Quirky doesn’t begin to describe the opening night of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s 10th summer concert series. How about abnormally wet and extra-terrestrially weird? Not only was Friday[…]
Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts will raise the curtain on summer entertainment this weekend with dozens of bands, dance groups and solo artists playing several stages over three days.[…]
2012 Festival of the Arts Noon Friday-7 p.m. Sunday Free Throughout downtown Grand Rapids I literally ran out of gas on my way back into town on Monday, but there’s[…]
Amid all of the new music venues and nightlife concert opportunities that Grand Rapids has spawned in recent years, there’s now some sobering news to report: Jukes Bar on Leonard[…]
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Billed as the “youngest blues band in America,” the Homemade Jamz Blues Band will launch the 2012 edition of the LAV Budweiser Blues on the Mall series on June 13.[…]
Shannon Stephens 7 p.m. Friday Free Schuler Books & Music, Grand Rapids (28th Street) Seattle singer-songwriter Shannon Stephens plays a bluesy folk-rock with her “Fabulous Friends” that’s earned attention from[…]
For the second year, Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize will accept original songs as entries as official artworks in the international competition. And this year, St. Cecilia Music Center is offering $10,000[…]
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards isn’t afraid to speak his mind on stage or in his songs. Starting with his Vietnam War-era hit, “Sunshine,” in the early 1970s, the singer has long[…]
Jonathan Edwards 7 p.m. May 15 and 16 $32-$180 Seven Steps Up, Spring Lake For tickets, click here or call 616-678-3618 Tune into News Talk 1340 AM at 10 a.m.[…]
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Boasting 17 of Michigan’s most dynamic bands and performers, 2012’s edition of the Tuesday Evening Music Club series at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is sure to pack the[…]
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Bonnie Raitt’s done it again. For the second straight time, the blues guitarist-singer’s scheduled concert at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has sold out on the first day of[…]
Caroline Herring 7:30 p.m. Monday Free, donations to KidsFirst One Trick Pony, Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is always looking for an excuse to party. This week, it doesn’t need one.[…]
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How about a Rock ‘n’ Roll Draft? With the over-hyped, prime-time-powered NFL Draft under way tonight, I couldn’t help but wonder what the selection process might look like if rock[…]
If the turnout Saturday at just two of West Michigan’s most popular independent record shops is any indication, Record Store Day had things spinning toward its biggest success story yet.[…]
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Jim Avett 7:30 p.m. Monday Free admission, $10 donation suggested for In The Image SHOES program One Trick Pony, Grand Rapids If you thought last week was nuts, take a[…]
Singer and Grand Rapids native Anthony Kiedis won’t be inside his customized ’58 Airstream trailer when he rolls into Cleveland with his Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates for Saturday’s Rock[…]
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This summer’s garden party just got a whole lot more interesting. Soul singer and hometown hero Al Green, blues legend Bonnie Raitt (with Mavis Staples), reggae icon Jimmy Cliff, jam[…]
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Today’s anti-summer weather might not scream shorts and hula hoops, but live music’s favorite time of year is on the doorstep as evidenced by this week’s Grand Rapids festival announcements.[…]
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The Fuzzrites, The Boss Mustangs 9:30 p.m. Wednesday $5 Charlie’s Bar & Grille, Grand Rapids This week’s BIG radar-jamming shows will divide fans into two distinct rock camps and ne’er[…]
From pop phenoms to jazz veterans to bluegrass jammers, it’s time for Part II of my quarterly Local Spins roundup of new album releases by local and regional artists. (If[…]
Miniature Tigers 7 p.m. Thursday (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) $10 advance, $12 day of show The Intersection, Grand Rapids Inventive Brooklyn indie-pop band Miniature Tigers brings its Modern Art[…]
For several decades, Grand Haven’s Bill Chrysler has worked with the best of ‘em, quite literally: John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Bob Seger, Paul McCartney, Maroon 5, Tom Petty, Roxy Music[…]
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Robert Plant and Jimmy Page surely would have approved. And had they been alive to see it, I’m betting iconic bluesmen Junior Kimbrough and Son House would have left smiling,[…]
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With this week’s unseasonably tropical weather, does anybody need an even bigger tease that summer is still three months away? How about this? Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park today[…]
