The Outer Vibe, Greg Nagy, Seth Bernard, Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, Billy Strings & Don Julin: Weekend Photo Gallery

There’s the touching Mary Free Bed tale of Bob Bernard, and a special performance by Seth & May, plus SoundIsRed, Rebekah Rhys, Bennett and more, captured in images at Local Spins.

 

SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL PHOTO GALLERY, SETH & BOB BERNARD VIDEO

There’s the old joke about the kid who tells his mother, “When I grow up, I want to be a musician.” And mom says, “Well, you know, honey, you can’t do both.”

West Michigan’s romper room was open for business this weekend. And here’s to hoping these musicians never grow up, because their youthful exuberance inspired some audience-pleasing sets, much of it documented by photographers at Local Spins — including some touching, under-the-radar performances.

A few of the biggest shows for this Super Bowl Sunday edition of the Local Spins Weekend Photo Gallery:

• The Outer Vibe pulled out all the stops on Friday for a triumphant EP-giveaway show in The Intersection’s main showroom, with more than 730 people not only cheering new and old songs by the popular Grand Rapids rock band, but embracing opening sets by folk’s Bennett (which delivered a rousing, rocking version of its music now as a five-piece band), rockabilly’s Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish (who seemed to fill the big stage with their uber-lively approach even as a duo) and Chicago’s Model Stranger. (More about the unusual promotion for The Outer Vibe’s new album in this Local Spins story.)

• Michigan blues guitarist-singer Greg Nagy and his band – keyboardist Jim Alfredson, drummer Glenn Giordano and bassist David Uricek – uncorked a powerful performance for an approving crowd at the intimate Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, with passionate vocals and eye-popping instrumentals, as Nagy unveiled his new “Stranded” CD for fans. Grand Rapids’ own Asamu Johnson and The Associates of the Blues opened the evening on a high note.

• Traverse City bluegrass duo Billy Strings & Don Julin impressively represented West Michigan’s music scene on Friday by opening the Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium — helping launch the 50th anniversary of The Ark — with a short-but-fiery set on stage (as well as rubbing musical elbows back stage with other performers such as Mandolin Orange), before national stars such as Brandi Carlile and Yonder Mountain String Band took the spotlight. Local Spins photographer Anthony Norkus was there to document the band’s debut at the festival.

• SoundIsRed, aka Grand Haven drummer Kevin DePree, pulled double-duty on Saturday with a pair of back-to-back “shows” at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday — a drumming workshop for kids and an adult dance party as part of the listening room’s new Standing Room Only series, as covered by Local Spins contributor Robert “Bleu” Van Dyke:

For its second Standing Room Only show, Seven Steps Up hosted SoundIsRed, an EDM “character” embodied by percussionist Kevin Depree. Opting to go without his signature Daft Punk-esque helmet, SoundIsRed (SIR) has a new bleached blond coif. With lights provided by Andrew Kinsler of Textures Lighting, SIR put on an interactive super-danceable EDM show featuring Andy Frisinger on sax and Sam Parks on Guitar. One breakout had Andy and Sam in a “drum battle” vs. SIR a la Japanese Taiko drumming.

SIR mixed it up throughout, combining his acoustic drum set with his LED electronic trigger kit. Co-owner Gary Hanks said there were broken wine glasses everywhere upstairs where he lives with wife, Michelle, due to SIR’s two pounding sub-woofers. Needless to say, SIR put on a raucous show, full of stick tricks, sweet beats, guest musicians and seamless choreography.

On the flip side, possibly the smallest show of the weekend might also have been the most special and moving, a tear-inducing gig that wasn’t a public performance but rather a private one for patients at Grand Rapids’ Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital:

On Friday afternoon, Traverse City-area Americana artists Seth Bernard and May Erlewine stopped by Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital with 11-month-old daughter, Iris, in tow. Seth’s father, Bob Bernard, is a patient at the hospital. “He was paralyzed 40-plus years ago and just turned 70, and has been self-rehabbing while farming all these years,” Seth told Local Spins. “Since he was able to temporarily shut the farm down for the winter, he had the opportunity to spend three weeks at Mary Free Bed working on his shoulders, backs, hips, legs, knees, and today, fiddle.”

Indeed, Seth and May not only offered an impromptu, nearly-hour-long musical performance for about 15 Mary Free Bed patients and 20 or so staff members, but Bob, a fiddle player, joined in for several of the songs. They included a Swedish waltz that Bob characterized as a type of song that starts in a somber key and ends with “unseen good luck in the future.” Patients expressed their enthusiasm for the surprise show, joining in for sing-alongs of “Ring of Fire” and “This Land is Your Land,” and wiping away tears during an especially relevant rendition of “On the Mend,” which Seth dedicated to Mary Free Bed’s patients “on (their) healing journeys.”

“It’s been illuminating visiting my dad here,” Seth said of his time spent at the Grand Rapids’ rehabilitation hospital. Also featured in the loose set were several of Seth’s songs that Bob identified as his favorites, including “A Collage” and “Tree Skin,” which Seth said was inspired by his father. (Check out the video story of Bob Bernard’s journey — with performance highlights — courtesy of Mary Free Bed Visitation Hospital here.)

Elsewhere this week:

• Grand Rapids indie-folk band Watching for Foxes (minus singer-violinist Olivia Mainville who’s recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident) and singer-songwriter Amber Nicole offered up restrained-yet-heartfelt sets for the Local Spins Wednesdays show at SpeakEZ Lounge. Watching for Foxes also celebrated released of its new EP, “Until the Winter Comes,” by opening for mid-Michigan’s psychedelic indie-rock band Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers on Saturday at The Pyramid Scheme, which was packed to the gills with ebullient fans. Hertler and band release their long-awaited new album next month on Universal Music Group’s Bad Mascot Records.

• Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Rebekah Rhys returned to the stage with her band Thursday after a hiatus of sorts to perform as part of the Will Play For Food series in H.O.M.E. at The B.O.B., with Valentiger also on the bill. Read more about Rhys and her involvement with the Will Play For Food Foundation in this Local Spins feature.

• The Truckstop Cobras provided the rollicking musical entertainment for the Grand Raggidy Roller Girls’ roller derby tilt against Killamazoo on Saturday at Rivertown Sports in Grandville.

• After hosting Nagy on Friday, The Tip Top brought in some raucous punk ‘n’ roll with Kalamazoo’s Hex Bombs and Wisconsin’s The DUIs on Saturday.

LOCAL SPINS WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: Jan. 28-31
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The Outer Vibe, Bennett, Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish photos by Jamie Geysbeek
Additional photos of The Outer Vibe by Anthony Norkus
Greg Nagy, Asamu Johnson & The Associates of The Blues photos by Andy Visockis
Billy Strings & Don Julin photos by Anthony Norkus
SoundIsRed photos by Robert “Bleu” Van Dyke
Seth, May and Bob Bernard photos courtesy of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
Watching for Foxes, Amber Nicole photos by Anthony Norkus
Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers photos by Eric Stoike
Rebekah Rhys photos by Anthony Norkus
Truckstop Cobras, The DUIs, Hex Bombs photos by Mary Boot

Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC