The fifth-year festival boasts bands from New York to Grand Rapids, playing indoors at the Dee-Lite and outdoors on Washington Street, with beer, wine, food and art to boot.
Windy City Indie-Rock: The Locals play the Indie-Rock Music Fest at 11:30 p.m. Friday.
Grand Haven’s Indie Rock Music Festival has developed a distinctly regional and national flavor.
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In its fifth year, the free two-day festival which takes place this weekend in the lakeshore community not only puts several potent West Michigan indie-rock acts in the spotlight, but casts it net a bit farther to include bands and artists from Chicago (The Locals), New York (Loch Hame) and Minneapolis (Bella Ruse).
“I am looking for the festival to be focused on Midwest bands, but I am expanding and will be throwing in other national bands as I continue to grow (the event),” says Mike Coleman, festival coordinator and owner of the Second Avenue Arts artist management company.
The Real Lazy Genius
Indeed, the September festival – which has five bands performing indoors on Friday at the Dee-Lite and five more Saturday on an outdoor stage on Washington Street in downtown Grand Haven – has come a long way since its humble beginnings as an “indie-rock invitational” which even took the form of a battle of West Michigan bands at one point.
“The battle of the bands we did the second year and it limits the kind of bands you can get,” Coleman told Local Spins. “I want a music showcase, not a competition, and something that bands from many experience levels can play at.”
This year’s festival kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday at the Dee-Lite with Brian Vander Ark (of The Verve Pipe fame), followed by Carielle (Grand Rapids), UTO (Grand Rapids), The Hat Madder (Lansing) and The Locals (Chicago), who wrap things up at 11:30 p.m. “Should be a packed show and have a cool, packed rock vibe,” Coleman says.
On Saturday, things move outdoors at 7 p.m. with Flashing Blue Lights (Grand Rapids), followed by The Pistolbrides (Grand Rapids), Bella Ruse (Minneapolis), Loch Hame (New York) and finally, The Real Lazy Genius (Grand Rapids) at 11 p.m. For a little preview, tune into Local Spins Live at 10 a.m. Wednesday on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) when Patrick Wieland of The Real Lazy Genius will be my guest. Click here for the full weekend schedule.
DIVERSE MUSIC AND TERRIFIC ART, TOO
The Hat Madder
Coleman and festival partner Jeff Joannisse, of Waterfall Productions and Rezidual Records, note the diversity of bands enhances the event, which also offers concertgoers Michigan beer, wine and food from area restaurants. Not only that, but the festival takes place in the middle of Grand Haven’s ArtWalk, the city’s version of Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize, “so there is a ton of great art all over town,” says Coleman, whose company was part of a project that brought 20 New York City artists to ArtPrize and ArtWalk.
New York painter Tyler Loftis, aka Loch Hame, is part of the Indie-Rock Music Festival. The resident of East Village is a one-man band who plays music “with videos that play along with each song,” Loch Hame says. “The videos are taken from moments and images from the last two years of writing, playing and recording these songs here in Michigan, where my parents have a small cabin near Traverse City. The videos are more like moving images that play with the music rather than behind it.”
As he puts it, “Playing here in West Michigan is always relevant. Michigan has a great music heritage that I love being a part of. So coming here and testing, sharing new songs, ideas about art with a community that understands music and that is embracing art is a very rewarding trip.”
Innovative approaches distinguish many of the acts, including the alternative “cute rock/pop” of Bella Ruse, The Arcade Fire-styled beauty of Carielle, the alt pop/rock of The Locals and the psychedelic rock of The Real Lazy Genius. “We are looking forward to it for sure,” says Real Lazy Genius frontman Patrick Wieland, noting the band has played the festival twice before. “It seems to grow every year.”
Adds Vander Ark: “Nice to be part of something on the upswing.”
The all-ages festival drew more than 1,100 people over two days in 2012. Get details and more information online at the official festival website.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
