Andrew Bird, Henry Rollins, Donna the Buffalo, Clutch, Sister Sparrow: Grand Rapids’ Big List Concert Guide

April rolls on with an eclectic lineup of national acts, plus Jake’s Music Festival, Art.Downtown, the Beyond Music benefit, We Are the Ink Monkey, Paucity, Kent County String Band, Flashing Blue Lights and more.

Save the Weekend Bucket List as an image on your smartphone or mobile device and take it with you on your jaunts.

Festival of Faith and Music with
The Welcome Wagon, Andrew Rose Gregory
9 p.m. Thursday

Andrew Bird
10 p.m. Friday

Josh Garrells, Mason Jar Music
8 p.m. Saturday
$15-$38
Calvin College Covenant Fine Arts Center

As impressive as this three-day lineup of musical artists might be, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sixth biennial edition of Calvin College’s Festival of Faith and Music. Calvin’s Ken Heffner and his minions have assembled a mind-boggling array of speakers and presenters “discussing and celebrating insightful music that explores, in some significant way, issues of faith.” Get the lowdown on the conference itself at the Calvin website here.

Musically, the lineup also features some tremendous national and Michigan-bred artists (Rachel Zylstra, Jon Troast, Antrim Dells, CARE on Friday afternoon; Mason Jar Collective, The Soil and The Sun, Julie Lee, Sarah Masen starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday) along with headliners such as ever-inventive Chicago singer-songwriter Andrew Bird (who delivered an amazing show last year at Meijer Gardens) and independent religious folk/indie-pop band The Welcome Wagon from New York. Learn more about the lineup and purchase tickets online here.

Art. Downtown. @ The DAAC with
Ritsu Katsumata, Hugo Claudin, Melissa Duimstra
6:30 p.m. Friday
Free
The Division Avenue Arts Collective, Grand Rapids

All right, let’s start by saying that Friday night’s amazing, free “Art. Downtown.” event features about 400 local artists “taking over” more than 30 downtown venues served by three trollies. It involves artists displaying every media imaginable, not to mention performance art and live music at a host of sites. You can get the complete lowdown, with maps and more at the official artdowntowngr.com website.

I choose to spotlight the DAAC, which is hosting a performance titled, “A Shrine for Victims of Gun Violence,” an installation of video projection and music that seeks to honor all victims who have lost their lives to gun violence. Brilliant electric violinist Ritsu Katsumata, joined by Hugo Claudin and Melissa Duimstra, will perform every 20 minutes. Get details at The DAAC’s website.

(And speaking of inventive, The DAAC on Saturday hosts the envelope-pushing C.J. Boyd, described as a “bassist, composer, vagabond” who employs “low-end loops and voices in order to try and stop time” and who’s been on his “InfiniTour” since spring 2008, $6.)

We Are the Ink Monkey
7:30 p.m. Friday
$10 donation suggested
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids (250 Commerce Ave. SW)

Since you’ll be downtown for the art anyway, why not check out the final show in this season’s MAJIC Concert Series at Bethlehem Church? It spotlights the “energetic, fun, silly, respectfully irreverent” sounds of Americana/blues/country/pop-rock act We Are the Ink Monkey. Get details online at majicingr.org.

Beyond Music: Spring Benefit for Spirit Space
Various Artists
6-11 p.m. Friday
$25
Fenn Valley Vineyards, 6130 122nd Ave., Fennville

This fundraiser for Saugatuck’s Spirit Space features live music from five eclectic West Michigan acts – Peat in the Creel, Carol Johnson, Jim Cooper & Friends and Pamela Chappell – with wine, hors d’oeurves and a silent auction of artwork, merchandise and more.

Sounds like a terrific way to kick off the weekend. Get more information about Friday’s event online here.

Henry Rollins
7 p.m. Friday
$22.50 advance, $27 day of show
The Orbit Room, 2525 Lake Eastbrook Blvd. SE, Grand Rapids

Henry Rollins is absolutely legendary as a spoken-word artist and punk/alt-metal singer who once served as the frontman for Black Flag. He’s also an outspoken activist, writer, actor and radio DJ. Catch him in Grand Rapids as part of “The Long March” tour.

Analecta, Paucity, The Westbound,
Adversary, Alaska
7 p.m. Friday
$5
Lemonjello’s, 61 E. Ninth St.

Stronger then espresso. Analecta, an instrumental, experimental post-rock trio from South Bend, Ind., teams up with the similarly experimental and much-lauded Paucity from Grand Rapids to rev up this Holland coffeehouse, along with three other bands. By the way, check out more about Paucity under the Sunday listings: The band is starting a new and unusual acoustic series at Grand Rapids Brewing Co. in downtown Grand Rapids.

