National tours made mid-summer stops in Grand Rapids, from the country of Jennifer Nettles to the thoughtful indie-rock of Beck, plus plenty more local and regional acts captured in images at Local Spins.
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Talk about different ends of the spectrum:
At the same time country singer Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland fame was uncorking her pop-hued tunes at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, fun-loving funk’s Here Come the Mummies were busting moves outdoors to a cemetery-sized, mummy-mad crowd for The Intersection’s Rock the Lot show (with Grand Rapids’ Jim Shaneberger Band) and indie-rock icon Beck was unfurling a compelling evening at DeVos Performance Hall (with opener Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger). See the full Local Spins review/photo gallery from that show here.
And that was just the beginning, as this weekend’s photo gallery proves …
JENNIFER NETTLES’ MEIJER GARDENS DEBUT (BY DAVID SPECHT)
Jennifer Nettles, known best for her role in the Grammy-winning country music duo Sugarland, played to a near-capacity amphitheater of about 1,800 at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park on Saturday, an impressive turnout considering tickets ($90) to this Fifth Third Summer Concert Series show were second in cost only to Santana’s performance in June.
Fortunately for concertgoers, conditions on Saturday were prime for an outdoor show, perhaps making the ticket price a bit easier to swallow.
After a 40-minute opening performance by country singer/guitarist Brandy Clark, the Nashville-based Nettles — backed by a four-man band — opened the set with a handful of songs from her debut solo album, “That Girl,” released in January. From song to song, Nettles switched things up and kept fans on their toes. For tunes such as “Falling,” the multi-instrumentalist took to the piano. Minutes later, she was grooving to faster-paced works, including “Jealousy” and “You Know You Wanna,” dancing more than anyone else in the venue.
Of course, the real highlights came when the group performed award-winning works originally released by Sugarland, including “Something More” and “All I Want To Do,” a No. 1 single off of the 2008 album, “Love on the Inside.”
And sparking what was perhaps the most audible reaction from the audience, Nettles invited opening act Clark back to the stage to perform “His Hands” off of “That Girl.”
HERE COME THE MUMMIES, RICK CHYME, MURDER BY DEATH AND MORE
Beyond Meijer Gardens — and Beck and Here Come the Mummies — Rick Chyme delivered another all-star affair at Founders Brewing Co. on Saturday, performing at different times with the likes of Molly Bouwsma-Schultz, Edye Evans Hyde and The B.E.A.T. (which was also on the bill along with Lady Ace Boogie), and Hannah Rose & The GravesTones pumped up a capacity crowd at Billy’s Lounge.
Elsewhere, Indiana indie-rock band Murder by Death turned up the volume at The Pyramid Scheme on Friday (with Mike Mains & The Branches and Jake Down & The Midwest Mess also on the bill), the same night that Curren$y kicked out hip hop at The Intersection.
Meanwhile, Southwest Michigan’s Slim Gypsy Baggage played Thursday’s Celadon Summer Concert Series with Tony LaJoye.
Earlier the same day, a bevy of budding, up-and-coming West Michigan musicians were starting to make their mark too: teenagers who wer taking part in this week’s Rock Camp hosted by rock/pop’s The Outer Vibe at St. Cecilia Music Center, in preparation for Sunday night’s final performance at The Intersection.
THE LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: JULY 17-20
Murder By Death/Here Come the Mummies/Rick Chyme/Hannah Rose photos by Anna Sink
Beck/Curren$y photos by Anthony Norkus
Jennifer Nettles/Slim Gypsy Baggage/Rock Camp photos by Tori Thomas
(Click on photo to enlarge gallery)
Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
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