The Big List of West Michigan’s live music runs the gamut this week, with The Northern Skies, Joshua Davis, John Mark McMillan, heavy metal headbangers and top-notch singer-songwriters.
Petoskey’s Michelle Chenard
All the usual kick-bad-habits vows aside, how about this for a New Year’s resolution? Improve your musical fitness in 2013 by investigating local and regional acts you’ve missed out on for way too long.
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West Michigan's music scene
You can start with this week’s Big List, boasting kickoffs to plenty of fresh new 2013 concert events, including the Local Spins Live Contemporary Folk Series at St. Cecilia Music Center, Fricano’s Pizza’s Thursday night Winter Music Scene and The Heavyweights metal band competition at The Intersection, not to mention the return of the Winter Wheat benefit for the the Wheatland Music Festival.
Cold Nights, Hot Music: A version of The Northern Skies will kick off the Thursday winter series at Fricano’s Pizza this week.
The Northern Skies
6 p.m. Thursday
Free
Fricano’s Pizza, Grand Rapids (Alpine Avenue NW)
Doug Fricano can’t help himself. The owner of Fricano’s Pizza at 5808 Alpine Ave. NW is a music buff who’s hosted harvest-time bluegrass and folk acts at his restaurant in recent years. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy his musical appetite, so he’s expanding the pizzeria’s musical offerings to a Thursday night winter series dubbed “Winter Music Scene” featuring some stellar local and regional acts from different genres who should help warm things up considerably.
The series launches this week with a stripped-down version of The Northern Skies, a talented and energetic folk-rock outfit led by Eric Engblade. It continues with Mike Dodge’s My Thin Place jazz band on Jan. 17, the riveting folk of singer Rachael Davis (a Michigander who recently relocated to Nashville) on Jan. 24, the country roots of the Jukejoint Handmedowns on Jan. 31, the folk-country of The Dave Hardin Band on Feb. 7, the acoustic strains of John Andrews on Feb. 14, and the piano-guitar duet Livin’ the Dream on Feb. 21. Should make for a terrific soundtrack to eating some of the best pizza you’ll find anywhere. Bands and singer-songwriters seeking to play the series can contact Fricano at 785-5800.
Musical Storytellers: Michael Crittenden and Ralston Bowles are part of the singer-songwriter lineup for the first Local Spins Live concert at St. Cecilia Music Center on Thursday.
Karisa Wilson, Ralston Bowles, Michelle Chenard,
Michael Crittenden, Lux Land, Lucas Wilson
Local Spins Live Contemporary Folk Series
7:30 p.m. Thursday
$15 ($10 students)
St. Cecilia Music Center, Grand Rapids
When Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Lucas Wilson earned the rare opportunity to play St. Cecilia Music Center’s historic Royce Auditorium during last year’s ArtPrize Musicians’ Showcase, it was “an experience in itself” due to the near perfect acoustics. “It’s the first time I’ve played on such a big stage with no microphone,” he recalls. “You whisper and people can hear you in the back.” Welcome to the first-ever Local Spins Live contemporary folk series held at St. Cecilia – a listening room like no other, hosting six of the region’s most talented solo artists in a round-robin format during Thursday’s opening concert. (The series continues Feb. 21 with The Crane Wives/Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys and March 28 with Seth Bernard & May Erlewine/The Fauxgrass Quartet.)
The mostly unplugged-style shows in a venue normally reserved for classical music and touring jazz artists spotlight Michigan’s emerging and established folk-hued artists in a new setting. The concerts include post-show receptions with the musicians; Thursday night’s after-party will also feature a performance by Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Kelsey Rottiers. Beer and wine are available for sale before and after the concert, and during the intermission. Get the rest of the series lowdown here, with tickets available online at the St. Cecilia website or at the door. Believe me, you’ve never heard these artists quite like this. (Check out recent videos from a couple of the artists below and a full story about the series at GRNow.com.)
Packing the Pyramid: La Dispute rock ‘n’ rolls out its homecoming show on Friday night.
