Acoustic Café series brings the Nashville-based Americana singer to Royce Auditorium for the first time, with Bowles bringing Earthwork Music artists to the same stage.
Justin Townes Earle played the Ann Arbor Folk Festival earlier this year. (Photo/Anna Sink)
By John Sinkevics
LocalSpins.com
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Adding a national twist to its folk series, Grand Rapids’ St. Cecilia Music Center will bring acclaimed singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle to its Royce Auditorium stage in December, with West Michigan’s own Ralston Bowles hosting an Earthwork Music all-star cast for an October concert.
After two seasons of testing folk-related music with its Fresh Folk series, which focused on Michigan artists, St. Cecilia will now team up with the nationally syndicated “Acoustic Café” radio show based in Ann Arbor – and airing Friday mornings on WYCE-FM (88.1) – to book its first national act for the series. Rob Reinhart hosts the two-hour radio show.
St. Cecilia executive director Cathy Holbrook called it an “exciting new partnership,” noting it should give audiences “a truly special experience they can’t get elsewhere.” Additional concert dates are expected to be announced in the future as “touring artists become available” in coming months.
Ralston Bowles playing the Fresh Folk series at St. Cecilia. He returns in October. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“As a testament to Grand Rapids as a great music town, there are so many venues showcasing local musicians we were bringing on the series (the first two seasons), it was hard to attract enough audience with the ticket price we were charging,” Holbrook said, noting St. Cecilia will still give a nod to Michigan artists with Bowles’ all-star show.
“We also look forward to giving audiences an interesting experience with these touring artists through the ‘Acoustic Café’ taping and interviews with Rob Reinhart when feasible (at St. Cecilia Music Center).”
Earle will play the series on Dec. 11. Tickets, $30, are available by calling 616-459-2224, visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE or online at scmc-online.org.
Earle has become a highly respected touring and recording artist who has released five critically praised albums, with his sixth, “Single Mothers,” being released on Vagrant Records on Sept. 9. His country-and-western- and folk-hued music has graced stages ranging from the Grand Ole Opry to the Beacon Theater to Bonnaroo, and he performed earlier this year at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival.
The son of legendary singer-songwriter Steve Earle, the 32-year-old singer exudes a unique, story-telling vibe during his live shows.
The award-winning Bowles has played the Fresh Folk series twice. The Oct. 23 concert is expected to feature “an all-star cast of touring musicians,” some of them from Michigan’s Earthwork Music Collective “as well as some special surprise guests.” Tickets for the Oct. 23 show are $25.
More details and tickets available online at scmc-online.org; click on Fresh Folk.
Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
