Testament got the week thrashing early, with other big names following, plus a CD-release show from Drawing Monsters and sets by Oracle, Drew Nelson, An Dro and a huge helping of blues.
Worth Celebrating: GRiZ at The Intersection. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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The sun beamed brightly for Record Store Day and vinyl devotees this year, as evidenced by this separate photo gallery and story at Local Spins.
Boosting the Blues: Blue Soul Express at Billy’s Lounge. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
But there were plenty of other shining musical moments this week and weekend, with a double dose of local blues in Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.
The Local Blues Matters benefit for WGVU Blues (88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon) expanded this year to two nights at Billy’s Lounge in Eastown with the likes of Root Doctor, Hank Mowery & The Hawktones, Blue Soul Express and many more revving up solid crowds of blues lovers and dancers on Friday and Saturday.
About an hour away, the Chilly Blues festival in Grand Haven did much the same with artists such as Vincent Hayes, Andy Frisinger, Rhythmskool, Andrew Matthews, Wiser Trio, The Soul Syndicate, Blue Train and Big Daddy Fox playing a host of different venues, with several acts — including Bittersweet and Darin Zarzecki — playing Saturday’s “Earth Rock” Earth Day celebration in Central Park.
Also this week:
Hip Hop Icon: Grandmaster Flash at The Pyramid Scheme. (Photo/Katy Batdorff)
• Testament brought its thrash metal fury to The Intersection on Monday;
• GRiZ followed on Thursday with a hyped-up, sax-infused EDM show for a hyped-up, happy Intersection throng;
• Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash returned to The Pyramid Scheme on Friday with DJ Psycho and DJ J-Beez;
• The same night, Flint’s Whitey Morgan delivered his honky-tonkin’ alt-country at The Stache inside The Intersection;
• Meanwhile, in Spring Lake, Jonathan Byrd and Sally Barris graced the stage of Seven Steps Up;
• Just up the road, singer-songwriter Drew Nelson and Christopher Cordle played Watermark 920 in Muskegon as part of the Watermark Live Spring Concert Series;
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• On Saturday, Drawing Monsters hosted a CD-release show for the band’s new album, with Hollywood Makeout, Har-di-Har and The Love Hate also on the bill;
• An Dro made a return visit to One Trick Pony on Saturday, with special guest Nolan Ladewski;
• Founders Brewing Co.’s all-day Black Party (a tribute to its dark brews) on Saturday featured the annual appearance of Oracle, led by brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki, along with several other groups.
LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: April 19, 2015
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Root Doctor, Blue Soul Express photos by Anthony Norkus
Hank Mowery & The Hawktones photos by John Sinkevics
Chilly Blues and Earth Rock photos by Bleu Van Dyke
Testament and GRiZ photos by Anthony Norkus
Grandmaster Flash photos by Katy Batdorff
Whitey Morgan photos by Eric Stoike
Sally Barris, Jonathan Byrd photo courtesy of Gary Hanks
Drew Nelson, Christopher Cordle photos by Kendra Stanley Mills
Drawing Monsters, Hollywood Makeout, Har-di-Har photos by Tori Thomas
An Dro photos by Kristine Carpenter
Oracle photos by Anna Sink
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC
