Artist Spotlights · Features · Videos
A hidden gem along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, the guitarist with an impressive past shines these days as a vintage country music artist. (Video)
Features · Playlists · Top 10 Lists
Welcome to the debut of the Local Spins Playlist, kicked off by Dan Rickabus, whose wildly eclectic song picks include Radiohead, Seth Bernard, The Beatles and some artists, well, you’ve probably never heard before.
With the GRSA turning 10, members will deliver some of “the best songs no one’s ever heard” during Friday’s event.
Really, it’s true. West Michigan’s unique and ‘intense’ listening room celebrates a major milestone with Thursday’s performance by East Coast singer-songwriter Pat McGee.
Breaking music news · Features
After computer issues caused some delays in notifying acts, the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts has finalized the performance schedule for June 6-8 and it’s now online.
The veteran Nashville rock band, which is touring behind a brand new album, plays the Tip Top on Friday, with West Michigan’s The Dushanes opening the show.
Breaking music news · Features
St. Cecilia won’t host an ArtPrize musicians’ showcase this fall, but more busking stations will be added for performers.
With special guests galore, the DJ crew regularly delivers soul and funk to Billy’s Lounge and The Pyramid Scheme, growing a devoted, dance-happy audience in the process.
Commentary · Features · Upcoming shows
West Michigan’s celebration on Saturday is as much about history, nostalgia and supporting local record shops and bands as it is about snapping up exclusive vinyl releases. Dodds hosts its first RSD under new ownership, while Vertigo Music and The Corner Record Shop continue to make the day a real party.
Saturday’s unprecedented anniversary concert will pay tribute to decade of international stars who’ve played the venue and bring more than 70 performers to the stage in a rare spectacle.
Breaking music news · Features
The keyboard ace for bands such as Jive at Five and Blue Molly who died Saturday of an apparent heart attack remembered as a terrific friend and versatile musician.
Saturday’s anniversary show at Wealthy Theatre will showcase eight eclectic local acts while raising money for, and raising awareness of, juvenile diabetes research.
Breaking music news · Features
Local Spins’ early April news update shines a spotlight on two well-known Michigan music icons: trumpet player Max Colley III and sound expert Bill Chrysler, owner of Redwall North. […]
Thursday night’s Fresh Folk finale at Grand Rapids’ St. Cecilia Music Center promises a dizzying array of eclectic Michigan performers and fans’ last chance to see The Northern Skies live.
Features · Top 10 Lists · Videos
The time to warm up is now: Topped by the No. 1 hit from West Michigan’s own Frankie Ballard, the 2014 edition of best songs for cottage and lakefront relaxation spotlights summery songs of the past decade.
Who’d a thunk it? Even band frontman David Kirchgessner can’t believe that more than two decades later, the Grand Rapids ska band is as popular as ever.
As the community radio station’s spring fund drive revs up, WYCE unveils its “881 Essentials,” including about 50 local and regional bands and solo artists they play on-air.
With roots in West Michigan, one of the state’s hottest string trios goes all out for St. Paddy’s hoopla while venture into bluegrass, folk, world music and rock.
Breaking music news · Features
With hundreds of acts scrambling to get noticed, West Michigan’s own Stepdad, Rick Chyme, The Soil & The Sun and Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers dive into the “zoo” that is SXSW. Watch an exclusive Local Spins video of Chyme’s performance Thursday.
Breaking music news · Features
Since 1987, the beloved pub in Conklin has brought universally acclaimed Irish performers to its stage as well as Celtic musicians from across Michigan. Fenian’s could host its final St. Patrick’s Day parade on Monday.
Midwest Skies, The Outer Vibe, We Know Jackson, Uncommon Road, SoundIsRed, Triangulion and more to play two stages during the weekend’s diverse music showcase.
The popular Grand Rapids folk-rock quintet unveiled some new songs as it accumulates material for another album and is poised to head west on tour this summer.
Julia Yob and writing/directing partner Ian Mockerman’s two-hour production about the foibles of laboring in food service launches a three-night run Friday at Wealthy Theatre. And seeds of the musical can be traced to ‘inspiring’ participation in a local songwriters’ alliance.
Ann Arbor’s Bad Indians and Chit Chat join Grand Rapids’ Haunted Leather and Heaters to deliver Michigan Psych Night’s debut on Saturday in an Eastown house concert. But just what is it really all about?
