The Labor Day weekend and the week leading up to it rolled out an eclectic mix of national and regional acts — captured in images at Local Spins, from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo.
Beer Garden Bash: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus lit up one of the final outdoor shows of the summer at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo on Saturday. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Consider the mix of Michigan stars: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, Red Tail Ring, The Suzies, Joel Mabus, The Macpodz, Hannah Rose & The GravesTones, Boy From School, Whistle Stop Revue, Nikolas Warren.
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Then there were the national tour stops by Bonnie Raitt, Gringo Star, O.A.R., Blink-182, Keller Williams and more.
All in all, quite the Labor Day weekend and the week leading up to it for West Michigan’s music scene, making this a fascinating mix of Local Spins photo galleries.
ULTRAVIOLET HIPPOPOTAMUS, THE MACPODZ
This was billed as the final Beer Garden concert of the summer at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo. And Ann Arbor’s The Macpodz and Grand Rapids’ Ultraviolet Hippopotamus “put on a great show lighting up the Beer Garden in style for all that came out to celebrate the end of the summer” on Saturday night, noted photographer Derek Ketchum. As it turns out, there will be one more outdoor show: The Verve Pipe sold out the Back Room, so the Grand Rapids alt-rock band’s Sept. 24th show has been moved to the Beer Garden.
PHOTO GALLERY: UV Hippo, The Macpodz
Photos by Derek Ketchum
KELLER WILLIAMS, RED TAIL RING
Earlier in the week, Bell’s hosted the CD-release show for Kalamazoo’s Red Tail Ring (with special guest Joel Mabus) and a tour stop by Keller Williams With More Than a Little (plus Whistle Stop Revue).
For Thursday’s intimate gathering, Red Tail Ring, aka Michael Beauchamp and Laurel Premo, invited a musician that has been very influential in their careers, Joel Mabus, to perform the first set and join them to close out evening where they played a number of classic traditional folk/Americana songs. As Ketchum put it, Red Tail Ring brought “such a full, upbeat and peaceful sound, all at the same time. Whether it be and combination of their harmonies and the versatility between the fiddle and banjo, fiddle and guitar, or guitar and mandolin.” The new album, “Fall Away Blues,” was recorded in Kalamazoo at La Luna Recording and released Friday on Earthwork Music.
As for Friday’s concert: “If you’re not loving life after that show, something’s really wrong.” That quote from a fan attending Keller Williams’ funkified show in the Beer Garden summed up the night that began with Michigan bluegrass outfit Whistle Stop Revue. Keller Williams With More than a Little took the stage after a short break and brought all the funk out, creating an all-out dance party the rest of the evening.
PHOTO GALLERY: Keller Williams With More Than A Little, Red Tail Ring
Photos by Derek Ketchum
GRINGO STAR, SUZIES, BOY FROM SCHOOL, HANNAH ROSE GRAVES
In Grand Rapids, dizzybird records this week hosted a showcase at The Pyramid Scheme featuring Atlanta’s Gringo Star, a garage rock/indie-rock outfit that headlined an evening that also featured sets by Cincinnati psychedelic rock/pop band The Harlequins and Grand Rapids’ own The Suzies.
Earlier in the week, Boy From School and singer-songwriter Nikolas Warren delivered a pop-hued evening of music for Local Spins Wednesdays at SpeakEZ Lounge, the same night that Hannah Rose & The GravesTones lit up the sun-splashed patio at Vander Mill Cider.
WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: Photos by Anna Sink
