Clutch, Disclosure, Amy Grant, Nate Ruess, Dizzybird Records anniversary: Show Recap and Weekend Photo Gallery

When it comes to live music, October’s midway point sparked some gems, with local and regional artists getting into the act, too: Organissimo, Lucas Wilson, Mid-Life Crisis, Josh Rose and others.

 

So, a banjo player, accordion player and tuba player walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”

No joke: It was another busy week in West Michigan music, with a dizzying mix of electic national acts swinging through Grand Rapids, where some local artists made a splash, too.

It started early, with Monday’s appearance at the Calvin College Covenant Fine Arts Center by Nate Ruess, frontman for indie-pop’s Fun., who electrified the crowd of Calvin students with a high-energy set. Opener Saint Motel got things rolling. After that:

• Grammy-winning singer Amy Grant played the Jenison Center for the Arts as part of an event promoting breast cancer awareness, with Grand Rapids’ own Mid-Life Crisis opening the show and performing with a full choir and orchestra.

• The same night, jazz organ trio Organissimo kicked off a new West Michigan Jazz Society series at New Vintage Place on Grand Rapids’ West Side — a solid crowd in a snazzy venue. (Next up: Phil Denny on Oct. 27; read more about that online here.)

• It was a truly triumphant homecoming on Wednesday for singer-songwriter Lucas Wilson, who returned to the place where he once worked, SpeakEZ Lounge, with his new band, The Bad Disciples, as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series. Suffice to say, the soulful singer and his band rocked the packed house with an impressive array of new and old material.

• Singer-songwriter Jeffrey Foucault, with special guest Caitlyn Canty, lit up Seven Steps Up for a mid-week show, with the venue displaying its snazzy new lighting system (and unveiling a new sound system later in the week).

• While on the subject of triumphant returns, Maryland’s Clutch cranked up the volume and the verve in the band’s return to The Orbit Room on Thursday night, with Corrosion of Conformity and The Shrine also pumping up the masses in the heavy metal show.

• And in what might well be described as the complete opposite of Clutch (above), three Michigan singer-songwriters — Josh Rose of Grand Rapids, Michelle Held of Detroit and Mike Vial of Ann Arbor — played a quiet, in-the-round, listening-room show on Thursday at Richard App Gallery in Grand Rapids.

• The DeltaPlex Arena, meanwhile, was turned into an all-out, crowd-igniting EDM dance club on Friday night for U.K. house/synth duo Disclosure, which brought its “Caracal” tour to Grand Rapids, with Claude VonStroke and Pomo getting the evening started.

• On Saturday, Founders Brewing Co. wrapped up its day-long Harvest Party with performances by California alt-folk band HoneyHoney, Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line, singer-songwriter David Ramirez and My God, The Heat.

• Talk about a dizzying party: Dizzybird Records celebrated its anniversary on Saturday with a rousing show featuring Cincinnati’s The Harlequins, Fort Wayne’s Heaven’s Gateway Drugs, San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls, Brooklyn’s Las Rosas and Grand Rapids DJ Tom Shannon, with Rick Chyme emceeing — plus a really groovy dance contest for the second year in a row.

WEEKEND PHOTO GALLERY: Oct. 18, 2015
Nate Ruess, Saint Motel photos by Tori Thomas
Amy Grant, Mid-Life Crisis photos by Anthony Norkus
Organissimo, Lucas Wilson photos by Anna Sink
Clutch photos by Anthony Norkus
Disclosure photos by Anna Sink
Josh Rose, Mike Vial, Michelle Held photos by Tori Thomas
Founders photos by Anna Sink
Dizzybird Records anniversary photos by Katy Batdorff

Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC