Much of the week’s musical hoopla was about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day early, from An Dro and David Molinari playing SpeakEZ Lounge mid-week to upwards of 20,000 emerald-clad beer drinkers heating up Saturday’s Irish on Ionia. But there was more.
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We’re cutting loose!”
Indeed, that exclamation from one of the 20,000-plus, beer-quaffing, emerald-bedecked partyers flooding Irish on Ionia on Saturday seemed to be the overriding theme as folks celebrated St. Patrick’s Day a few days early.
With attendees donning goofy outfits, comical T-shirts and wild headgear — from green derby caps to floppy stovepipe hats to horns — this year’s expanded Irish On Ionia kicked off at 7 a.m. and kept churning until deep into the evening, with live music from DJ Kung, Paddy’s Cure, DJ Jason Veeder, DJ 02, The Tosspints, DJ Jenny Disko, The Waxies, DJ Sean Boney and Stone Clover, with a performance by the Ardan Academy of Irish Dance.
While the temperatures were certainly balmier than 2014, a stiff breeze still made conditions chilly, with many revelers huddled under banks of heaters lining the streets for this one-day celebration — a party which this year extended down Weston Street where the main performance stage was located. Others kept warm by hopping, gyrating and twirling to the strains of bands such as Saginaw Celtic punk rockers The Tosspints, who appropriately sang with vim and vigor about beer and whiskey and more. (See video below.) Organizers said they were pleased with the new layout and the turnout.
And that was just one way folks celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and West Michigan’s music scene:
• Just to the north of all the downtown hoopla, fans of traditional Celtic music jammed Quinn & Tuite’s Irish Pub on Plainfield Avenue, clapping and cheering the duo Gasta, the Conklin Ceili Band and more throughout the day and evening.
• On Friday at The Intersection, the mood was country not Celtic with singer Sam Hunt and opening act Native Run pumping up a capacity, sold-out crowd with hits like “Leave the Night On” and “Take Your Time.”
• Rockford Brewing threw its St. Patrick’s Day party on Friday with help from The Waxies and An Dro, who attracted an uber-lively, capacity crowd.
• Friday also saw Holland pop singer Kanisha K deliver her hits — including the new single, “Oh Damn Yeah” — at the Park Theatre in Holland as part of a “Save the Park” benefit event.
• Speaking of Holland, West Ottawa High School unleashed its 13th annual WO-Stock festival with 28 West Michigan bands playing two stages over two nights, raising money to send computers overseas to Cameroon. Local Spins’ correspondent Bleu Van Dyke was there to provide a taste of Friday’s action:
WO-Stock rocked: an event well-attended by what appeared to be the entire West Ottawa student body. The sound and lighting was exceptional, thanks in no small part to Andrew Kindler, and the performances were refreshing. They included young rapper Big A on the main stage, playing to an enthusiastic throng of teens, followed by DJ Young Bizz’s EDM. Grand Rapids’ American Wifi then destroyed the place with its pop/rock tunes, the gym jammed with teenage girls and their BFFs. On par with Five Seconds of Summer, the group effortlessly got the crowd into it with their original tunes. WO Jazz 1 followed with an impressive set featuring good young soloists, a stellar bassist and a tight rhythm section.
On the side stage, St. Nick rapped away in a Santa hat, Ghost Runner cranked up its speed metal, and Dork proved to be highly entertaining with its frat-boy drummer, beefcake lead guitarist, homunculus singer and Lurch on bass. Really great band worth seeing again.
• In typically coarse and hilarious fashion, Americana/alt-country singer-songwriter Todd Snider delivered the goods for a sold-out crowd of devoted Snider-ites at Wealthy Theatre on Thursday as part of WYCE-FM’s Live at Wealthy series, with Kevin Gordon opening the show.
• An Dro, with special guest David Molinari, got the Irish train rolling on Wednesday night at Grand Rapids’ SpeakEZ Lounge, with help from the KBS release that took place early in the evening at the restaurant/bar. The Celtic/world music trio alternated songs with singer-songwriter Molinari in the band’s first-ever collaboration with the multi-instrumentalist.
• The same night, Turquoise Jeep, with A.B. and Aramis, delivered rousing hip hop in The Stache inside The Intersection.
• Canadian electro-pop singer and songwriter Lights got the week started on Tuesday in front of about 600 fans at The Intersection.
WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: March 15, 2015
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Irish on Ionia photos by Anthony Norkus
Gasta photos by John Sinkevics
Sam Hunt, Native Run photos by Jennifer Boris and Eric Stoike
The Waxies (RBC) photos by Kristine Carpenter
Kanisha K photos courtesy of Rick Kasten
WO-Stock photos by Bleu Van Dyke
Todd Snider photos by Tori Thomas
An Dro, David Molinari photos by Anthony Norkus
Turquoise Jeep, Lights photos by Eric Stoike
IRISH ON IONIA, ROCKFORD BREWING, QUINN & TUITE’S: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
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