As Lady Ace Boogie prepares for an all-star Kalamazoo show on Saturday, she reveals the albums that have influenced her at key points in her life and career. Listen to essential tracks at Local Spins.
Back on Stage Saturday: Lady Ace Boogie & Friends (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Linda Tellis, otherwise known to West Michigan fans as Lady Ace Boogie, has made a substantial impact on Grand Rapids’ music scene over the past several years — not only with her riveting original hip hop tracks showcased over several albums, but as a savvy promoter of regional music and concerts.
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As she pointed out in a 2016 Local Spins story and River City Studios session, it’s all about honesty: “I’m focusing more on telling that story when it wasn’t all good, but telling it in a way that gives people hope in the end – give people some light at the end of the tunnel.”
To that end, her “Lady Ace Boogie Presents” will unleash a star-studded, diverse show at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo at 8 p.m. Saturday (March 12) with Cabildo, Jordan Hamilton, Seth Bernard and Lady Ace Boogie & Friends. She and Bernard haven’t performed in Kalamazoo in three years, and Hamilton — who’s based in Kalamazoo — hasn’t performed there since being injured in an August 2021 car crash. Tickets are $15 in advance and available online here; $20 day of show.
Before that, she shared the ‘albums that changed her world.’ Listen to tracks from all of the recordings below.
1. Three Days Grace, “One X” (2006) – This album came out right around the time I made the first huge transition in my life. I moved from Dayton, Ohio, away from everyone and everything I knew to start a new life. I didn’t know what to expect. For reasons I can explain, this album gave me the motivation I needed to feel confident to keep pushing through and no turn back to my old life.
Listen: “Never Too Late”
2. Big Dudee Roo, “Dudee Free” (2015) – I didn’t get ahold of this album until the summer of 2015. Again, this was another time in my life I went through a huge transition. Letting go of a nine-year relationship, and a life I had built and was familiar with. Starting completely over with my life. I had so many emotions and didn’t know how to express them in a healthy way. I would just drive in my car, pop in the CD windows rolled down BLASTING this album. It made me happy, and in some cases very emotional, but it was the instrumentation, the lyrics and the vocals in every song that got me through. Not a single skip.
Listen: “Nothing Good Today”
3. Kendrick Lamar, “DAMN.” (2017) – For most Kendrick lovers, his first couple albums wheeled them in. It took this album for me. I remember listening from front to back with my wife for the first time as we drove to Ohio with my nephew in the back seat. She wasn’t my wife at the time, but we fell in love with this album at the exact same time. We listened to it over and over that entire year. This is the year we met, fell in love, and got married. This song “Love” was one of our wedding songs.
Listen: “Love”
ALBUMS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: Lady Ace Boogie’s Playlist on Spotify
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