This weekend’s downtown event over the Grand River boasts sets by seven regional acts, who are also vying for votes for their songs. Check out the schedule, listen to the songs.
SCROLL DOWN TO LISTEN TO SONG ENTRIES FROM FESTIVAL PERFORMERS
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With an eclectic mix of regional stars, the Blue Bridge Music Fest will return to the pedestrian bridge in downtown Grand Rapids in late September to pump up ArtPrize 2018.
Sponsored by HopCat and WYCE-FM, bluegrass fave Lindsay Lou, blues-guitar hero Jake Kershaw, electronic music act Pink Sky, soul singer Molly, folk’s Cameron Blake, indie-pop’s Lipstick Jodi, hip hop’s The SEVENth and psych-rock’s Lazy Genius will play the free, two-day festival that takes place on the Blue Bridge Sept. 28-29.
For the third year in a row, Quinn Mathews, former manager for community radio station WYCE (88.1 FM), has booked and produced this year’s festival.
“The concept has always been free music smack dab in the middle of downtown for the guests to our city during ArtPrize, to showcase the talent coming out of West Michigan,” Mathews said.
“So pumped for the lineup. Just like (the programming on) WYCE, this festival is ‘A World of Music,’ all born right here in Michigan, from blues to hip hop to bluegrass and soul. You will experience a little bit of everything. Where else are you going to catch Lindsay Lou and Jake Kershaw for free?”
Not only that, but each of the seven Blue Bridge Fest performers has entered a song in the ArtPrize competition. Voters can cast ballots for their favorite song online here, and you can listen to all of the songs below. The act collecting the most votes among the seven entries will win a $1,000 prize provided by HopCat.
And with HopCat on board, the festival also will feature local beer and food for spectators.
Last year’s event drew thousands of people who gathered to watch bands or just strolled the bridge in between visits to ArtPrize venues. ArtPrize 10 – the world’s largest art competition – runs Sept. 19-Oct. 7 in Grand Rapids, with hundreds of artists competing for more than $500,000 in grants and prizes.
The Blue Bridge Music Festival runs 4-10 p.m. Friday and 1-10 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
Check out Local Spins coverage of last year’s Blue Bridge fest here: Sun shines on Blue Bridge Music Festival’s opening day in Grand Rapids
BLUE BRIDGE FEST SONG CONTEST ENTRIES
Listed in order of this weekend’s performances
LAZY GENIUS, “Love”
LINDSAY LOU, “Magic Man”
PINK SKY, “Under”
MOLLY, “Shine”
THE SEVENTH, “Cain’t Wait”
JAKE KERSHAW, “Sitting in the Rain”
CAMERON BLAKE, “Queen Bee”
LIPSTICK JODI, “Anymore”
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC