From blues celebrations in Grand Rapids and Grand Haven to rock-fueled Record Store Day performances, it was an unseasonably wintry weekend when live music prevailed … and caught in photos shared at Spins on Music.
It all rolled out as a truly bizarre news week, from the Boston Marathon bombings and an intense manhunt to historic flooding and the latest West Michigan snowfall I can ever recall.
Indoors, the live music caravan in the Grand Rapids area rolled on: Roosevelt Diggs’ lively country/folk performance at Rockford Brewing Co., The Bernie Worrell Orchestra’s funk-athon at Founders Brewing, Bobbie McFerrin’s vocal mastery at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, Pennsylvania’s The Stray Birds and Kalamazoo’s Red Tail Ring delivering folk beauty at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up, WGVU’s Local Blues Matter benefit at Billy’s Lounge with a bevy of West Michigan blues icons, including Donald Kinsey, bluesmen Larry McCray, Vincent Hayes and more playing the (really) Chilly Blues Festival in downtown Grand Haven, part of which was indoors and part of which took place under a monstrous beer tent, and the Water Clocks, Bowery, HRVRD and Daylight playing The Stache inside The Intersection.
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
And, of course, there was Record Store Day on Saturday, with hundreds cramming into Vertigo Music on S. Division Avenue in Grand Rapids and the Corner Record Shop in Grandville, as bands cranked out live music for customers who lined up for special vinyl releases, discounts and a general celebration of independently owned record stores across the country.
At Vertigo, Modern Convenience, Trinket, Haunted Leather, The Corrosive Kids and Helical Scan turned up the amps while customers held their vinyl treasures like prized fish, some waiting in line for more than a half-hour to check out. A smiling proprietor, Herm Baker, was aiming for a 10 percent increase in sales from last year’s Record Store Day spectacle, which also boosted sales by 10 percent from the previous year — most of it via vinyl, which is once again becoming the backbone of record industry growth.
Even the city’s oldest music retailer, Dodd’s Record Store, a few blocks away on S. Division Avenue, saw a smattering of customers, as bands led by Rev. Charles Preston Smith of PotatoeBabies played just outside the front door despite the unseasonably cold temperature. Meanwhile, The Corner Record Shop in Grandville boasted performances by Dave Hardin, Mike Key, The Diemakers, The Boss Mustangs, Dangerville and Glowfriends.
Great to see these indie shops getting some love, eh?
Come back to Spins on Music on Monday morning for more photos and updates here at the Weekend Photo Gallery.
Remember: If you have photos from live weekend music events in the Grand Rapids area, email them by Sunday morning to jsinkevics@gmail.com, listing the band, the venue and the photographer. We’ll use the best photos in the Weekend Photo Gallery and put your name in the hat for April to win a gift certificate from HopCat.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
Love Bernie Worrell! Is that an actual Clavinet he’s playing?
…Swamped here with various stuff. No time to talk right now.
Remembering Pink Floyd: “One of these days I’m going to… Skype you into little pieces!”