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John Mayer won’t be touring after all. Mayer’s longtime stage sound expert Bill Chrysler said the end to rehearsals in Los Angeles for a national tour came to a shockingly[…]
Davina and the Vagabonds 8 p.m. Monday Free admission, donations to Special Olympics One Trick Pony, downtown Grand Rapids Because LaughFest yuks it up in Grand Rapids starting Thursday, it’s[…]
Jazz isn’t getting the short shrift anymore. Grand Rapids now seems to embrace this genre like never before, with The Gilmore Collection’s recent conversion of downtown’s Ottawa Tavern into a[…]
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Guitarist-singer John Mayer’s announcement of a new tour and album the week of the Michigan primary – with three April stops in the Great Lakes State, including an April 12[…]
Mutemath, Canon Blue 7 p.m. Thursday $20 advance, $23 day of show The Intersection Musically speaking, Grand Rapids has really got it going on this week. Take for instance, inventive[…]
George Harrison would have turned 69 this Saturday. While it’s hard to believe that he’s already been gone from this world for more than a decade, the influential and spiritual[…]
Steve Aoki, Datsik 7 p.m. Sunday (doors open at 6 p.m.) The Orbit Room $35 When I first wrote late last year that fast-rising electro-house and electronica artist Steve Aoki[…]
WYCE-FM’s Jammies XIII 5:45 p.m. Tuesday The Intersection Free; donations of clothing, non-perishable food accepted Sure, everybody’s still talking about the Grammys, but there’s no time to look back: The[…]
Thank goodness for Adele. Her predictable-but-deserved Grammy sweep on Sunday night means the likes of circus acts Katy Perry and Lady Gaga were left on the sidelines without any hardware[…]
It’s a Grammy Award certainty. When all is said and done, Adele will rule the day,er, night. The British pop singer who’s getting as much ink about her recent throat[…]
Winter’s returned to West Michigan, but no need to fret (unless you’re a guitarist). Hey, the snow’s slowed down so it’s time to warm up with live music aplenty in[…]
Folk from Bon Iver. Edgy indie-rock from Death Cab for Cutie. Dance-happy pop from Foster the People. Psychedelic rock from My Morning Jacket. Experimental melancholy from Radiohead. Alternative music doesn’t[…]
Last year, John Legend and The Roots appropriately won a Grammy Award for best R&B song for “Shine,” a masterful slice of soul with an uplifting, inspiring message. I’m not[…]
The Grammy Award categorization gurus have struck again. For years, the Grammy version of folk has amounted to a curious hodge-podge of music, ranging from acoustic rock to country to[…]
Foo Fighters or Coldplay? Radiohead or The Decemberists? Who deserves rock honors? Ah, the Grammy Awards. It’s a love-hate relationship for sure. Despite the lofty industry stature of The Recording[…]
Rusted Root, The Crane Wives 6:30 p.m. Sunday The Intersection, Grand Rapids $15 advance, $18 day of show Singer and musician Michael Glabicki has ably led Pittsburgh’s Rusted Root for[…]
Granted, like a motorist rubber-necking a car wreck, I’m sure I’ll tune into tonight’s Super Bowl halftime spectacle starring Madonna and her super-hyped crew of guests. After all, it comes[…]
The uber-hype over Madonna’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime: A) extravaganza, B) marketing ploy, or C) disaster drill, with appearances by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. got me to wondering whether[…]
Break out those hula-hoops, the animal headgear and jam-band hippie garb because the Electric Forest festival is, indeed, returning to Rothbury in 2012. The String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, STS9,[…]
Could Detroit’s own innovative popsters Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. really be breaking, ulp, into the big time? The group’s late-night network TV debut on Monday’s “The Conan O’Brien Show” certainly[…]
The decision is all yours: cutting-edge jazz or over-the-edge, psychedelic prog-rock jamming. The New York-based Robert Glasper Experiment takes the idea of rhythm and space, mixes it with hip-hop, and turns jazz[…]
Way back in the Dark Ages when I first put pen to paper and fingers to the green-screen Atex computer system at The Grand Rapids Press, the newspaper ran a column[…]
Enduring jazz singers are a rare breed. West Michigan is lucky to have a few of these gems, including the effervescent Mary Rademacher. As I said noted on the air[…]
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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Bz0d2xm7U&w=640&h=360] Brace yourselves and start saving your pennies – OK, make that dollars – live music fans. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s announcement today of another U.S.[…]
Nervous But Excited 7 p.m. Friday, Fifth Third Ballpark’s Pepsi Stadium Club; $8 advance, $10 day of show Rumours Retold: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac 8 p.m. Thursday, Wealthy Theatre; $12[…]
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Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis had hoped for a homecoming concert and now he’s got one. The Chili Peppers will play Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena on May[…]