Jake’s Music Festival
Various Artists
7 p.m. Saturday
Free, donations encouraged
Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids

This annual benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation features a who’s who lineup of up-and-coming West Michigan bands, from the bracing alt-rock of Igby Iris to the eclectic rock/pop of Local Spin of the Year-winning Simien the Whale to the blues of Otis Blueswell Jr. Also on the bill: Last Call Band, Lynn Thompson, The Nick Stevenson Band and Jared Wekenman.

Named for Rockford’s Jake Scheidel, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 6, organizers have staged this diverse showcase of West Michigan bands for eight years. The ninth annual installation of Jake’s Music Festival starts a tad later than previous events but promises to be just as inspiring with some returning favorites and some new acts on the bill (plus a silent auction). Get the full schedule here.

And check out my Local Spins Live radio show at News Talk 1340 AM at 10 a.m. Wednesday when Bradley Self and Pete Dunning of the eternally inventive Igby Iris will be among my guests.

Donna the Buffalo, Big Dudee Roo, The Turnips
7 p.m. Saturday
$16 advance, $18 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids

To say New York’s rootsy and wildly entertaining Donna the Buffalo has a following in West Michigan would be an understatement.

“The Herd” hoofs it big-time to every show this band plays in these parts and for good reason: Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins lead this band through lively sets splashed with everything from Zydeco to reggae to country rock.

And to make the show even more inviting, two fine Michigan bands — Big Dudee Roo and The Turnips — also are on the bill.

Kent County String Band: Springtime Serenade
8 p.m. Saturday
$8
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, Grand Rapids

This is billed as a “sensational seasonal spectacular,” “a jaw-dropping show” and “a night of dining, dancing and swanky songs of vernal valor that will awaken the lover in you.” And the talented, folk- and bluegrass-hued Kent County String Band has reason to boast with special guests Johnny Bruha of Lazy Genius, Molly Bouwsma Schultz of Blue Molly and Jake Stilson also on board. Details online here. (It’s the night after Schultz and Blue Molly play Billy’s Lounge, $5.)

Oh and if that’s not enough spring excitement for you, the Tip Top on Friday night hosts The Madeira, The Fuzzrites and Hot Love for a night of surf- and garage-rock fun ($5 advance, $7 day of show).

GRBC Unplugged with Paucity
8 p.m. Sunday
Free
Grand Rapids Brewing Co., Grand Rapids

Presenting the first live music tried at the new Grand Rapids Brewing Co. at the corner of Fulton Street and Ionia Avenue SW: normally electrified bands playing “MTV Unplugged”-style shows in the back bar section of this restaurant/brew pub, starting with instrumental rock’s Paucity. Organizer Dan Climie of Paucity tells me this strives to be “a great showcase for local bands” that exposes them to a new audience in a new way.

“If it goes well, then could be a new place for new and emerging bands to break out,” he suggests. The four-week trial continues with grrRoPoLis on April 21, Soundmeetsound on April 28 and The Pistolbrides on May 5. Oh, and Scopitone Vidbox/Lamp Light will be recording the sessions being held in a “living room” setting.

UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS

Flashing Blue Lights album-release show at The Pyramid Scheme, 8 p.m. Friday, $6 – I’ve heard the new album from Grand Rapids’ Flashing Blue Lights and it’s a gem – rootsy in a British invasion sort of way with hints of folk and country. Juxtapose and Jason Norman & The Red Lyons are on the bill for this show as well. Oh, and The Pyramid Scheme precedes this at 8 p.m. Thursday with Jamaican Queens, Ghost Heart and Our Brother the Native ($15), and follows it by hosting Super Happy Funtime Burlesque’s rollicking spring tour kickoff show at 9 p.m. Saturday ($10-$25). Tickets for all three shows available online here.

Clutch, Orange Goblin, Lionize and Scorpion Child playing The Orbit Room, 7 p.m. Saturday, sold out – Hard rock/alt-metal band Clutch clearly has a devoted following because this Grand Rapids show is sold out. But check out photos from the concert on Sunday in the Spins on Music Weekend Photo Gallery.

Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds playing Founders Brewing Co., 9:30 p.m. Saturday, $5 — This bracing eight-piece New York soul-funk outfit returns to Founders for another Grand Rapids show that promises to be truly scintillating with some fine musicianship on display. Chicago’s eight-piece rock/soul group Congregation opens the evening.

Members of Fauxgrass Quartet hosting the first RBC Acoustic Jam Session at 6 p.m. Sunday, Rockford Brewing Co., 12 E. Bridge St. in downtown Rockford, free — Bring your instruments and prepare to hoedown at the inaugural session of these weekly all-acoustic, bluegrass-hued, in-the-round performances that encourage everyone from veterans to students to join in. Read the full Spins on Music story here.

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