Blues, folk, bluegrass, country, rock: W. Mich. music in photos

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Musicians have made the most of a pleasant September after a COVID-impaired summer. Sadie Bass, Jake Kershaw, Edison Kitt, Hayes Griffin, FlyLiteGemini, Out of Favor Boys and more light up our photo galleries.

The Trend of the Summer: Manistee hosted a drive-in concert starring mid-Michigan country singer Sadie Bass on Saturday. (Photo/Eric Stoike)

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West Michigan's music scene

As they say: “Make hay while the sun shines.”

That’s especially true for West Michigan bands and solo artists in September 2020 because opportunities for live music have been limited this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course, outdoor shows in Michigan won’t be possible a whole lot longer, so the third weekend in September was chock full of concerts, from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids to Grand Haven to Manistee:

• Mid-Michigan country singing phenom Sadie Bass and band played Manistee’s first-ever drive-in concert on Saturday, held at an old K-Mart parking lot and hosted by the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts;

• The same day, Kalamazoo blues band Out of Favor Boys fired up a free drive-in show at Portage District Library;

Rock on High: FlyLiteGemini on the State Theatre marquee Friday. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

• Jerry Carsten Dan, Hayes Griffin & Jason Wheeler, Josh Rose & Kyle Rasche and Eli Roe got the first of three Fallasburg Festival live music sessions started on Saturday afternoon at Camp Clear Sky outside Lowell, hosted by LowellArts (with the third and final session taking place Sunday with the schedule here).

Earlier in the weekend:

• Marshall’s Jake Kershaw and band — with opener Drew Nelson — performed Thursday for a modest crowd outside Studio Park in downtown Grand Rapids as part of Listening Room’s “Listening Lawn” series;

• West Michigan’s Edison Kitt & The Strangers played the outdoor “Music in the Garten” series on Friday at Third Nature Brewing Co. in Rockford;

• Grand Haven singer-guitarist Jack Leaver on Friday trotted out a host of entertaining covers in the first of two nights outside Grand Seafood & Oyster Bar in downtown Grand Haven;

• FlyLiteGemini unfurled its engaging indie-rock in an unusual place on Friday — on the marquee at Kalamazoo State Theatre in downtown Kalamazoo.

Browse the photo galleries below.

PHOTO GALLERY: Jake Kershaw, Drew Nelson at Studio Park (Thursday)
Photos by Kendra Petersen-Kamp