The teenage Michigan guitarist turned heads again at an intimate jam-packed Friday affair that launched a week of celebrating the online magazine’s fifth anniversary. Check out the video and photo gallery.
Rocking Rockford: Jake Kershaw’s debut at Rockford Brewing ignited the birthday crowd. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
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Within two weeks, 16-year-old Jake Kershaw will be releasing his first album, “Piece of My Mind,” a blues-rock collection filled with the Marshall 10th grader’s fiery guitar work.
Fifth Anniversary Affair: Rockford Brewing was the site of Friday’s celebration. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
But on Friday — during a special Local Spins Fifth Anniversary Celebration at Rockford Brewing in Rockford — the young musician who causes a stir wherever he plays gave the jam-packed brewpub a sneak preview of that material and plenty more. It was the sort of performance that’s earned him a well-deserved reputation, with more than one fan labeling him a “little Joe Bonamassa.”
Many attendees at Friday’s show are liable to recall this as the evening when they got to see Kershaw in the cozy setting of a Rockford brewpub.
Indeed, it reminded me of the teeming, sweat-filled nights when crowd-pleasing acoustic guitarist Billy Strings would light up the Rockford Brewing stage, long before the Ionia-bred, Traverse City-based wunderkind musician would move to Nashville and take the bluegrass world by storm.
For proof of the special evening, you need to look no further than some of the video highlights below, part of a night that also included a performance by The Honeytones (with Jim Spalink, Kershaw and Kershaw’s band joining my band as special guests — and what a kick that was), the tapping of this year’s Local Spins beer (Rockford Brewing’s Spins on Hoplust), free cupcakes and fortune cookies (courtesy of Connie’s Cakes and That’s Unfortunate), and a bunch of giveaways (from concert tickets to brewery gift cards).
Special Guests: Kershaw and band joined The Honeytones on stage. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
There’s more fifth anniversary fun to come: Two West Michigan artists appearing on the inaugural “HopCat presents Local Spins Live at River City Studios,” Scott and Molly of Vox Vidorra and Lady Ace Boogie will play a pre-CD-release show at 8 p.m. Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series, with more giveaways on tap.
And finally, at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 28, we’ll host a mini-festival to celebrate the official release of the Local Spins album featuring tracks from 12 West Michigan acts — all recorded live in front of intimate studio audiences at River City Studios. The show will feature sets by Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, Big Dudee Roo and Hannah Rose & The GravesTones. Admission is free and CDs will be available for sale, with a portion of proceeds donated to Access of West Michigan and its programs battling poverty in Kent County.
Get more information about the fifth anniversary events online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: Local Spins 5th Anniversary at Rockford Brewing
Photos by Derek Ketchum
VIDEO: Local Spins 5th Anniversary at Rockford Brewing
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC
