West Michigan’s lively week of live music boasts Michigan’s biggest Cinco de Mayo Bash, a dual CD-release show by The Wallace Collective and Chain of Lakes, a chiptune celebration and a retro-flavored We Do Care benefit spotlighting GR rock icons.
Kris Hitchcock
Kris Hitchcock & Small Town Son
7 p.m. Friday
$10
Park Theatre, 248 S. River Ave.
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Get ready for a gigantic Cinco de Mayo celebration in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday (which actually takes place a day early), by warming up with some live music on Friday night.
From the outset, Kalamazoo singer-guitarist Kris Hitchcock proved to a force to be reckoned with on West Michigan’s country music scene. Backed by an ultra-talented and energetic band, Hitchcock is now touring behind his latest Nashville-produced album, “Rewind.”
Maximo & Mo Millones
Cinco de Mayo Downtown Fiesta
Maximo Y Mo Millones, various artists
Noon-10 p.m. Saturday
$10 advance, $15 day of
Ionia Avenue/Weston Street, downtown Grand Rapids
The Downtown Arena District bills this event south of Fulton Street and west of Ionia Avenue as the biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration in Michigan. Organizers will certainly try to prove that with piñatas, food, drink, a wing-eating challenge and a day full of south-of-the-border entertainment that begins with DJ The-E Producer (noon), salsa’s Orquesta Tradicion (2 p.m.), salsa’s Orquesta Candela (3:30 p.m.), Latin jazz/rock’s Grupo Cabildo (4:30 p.m.), DJ The-E Producer (6:30 p.m.), tribal’s Los Tribaleroz (6:45 p.m.), cumbia’s Super Nova (7:45 p.m.) and reggaeton’s Maximo Y Mo Millones from Houston (8:45 p.m.)
Get tickets and details online at the Downtown Arena District website.
Drew Nelson
Drew Nelson
8 p.m. Saturday
$18 advance, $20 day of show
Seven Steps Up, 116 S. Jackson St., Spring Lake
Signed awhile back to the prominent Americana record label, Red House Records, Grand Rapids’ Drew Nelson has drawn fans for his compelling Michigan-bred music, touring across the United States and overseas.
His latest CD, “Tilt A Whirl,” shared album of the year honors at this year’s Jammie Award show hosted by WYCE-FM (88.1) in Grand Rapids and for good reason: Great songs, inspired performances, which should translate perfectly to the confines of the Seven Steps Up listening room. Get tickets online here.
Tommy Womack
Tommy Womack, Jason Eller
9 p.m. Saturday
$10
Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, 760 Butterworth St. SW, Grand Rapids
This guy is truly a treasure. Americana singer-songwriter Tommy Womack cut his teeth in post-punk’s Government Cheese, but has since become a force as a solo artist.
Described as “Nashville’s best-loved musical eccentric,” the ultra-entertaining, story-telling Womack is touring behind his country-, rock- and blues-hued 2012 release, “Now What!” To see him in this intimate club on Grand Rapids’ West Side should be a real treat.
And Grand Rapids’ own Jason Eller will open the evening show. Get more information and tickets online here. (It’s actually part of a one-two punch at the Tip Top this weekend: much-admired roots/blues guitarist Scott Holt returns to the watering hole at 8 p.m. Friday, $7.)
Official Sponsor of The Big List Concert Guide
Double Musical Trouble: The Wallace Collective join Chain of Lakes for a dual CD-release show.
The Wallace Collective, Chain of Lakes
Dual CD-Release Concert
9:30 p.m. Saturday
$5
Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
Consider this another fine example of the folk-infused talent found in West Michigan: The Wallace Collective (led by Brandon Muske) and Chain of Lakes (fronted by Kyle Rasche) are both releasing ridiculously bracing and inventive new albums this week, with songs that push the envelope with sheer beauty and muscle.
That makes Saturday’s CD-release show a powerful showcase of acoustic-driven music, especially with Grand Rapids’ Strawberry Heritage opening the evening. Get details online at the Founders website.
Oh, and West Michigan’s The Northern Skies and Chicago’s Scott Lucas & The Married Men will create their own version of energetic folk-rock in a free show Thursday night at Founders.
Grand Rapids Legends: The Eschelons are part of an impressive We Do Care lineup on Sunday.
We Do Care Charity Music Extravaganza
Various Artists
Noon-8:30 p.m. Sunday
Free
Knights of Columbus Hall, 5830 Clyde Park Ave. SW, Wyoming
Talk about a must-see blast from the past. Organizer Kim Rush pays tribute to some of the most influential Grand Rapids-area bands of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s with this action-packed, one-day music festival benefiting the We Do Care charity that assists children with cancer.
