billy Strings, Hank Mowery, TAUK, Desmond Jones, Flint Eastwood, Tumbleweed Wanderers, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, The Go Rounds photos by Anna Sink