LadyFest GR with The Blow and more took over The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday, but the weekend also featured Uncle Kracker’s return to Grand Rapids, Lindsay Lou’s final show for three months and a Traverse City duo igniting One Trick Pony.
Spring has sprung, though it’s liable to take lots more springing to shrink some of those gargantuan snowpiles across West Michigan.
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Local and national acts were doing their best to speed all that melting by heating things up over the weekend with dynamic shows, capture in images by Local Spins and fans:
• LadyFest GR took over The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday with workshops and a host of performances, including Brooklyn electro-pop duo The Blow, DJ Lynnee Denise, Lady Ace Boogie and Nobody’s Darlin’.
• Detroit’s Uncle Kracker returned to The Intersection on Friday to regale about 700 fans, with Lansing’s Brian Lorente and the Usual Suspects opening the show.
• Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys wrapped up essentially a year of hectic touring with a display of Michigan-styled bluegrass for a packed house at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday. It’s the band’s final show for three months, as members take a hiatus from touring. They’ll be back at it again this summer.
• Young Traverse City duo The Accidentals, which appeared on Local Spins Live earlier in the week, showed off its mettle and electrified the crowd at One Trick Pony on Thursday night, with Savannah Buist and Katie Larson displaying impressive versatility and musical maturity as they performed rootsy, indie-folk originals and covers with help from Afro Zuma percussionist Jake Castillo. Watch some video highlights below. The girls were on their way to shows in Indiana and Tennessee. (Read more about them in this Local Spins Artist Spotlight.)
• Roots-rocking, post-funking St. Joseph band SlimGypsyBaggage descended upon Rockford Brewing to kick off the weekend there.
• A who’s who lineup of West Michigan musicians — Jack Leaver, Everett Domeier, Randy Marsh, Delilah DeWylde, Drew Nelson, Mark Schrock, Mike Coon, Deborah Kay, Steve Hilger, Dennie Middleton, Al Weener, Mark Huizenga, Kathy Lamar, Ray Redmond and many more — jammed on stage and filtered in and out of Charlie’s Bar on Plainfield Avenue Sunday afternoon for a benefit to raise funds to pay medical bills for Michael Packer (sound guy, musician, former WYCE station manager), who recently suffered a stroke. The benefit, organized by Jerry Douthett with Kurt Ehinger providing sound mixing, packed the bar with Packer’s friends and relatives. It was a real heartwarming event with some one-of-a-kind performances and an upbeat vibe. Check out some video highlights below.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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