The inaugural, family-oriented three-day festival featuring Wisaal, An Dro and Badenya Drum & Dance wraps up on Sunday at Osgood Brewing, boasting “folk music from around the globe.”
Breaking music news · Features · Videos
Local Spins’ new music update features Grand Rapids electropop phenomenon Stepdad, plus new videos from road warriors Nathan Kalish and Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, and up-and-coming Lansing indie-rock act Lights & Caves.
Local Spins asked West Michigan musicians what impact The Fab Four had on their music and what might have happened if the boys from Liverpool had never taken the globe by storm. Post your own comments about The Beatles and you could win a gift.
Breaking music news · Features
Hundreds of bands, dance troupes and theater acts expected to play 45th annual Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids June 6-8. Get the application details here. A Monday[…]
Local Spins offers a behind-the-scenes view of the adventures of a West Michigan band as it played the prestigious festival with stars of the folk and Americana scene. (Photos, video)
The Crane Wives, Troll for Trout, Hawks & Owls and more bring night of music to Rockford Brewing to aid bassist who mangled hand in snowblower.
Pianist Xavier Davis, drummer Quincy Davis and bassist Matt Brewer to play rare homecoming concert at St. Cecilia with proud fathers.
Michigan folk, bluegrass and roots acts — from Lindsay Lou to Blue Molly — will ‘rub elbows’ and play the day-long Wheatland fundraiser at The Intersection.
As we rock into 2014, Local Spins takes a look at the top music stories on the website from the past year: the posts and features that drew the most interest from readers.
Breaking music news · Features
After scoring two No. 1 active rock singles from “Onyx,” the hard-rocking, hard-touring West Michigan band plays a homecoming show at The Intersection Friday with guest Michael Crittenden.
Breaking music news · Features
West Michigan acts continue to make a splash beyond the region, from Nashville to Europe. Get the lowdown in this Local Spins December music news update.
Grand Haven’s School Zone hopes its series might expand to broadcast TV. Vander Ark debuts songs from the show next Wednesday at Grand Rapids’ Wealthy Theatre.
Breaking music news · Features
The song by Bowles and the band Bennett debuted this morning. Fans can download it with a donation to the Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign; get the link here. Free Baker[…]
Want your music preserved for posterity? West Michigan artists can submit CDs to the district library so patrons can literally check out their music. By Elizabeth Slowik LocalSpins.com The[…]
The second year of St. Cecilia’s Fresh Folk series opens by spotlighting the Americana duo from Nashville and Grand Rapids’ own Troll for Trout in an unplugged setting. Win tickets[…]
A tale of two DJ-driven pre-Halloween dance spectaculars with thousands of dollars in cash prizes to boot. A howlin’ good time awaits on Saturday. More and more people are[…]
Breaking music news · Features
This October roundup of West Michigan music news at Local Spins takes a peek at long-running jazz jams in Grand Haven and Grand Rapids, and a gospel legend appearing on[…]
Breaking music news · Features
Hundreds bid adieu to longtime concert promoter and Orbit Room owner Don Dorshimer in a casual-yet-poignant affair early Friday evening at the music venue he cherished. Don Dorshimer rocked[…]
The Grand Rapids Symphony has the new MusicNOW series, the West Michigan Symphony has The Block, and Classical Revolution has the bar scene: All ways that classical music is building[…]
Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck’s first-ever appearance at the historic event was just the icing on the cake for the 40th Wheatland fest, drawing 10,000-plus people to rural Mecosta County for[…]
Grand Rapids’ Nathan Kalish, drummer for the Michigan-bred Deadstring Brothers, has averaged five shows a week in 2013, crisscrossing the U.S. and Europe. And that hard work may be paying[…]
With Grammy-winning banjo star/comedian Steve Martin playing a sold-out show at Meijer Gardens, this Local Spins Sunday feature takes a look at why young folk, pop and jam-band musicians are[…]
With a new studio album set for release next month, The Todd Wolfe Band brings its rigorous national tour to Grand Rapids’ Tip Top Deluxe on Friday. More than[…]
Spotlighting regional/local musical talent, the weekly series lights up the amphitheater with genre-spanning bands — another thing that makes Grand Rapids “a cool place to live.” See the full 2013[…]
Part of the Nashville-based Escondido, the Holland Christian High School grad plays a sold-out show with Lord Huron at The Pyramid Scheme on Monday. For a guy who readily[…]
For the third year, Circle Pines Center in Delton will host the unique outdoor music festival that boasts more than 30 local and regional bands performing on two stages. See[…]
