Usher in a musical March with photos/videos from West Michigan concerts, ranging from the national (Mutemath, Dustin Lynch, Eric Johnson) to the local (Alexis, An Dro, Delilah DeWylde, Moonrays, Asamu Johnson, Neil Jacobs).
Packed Houses: Stepdad’s return to The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday was one of several overflow weekend shows in the Grand Rapids area. (Photo/Dan Hurst)
This is precisely what makes the Grand Rapids music scene so scintillating: In a three-hour period on a single weekend night, within a short drive, it’s possible to catch two legendary, veteran West Michigan musicians representing different genres — surf-rocking guitarist Fitz Green of The Moonrays and blues bassist-singer Asamu Johnson — display their considerable skills and sonic prowess in front of enthusiastic, appreciative and diverse audiences. (Check out the photos and videos below.)
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Indeed, the Friday night vibe at the West Side’s Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill created by The Moonrays — Green and his impressive cohorts Michael Hall on guitar, Jim Braun on bass and Bud Chrysler on drums — (followed on stage by The Cheeztones and The Lazy Hands) had pretty much everybody in the joint smiling, which also was true of the large and lively audience at Billy’s Lounge in Eastown which danced and cheered the electrifying, funky blues sets unleashed by Johnson and his bandmates Mike Howe Sr., CC Woods, Adam McMillan and DeShawn Wilkerson.
Stirring stuff, shared in this roundup of photos/videos here at Spins on Music. And that just barely scratches the surface of the weekend’s musical frivolity, which began Thursday with country star Dustin Lynch at The Intersection and Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys’ first-ever appearance at Rockford Brewing Co.
It continued with the previously aforementioned Friday night shows, along with New Orleans’ Mutemath performing at Calvin College, West Michigan’s own Celtic powerhouse An Dro playing the intimate Schuler Books & Music Studio on 28th St. SE (followed by a show at Saugatuck Brewing), Stepdad and Alexis getting all poppy, campy and dance-inspiring in a sold-out show at The Pyramid Scheme, Nobody’s Darlin‘ at the SpeakEZ Lounge, and Neil Jacobs uncorking his eye-popping acoustic guitar wizardry at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake.
And Sunday evening wrapped things up with guitarist Eric Johnson’s dazzling display at The Intersection and Jimmie Stagger’s Sunday night blues jam at HopCat.
Country-fied Jam: Dustin Lynch had fans singing along to every tune at The Intersection on Thursday. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Getting Into It: Lynch’s fans were an enthusiastic bunch. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Country Crooning: Lynch at The Intersection. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Lynch Mob: Once again, a country star jammed The Intersection. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Brewery Bassist: Delilah DeWylde made her debut at Rockford Brewing on Thursday. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
Tip Top Surfin’ Shape: The Moonrays (from left, Michael Hall, Jim Braun, Bud Chrysler and Fitz Green) rocked the Tip Top on Friday. (Photo/Spins on Music)
Megaphone Maniac: Jerry Douthett of Rockford took a turn at the “mike” to the delight of the Tip Top crowd. (Photo/Spins on Music)
Funky Blues: Mike Howe Sr., left, and Asamu Johnson had the dance floor rollicking at Billy’s Lounge on Friday. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Energizing Billy’s: Howe, Johnson and guitarist CC Woods. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Asamu Johnson (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Musical Maelstrom: New Orleans alt-rock/indie-rock band Mutemath fired up a big crowd at Calvin College’s Covenant Fine Arts Center on Friday night. (Photo/Greg Veltman)
By the Book: Celtic/world music band An Dro performed at Schuler Books on Friday night. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
String Things: Fred Willson and Jim Spalink of An Dro. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
Electrifying Electro-Pop: Dan Hurst and Matt Forbush of Alexis played to a sold-out crowd at The Pyramid Scheme, ahead of Stepdad, in what was described as a “fantastic” evening.(Photo/Nicole LaRae)
Wild “Wildlife Pop”: Grand Rapids’ Stepdad entertained a full house at The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday night. (Photo/Dan Hurst)
Pop Fandom: Legions of Stepdad fans celebrated their heroes on Saturday. (Photo/Dan Hurst0
Guitar Master: 12-string acoustic guitar virtuoso Neil Jacobs earned several standing ovations during his show Saturday at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up. (Photo/Kevin Reedy Photography)
“Amazing” artistry: Neil Jacobs at Seven Steps Up. (Photo/Kevin Reedy Photography)
Belting Out the Blues: Peaches Staten closed out the West Michigan Blues Society’s Cabin Fever Blues Series at Billy’s Lounge on Saturday. (Photo/Michael Koole)
Cabin Fever Cure: Peaches Staten and the Groove Shakers at Billy’s. (Photo/Michael Koole)
Everybody’s Darlings: Nobody’s Darlin’ did its string-band thing at SpeakEZ Lounge. (Photo/Pamela Jansen)
Hectic Weekend: An Dro also performed Saturday at Saugatuck Brewing’s Lucky Stone Pub, with Ada pianist Roger MacNaughton celebrating his birthday in the audience. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
Guitar Power: Grammy-winning Austin guitarist-singer Eric Johnson played The Intersection on Sunday night. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
In the Groove: Eric Johnson at The Intersection. (Photo/On The Run Photography)
Sunday Jam: Andy Ogrodzinski of Jimmie Stagger’s Unusual Suspex performed on the second night of the HopCat blues jam. (Photo/Kristine Carpenter)
