Top-shelf songwriting and stellar musicianship took the spotlight at concerts across West Michigan over the weekend. Plus, check out videos and photos from the jam-packed ‘Laurel Canyon II’ tribute.
Painting a Musical Picture: Brett Dennen on stage Saturday with his paintings. (Photo/Holly Holtzclaw)
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It all starts with the song.
As anyone in the music industry will tell you, a well-crafted tune is the crux of a memorable — and often successful — recording or performance.
And audiences from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo soaked up plenty of unforgettable songs over the weekend, with singer-songwriters and musicians delivering their penetrating tunes at a variety of venues.
On Saturday night in Grand Rapids, California singer-songwriter Brett Dennen challenged the typical structure of a show at The Big Room, noting “This is going to be a little bit different from most of the concerts you’ve been to.”
In the first set, Dennen showcased each of his six original paintings that accompanied him on stage by playing a song that reminds him of each one. Dennen explained that he has been enjoying exploring the connection between visual art and music on his “Art is Life” tour.
During the break between sets, fans were encouraged to submit their song requests and the reason for the request via handwritten notes. These requests would build Dennen’s set list for the second set.
While plenty of crowd favorites made the cut (“Ain’t No Reason” and “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog)”), Dennen also praised the crowd for digging into some deep cuts and giving him the chance to play some overlooked songs. Dennen was particularly excited to see the titles “Bonfire” and “This Is Going To Be The Year.” The singer also engaged in some entertaining banter with the crowd after receiving a grand total of three Grateful Dead requests.
The seated crowd listened intently throughout the night, but Dennen brought the already intimate, listening-room-style environment to a new level near the end of the set when he sat on the edge of the stage to sing, forgoing a microphone and letting The Big Room’s acoustics do the work.
Masterful: Djangophonique at Bell’s. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
To close out the show, Dennen performed the 2005 track “Blessed,” a song about being grateful to be alive. The message seemed to resonate with many fans and sparked a wholesome sing-along moment.
That same night, about 18 miles away in Lowell, four Michigan singer-songwriters created their own special moments as part of an “In-the-Round” concert in the Lowell Arts Sound Check series that had Josh Rose, Sierra Cassidy, Elizabeth Landry and Zach Peterson trading songs and stories in intimate fashion.
Earlier in the weekend, Cadillac native and celebrated singer-guitarist Luke Winslow-King unfurled new and familiar tunes at Midtown in Grand Rapids, with The Go Rounds’ Graham Parsons and Dobro player Mark Lavengood joining him for the Friday night show. It was part of a Michigan tour that also stopped in Cadillac on Saturday and closes out with a performance at Salt of the Earth in Fennville on Wednesday (Nov. 26).
While on the subject of classic, enduring songs, Friday night also attracted an overflow crowd at Grand Rapids’ SpeakEZ Lounge for Local Spins’ “Laurel Canyon II” — with 16 musicians from across Michigan performing the music of The Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and The Eagles for enthused fans. (Check out photos and videos below, with a schedule of upcoming SpeakEZ shows here.)
That same evening showcased stellar musicianship in the form of jazz manouche/gypsy jazz courtesy of Ann Arbor’s Djangophonique which performed at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo as part of the Connecting Chords Music Festival, with Kalamazoo’s own Birdseed Salesmen getting the night started.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brett Dennen at The Big Room
Photos by Holly Holtzclaw
Sound Check in Lowell
Photos by Ryne Clarke
Photos by Anna Sink