It features The Eschelons (doo-wop), The Trace (acoustic rock), The Quests (rock), Johnny Boggs (early ’60s rock/pop), Mona and Kristi Sallie (Motown), The Knights (rock) and many more. Musicians in some of these classic bands have continued to perform over the decades, while other bands are being reunited for the first time in eons. The oldest musician performing at Saturday’s show, Bill Farrow, is in his ’80s.
Emcees Keith Seccombe (Me and Dem Guys) and Big Al Vandetti (The Kingtones) also are donating their time to the cause, with the event covering lots of musical territory. This really is a one-time-only opportunity to celebrate the genesis of Grand Rapids’ thriving music scene.
And tune into Local Spins Live at 10 a.m. Wednesday when Boggs will reminisce about those days of yore as my featured guest on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW).
Ashley and Alex McGrath of The Soil and The Sun
The Soil and The Sun, Healing Power, CARE
7 p.m. Sunday
$18
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
The Soil and The Sun may officially now rank as “the Grand Rapids band currently getting the most national attention,” thanks to the buzz the seven-piece ensemble generated at the recent South By Southwest conference in Texas and assorted mentions in the national media. Regardless, they are a unique, beautiful spacey and inventive group. Read more about them in this Spins on Music feature. And get ticket information online at the recently revamped Pyramid Scheme website.
Graham Parsons
Graham Parsons
7 p.m. Sunday
$10
Salt of the Earth, 114 E. Main St., Fennville
Although he’s known as the frontman for eclectic, psychedelic Kalamazoo folk-rock band The Go Rounds, Graham Parsons also uncorks compelling, mesmerizing songs as a solo artist. Details online at the Salt of the Earth website.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
Whitey Morgan & The 78s with Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys playing The Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill, 7 p.m. Thursday, $10 – This month’s usual Thursday “Rockabilly Rumble” is replaced by something every bit as honky-tonking wondrous, with Flint’s Whitey Morgan and crew getting cry-in-your-beer rambunctious with Delilah DeWylde and company.
Carol Johnson
Carol Johnson playing her “Singing in the Light” concert at Unity of Grand Rapids, 1711 Walker Ave. NW, 7 p.m. Friday, $10 adults, $3 children – Longtime Grand Rapids-area singer-songwriter Carol Johnson will deliver “a delightful, serendipitous, uplifting evening of her original music and musings” in this all-ages show, with accompaniment from Phil Pletcher and Chuck Piccard.
Blues power: Zora Young with Hank Mowery & The Hawktones and Brian Curran playing the sixth annual White Lake Blues Fest (7:30 p.m. Saturday Howmet Playhouse in Whitehall, $15) or Jimmie Stagger playing Billy’s Lounge in Eastown (9:30 p.m. Saturday, $5) – Take your pick. You can’t go wrong. Details about the White Lake Blues Fest online here; visit Billy’s website for info on Stagger’s show. (Stagger also hosts a Sunday night blues jam at 7 p.m. Sunday at HopCat in downtown Grand Rapids.)
GR8BIT Live benefit with Bit Brigade, Super Guitar Bros., Arc Impulse and Playing With Power! at The Pyramid Scheme, 7 p.m. Saturday, $15 – Get your game face on. Or at least your game ears. This concert of retro video game music is a benefit for the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, and features “video game tribute bands,” including Athens, Ga.’s Bit Brigade (which “elevates game music to its proper place in the foreground of epic technical rock”) along with Super Guitar Bros., Arc Impulse and Playing With Power! Get more information online at the official website. It’s part of the new wave of chip music, aka 8-bit music.
Special Cinco de Mayo Saturday Night with An Dro at One Trick Pony, 8 p.m. Saturday, free – Celtic charm meets world music wonder whenever An Dro fires up its acoustic wizardry.
Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra
Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra playing at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Founders Brewing and Randissimo’s Sunday Night Jazz at 7 p.m. Sunday at SpeakEZ Lounge, free – This is a true double-header for jazz lovers and an improvisationally swinging way to end the weekend in Grand Rapids.
Tulip Time Holland Chorale show with Kathy Wagner at 7 p.m. Sunday, Beechwood Church, 895 Ottawa Beach Road in Holland, $23 adults, $15 students – Ah yes, tulips are blooming in Holland, Michigan, as the old song that we used to sing in elementary school goes. This Tulip Time show is billed as “an evening of jazz, musical theatre, spirituals and folk tunes,” featuring the acclaimed and highly versatile singer Kathy Wagner. And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, there’s post-concert dessert. The concert repeats at 7 p.m. Monday.
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