La Dispute, Pity Sex, Shores
7 p.m. Friday
$10
Life & Times, Bars of Gold, Child Bite, Frank Booth
9 p.m. Saturday
$12
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
Now, here’s a one-two punch to the musical gut you’ll enjoy. On Friday, The Pyramid Scheme hosts Grand Rapids’ own road-tested, post-hardcore rock heroes La Dispute, along with Ann Arbor lo-fi/punk band Pity Sex and Grand Rapids’ mesmerizing Shores. This long-awaited homecoming show is sold out, so if you don’t have tickets you might want to check out the Saturday lineup: Alt-rock/hard rock outfit The Life and Times, with roots in Kansas City and Chicago, rolls into Grand Rapids with Ferndale’s Bars of Gold also on the bill to help shiver those Pyramid timbers.
Grand Rapids’ Pass of Aggression will once again do battle as part of the Heavyweights competition launching this week.
Heavyweights Round 1 with
Withhold The Blood, The Severed Process, As Empires Decay, Seraphim, Pass of Aggression, Neqriem
7 p.m. Friday
$5 advance, $7 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
I used my handy decibel-meter iPhone app during the finals of last year’s Heavyweights competition and the hard-cranking bands pinned the needle with their ear-ringing, paint-peeling metal display. I’m guessing this year’s opening round in the battle of the bands contest sponsored by 101.3 The Fox Rocks and Moshpit Nation won’t be much different, so swing down and support your favorite shredders. The competition once again is emceed by consummate metal maestro John Serba, of MLive.com and Metal at Midnight.
Jukejoint Handmedowns
7:30 p.m. Friday
$10 donation
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids (250 Commerce Ave. SW)
With cleverly written tunes, the Jukejoint Handmedowns take honky-tonk country to places it’s never been, or at least, to entertaining places everyone should check out (with a fair amount of tears-in-your-beer sort of revelry). Check ’em out in this terrific series, with donations supporting the economically disadvantaged in the Heartside neighborhood. Details online here.
Chuck Whiting
Chuck Whiting & His Rowdy Friends, Stover
8 p.m. Friday
$5
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids
Hillbilly blues. Midwestern swing.
It’s a combo that Kalamazoo’s Chuck Whiting & His Rowdy Friends embrace with great gusto, especially in the intimate confines of the Tip Top on the West Side. Add to that the opening “lo-fi, indie-folk escapism” of Stover and you’ve got an evening well worth quaffing a few beers to.
Northern Michigan’s K. Jones & the Benzie Playboys are part of this year’s Winter Wheat lineup.
4th Annual Winter Wheat with
The Ragbirds, The Crane Wives, K. Jones & the Benzie Playboys, An Dro, Blue Molly, Blue Water Ramblers, more
1 p.m. Saturday
$15 advance, $20 day of show ($10 students)
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
If you missed The Ragbirds and The Crane Wives on New Year’s Eve at Founders, you get another shot at ‘em with a major bonus: about a dozen other regional acts, all playing to raise money for the Wheatland Music Organization, that fine group that puts on the Wheatland Music Festival every September. This year’s performers in the day-long event on two stages include the Blue Water Ramblers, Wheatland scholar students, Lake Effect, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, The Rhythm Billies, Blue Molly, An Dro, The Midnight Cattle Callers, Black Jake & The Carnies, Fiddle Fire and Jive at Five. This is always a fun event billed as “a celebration of traditional dance and music” with lots of musicians wandering about.
Get more details at The Intersection website.
John Mark McMillan brings his national tour to West Michigan this week.
John Mark McMillan & Friends
8 p.m. Saturday
$15 ($5 for Hope College Students)
Dimnent Chapel at Hope College, Holland
North Carolina alt-rock/Christian music singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan may be best known for his 2005 song, “How He Loves,” an inspiring tune which has been covered by a host of other artists, including the David Crowder Band. On Saturday, he bring his “Economy Class Tour” – a reference to his most recent studio album, 2011’s “Economy” – to Hope College’s Dimnent Chapel as part of the college’s concert series.
Get more information about McMillan at his website and get tickets to the show online here.
Seth Glier welcomes 2013 with a brand new album and a show in Spring Lake.
Seth Glier
6 p.m. Sunday
$22 advance, $24 day of show (with sofa, table seating also available)
Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake
East Coast singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist Seth Glier is a favorite of Seven Steps Up proprietors Michelle and Gary Hanks, and it’s easy see/hear why: He invigorates his dynamic, stellar songs with a powerful, wide-ranging voice you’ll never forget once you’ve heard it.
