The Rolling Stones’ longtime keyboard player comments on the legendary band and the excitement of upcoming concerts in an exclusive Spins on Music interview. Lots of smiles, and everyone is[…]
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The debut of Randy Marsh’s Sunday night jazz sessions at SpeakEZ Lounge shows great promise as a hot spot for the genre in downtown Grand Rapids. This may be[…]
Breaking music news · Commentary · Features
Grand Rapids jazz drummer Randy Marsh is back at it, firing up Sunday nights with rotating trios in a brand new location: The SpeakEZ Lounge. Changes in the downtown[…]
Breaking music news · Features · Videos
St. Cecilia Music Center, Mackinaw Harvest Music and financial sponsors doled out cash awards Thursday to first-time ArtPrize song contest winners. And that had them whistling a happy tune. “Show[…]
Commentary · Features · Upcoming shows
For 18 years, the concerts have raised money for Kent County food pantries and spotlighted local acts. Feedback fires up again on Sunday at Founders Brewing. FEEDBACK 2012 4[…]
Breaking music news · Features
Check out the top vote-getters in the separate ArtPrize music competition, with winners sharing $10,000 in prizes. ArtPrize has finally paid off for artists of the musical variety. None[…]
The show really must go on: Most scheduled acts on the second day of the ArtPrize Musicians’ Showcase performed in spite of Friday’s rainy weather. It continues Saturday and Sunday[…]
Concert reviews · Features · Videos
ArtPrize Musicians’ Showcase at Grand Rapids’ St. Cecilia Music Center saw small but mindful audiences; nearly 50 acts to play indoors and out over the weekend. The crowds weren’t imposing,[…]
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WEATHER NOTICE: Due to rainy conditions, outdoor performances may or may not take place as part of the St. Cecilia music showcase. In the event of rain, bands/performers will be[…]
Midwest Arts Conference being held for the first time in West Michigan draws performing arts industry reps, dynamic performers. (Video) Rhonda Vincent, The Second City, Susan Ashton, John Berry, The[…]
It may rock, but Michigan fave Kid Rock’s “In Detroit” theme for the 2012 season doesn’t even mention the Detroit Lions. What about kicking off the season with reworked classics[…]
Concert reviews · Features · Videos
Check out video highlights of Spins on Music’s picks for best concerts of the summer, with links to mini-reviews and a preview of fall’s must-see shows. Ah yes, September means[…]
Concert reviews · Features · Videos
Ralston Bowles, Sweet J Band, ‘mystery guest’ Brian Vander Ark, Lux Land, Peter Mulvey create perfect musical ending to Tuesday Evening Music Club (video) GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP — An[…]
Concert reviews · Features · Videos
The first Rockford Barnstormer showcased bands Potato Moon, Hannah Rose, Nicholas James & The Bandwagon and many more, family fun and a good cause: aiding area refugees. It may[…]
Veteran Grand Rapids rock band Mid-Life Crisis takes over One Trick Pony on Sunday to conduct a music video shoot for original song being entered in ArtPrize. Sitting through a[…]
Features · Upcoming shows · Videos
Deadstring Brothers’ Kurt Marschke tells Spins on Music about shelving solo act and going full-bore with a full band again. The group hits Grand Rapids Thursday. The Deadstring Brothers,[…]
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Expanded Cowpie fest on Shagbark Farm south of Grand Rapids survived rainy opening night; thrives Saturday with fine mix of Michigan bands. Video, photos From Mudpie to Cowpie … just[…]
Michigan guitar prodigy Joe “LittleEdge” Heemstra, 13, shows off his instrumental prowess yet again in YouTube video, playing classic Pink Floyd solo LittleEdge has BigTime talent. Just take a look[…]
It’s “you make a better door than a window” vs. “get up and party to show the band you care.” Right about this time every year, in the midst of[…]
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Creedence Clearwater Revisited 7 p.m. Wednesday $51 ($49 for Meijer Gardens members) Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Township Get ticket information here. In the late ’60s and[…]
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It doesn’t have the big-name headliners of Rothbury past – Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Snoop Dogg – but this weekend’s Electric Forest at Double JJ Resort some 24 miles[…]
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Gov’t Mule 6:30 p.m. Thursday $40 Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Township Gov’t Mule may have started as an Allman Brothers’ side project in the mid-1990s by guitarist Warren Haynes[…]
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As complicated as it may have been to renovate an old, long-dormant tavern and convert it into a keen new music venue, Ted Smith concedes that adjusting and reconstructing attitudes[…]
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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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.[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Concert announcements · Features · Upcoming shows
[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.[…]
Concert announcements · Features · Upcoming shows
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[…]
Several years ago, while serving as a member of the Local Spin of the Year Award-winning The Mighty Narwhale, Kyle Colter started a side solo project he called Pistolbrides. The[…]
Commemorating a legend: This brief column paying tribute to Muhammad Ali was one of the first posts at LocalSpins.com after the website was launched in 2012.
It is with equal parts sadness and joy that I close one chapter today and dive into new writing adventures. After 31 years at The Grand Rapids Press, nearly half[…]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHB0o9lCizQ&w=640&h=360] It had to happen. Tebowmania has hit the music world. Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos’ quarterback who was mauled and couldn’t hit the side of a mile-high[…]
Randy Marsh was fretting. Less than a year ago, my conversations with the veteran Grand Rapids jazz drummer frequently seemed to revolve around the woeful state of the city’s jazz[…]
This week, I’m featuring The Trace as part of my “Local Spins Live” series, which airs every Wednesday at 10 a.m. On News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW). The acoustic classic[…]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfQ-hV3WtA&w=640&h=360] Much-ballyhooed rock reunion tours are the talk of the 2012 concert season, with the Beach Boys reuniting with the enigmatic Brian Wilson for a 50th anniversary edition of[…]
Bless You Boys, Drew Nelson, The Mighty Narwhale, Ralston Bowles, The New Midwest. All past winners of my Local Spin of the Year award, and all impressive examples of West[…]
