The weekend was full of surprises, including a giant turnout for City Built Brewing’s Bridge Blast on the 6th Street Bridge with sets by J.Rob, Biomassive and more, plus a Start of Summer tribute to David Bowie.
Bridge Blast Bliss: Throngs flocked to the Grand River and Sixth Street Bridge for Saturday’s festival. (Photo/Holly Holtzclaw)
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You could say that this was a weekend that had it all when it comes live music in the great outdoors.
How about a free beer festival on the Sixth Street Bridge in Grand Rapids, with thousands flocking to City Built Brewing Co.’s Bridge Blast featuring eclectic performances by Biomassive, J.Rob & Bedroom (with special guests), Goat Trip, Elijah Russ Collective, Cosmic Knot and Nathan Walton & The Remedy?
Saturday’s day-long affair celebrated City Built’s fifth anniversary with a surprisingly large, upbeat turnout: Fans even told Local Spins that they ran out of beer on the bridge itself at one point for an event that some suggested served as a sort of replacement for the popular Founders Fest which hasn’t been held since 2019, before the pandemic. The successful event also served as a benefit for the Grand Rapids Public Schools Foundation.
The Scene: The park, bridge and riverfront on Saturday evening. (Photo/Local Spins)
By the time J.Rob & Bedrock took the stage in early evening, folks were in a truly celebratory mood, with the ensemble energizing the crowd with a hip-hop performance aided by some special guests on stage. Goat Trip followed with African percussion rhythms that encouraged people to dance.
A large crowd remained even at 10 p.m. when Traverse City electronic rock band Biomassive took the stage to close out the night with an EDM-infused performance.
Elsewhere the same evening, Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Brie Stoner introduced her new band to fans at the Studio Park piazza in downtown Grand Rapids for the Listening Lawn series, unfurling dreamy rock- and pop-laced treats amid a visually striking stage display. (Photo, video highlights below.)
Meanwhile, Saturday’s Start of Summer celebration at Rockford Brewing’s beer tent was focused on the legendary David Bowie, specifically his classic 1972 album, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” courtesy of the Grand Rapids band Hazy Past.
After an entertaining opening set, the band launched into an impressive track-by-track re-creation of the glam rock collection to the delight of fans who twirled, fist-pumped and sang along to the likes of “It Ain’t Easy” and “Suffragette City.” (Video, photo highlights below.)
In Kalamazoo, the city’s newest live music venue, Factory Coffee (just south of the old Gibson Guitar factory), on Friday hosted touring act Brief Candles — who last played the city as part of the Kalamashoegazer Festival.
That same night, singer-songwriters Eric O’Daly and Max Lockwood played sets at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe, followed on Saturday by a night of post-punk featuring Out, Casket Lottery and 1984 Tigers. Also on Saturday, Old Dog Tavern’s Backyard hosted Iconix (after songwriters such as Ron Casebeer performed on that stage Friday).
Browse all the images below.
PHOTO GALLERY: Bridge Blast 2022 in Grand Rapids
J.Rob & Bedrock (w/ special guests), Goat Trip, Biomassive
Photos by Holly Holtzclaw and John Sinkevics
PHOTO GALLERY: Brie Stoner at Studio Park (Listening Lawn)
Photos by Loren Johnson and John Sinkevics
PHOTO GALLERY: Hazy Past at Rockford Brewing Beer Tent (Start of Summer)
Photos by John Sinkevics