Better yet, he releases a brand new album, “Things I Should Let You Know,” on Jan. 15, so West Michigan fans will get a live preview of this new material – his first since 2010’s much-acclaimed “The Next Right Thing.” It’s Glier’s third appearance at Seven Steps Up, and while it likely won’t be his last, it’s a rare opportunity to catch him in this “Pindrop Concert” before the new album takes off. Get tickets at pindropconcerts.com.
Joshua Davis plays Fennville this weekend.
Joshua Davis Band
7 p.m. Sunday
$15
Salt of the Earth, Fennville
As part of the Starlight Six at Wealthy Theatre on New Year’s Eve, Michigan’s Joshua Davis unfurled some new material from an upcoming, much-anticipated new album and I must say it was absolutely riveting, rootsy stuff with a twist. (You can see snippets of that in a Spins on Music video from New Year’s Eve.)
It just heightens the excitement surrounding release of the album, “A Miracle of Birds,” based on his overseas travels with the group, On the Ground, in the West Bank. Check him out in a cozy environment at Salt of the Earth. Details here.
Grace Potter fired up Meijer Gardens with her band last summer and she’s liable to do the same in Kalamazoo.
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Langhorne Slim
7:30 p.m. Sunday
$25, $29.50
State Theatre, Kalamazoo
Anyone who witnessed the incredible stage performance that Grace Potter and her band unleashed at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park last summer has probably already raced out to buy tickets for this show at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre.
Potter is a unique talent, as proven on her most recent album, “The Lion The Beast The Beat,” combining fiery vocals with compelling songwriting enhanced by a really tight, fun band, all of which should make this concert inside this fine venue a real winter highlight. Get tickets and more information at the theatre website.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS:
Sam Kenny’s acoustic open-mic at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rocky’s Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, with The Moonrays performing on Thursday night – Singer-songwriter Sam Kenny just released a magnificently ambitious indie-folk project, “World War One,” which proves he has a way of handling and enhancing disparate voices (such as those you might find at an open-mic night). Read a review of the album here. And the always-entertaining, guitar-surfing Moonrays are at work on a couple of intriguing recording projects themselves.
Nicholas Thomasma Trio in the Acoustic Stew Series at One Trick Pony in downtown Grand Rapids at 8 p.m. Thursday – Consider this a stripped-down version of Nicholas James & The Bandwagon, with just as much folk and country authenticity,, served up by one of my favorite Grand Rapids longhairs. Admission is free; call 235-7669 for reservations.
Mid-Life Crisis
Michigan-styled rootsiness at Founders Brewing Co. with the Lincoln County Process at 9:30 p.m. Thursday and The Dave Hardin Band at 9:30 p.m. Saturday – The Lansing-area’s Lincoln County Process is a collaboration between some well-known, Americana-hued musicians: Jen Sygit, Sam Corbin, Geoff Ian Lewis and Joe VanAcker. And Dave Hardin’s earthy and insightful “Miles of Nowhere” recently got re-released on a national indie label. The Thursday show is free; Saturday’s cover is $5. More details at the Founders website.
Mid-Life Crisis playing the fourth annual Cabin Fever Party at the Rockford American Legion, 8 p.m. Saturday – Get your classic rock fix, shake off the winter doldrums and wake up from your post New Year’s Eve hangover with a party that’ll have you dancing the night away. Grand Rapids’ Mid-Life Crisis returns to Rockford (330 Rockford Park Drive off Northland Drive between 11 and 12 Mile Roads) for this gathering that encourages attendees to don Hawaiian shirts, shorts, grass skirts, whatever summer garb suits you. Tickets are $10 in advance by calling 866-2001 or $15 at the door.
Blues guitarist Michael Charles playing the Platinum Room in Muskegon’s Sherman Bowling Center, 3 p.m. Sunday – After playing Chicago’s House of Blues this week, this renowned Australian bluesman brings his “Undercover Tour 2013” to West Michigan, playing the “Howl ‘n’ Blues” benefit for the PoundBuddies Animal Shelter & Adoption Center. Get directions and details about the show at the Facebook event page. And check out more information about Charles at his website. Admission is a $10 donation.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
