Grand Rapids’ genre-melding neo-soul band Earth Radio hit No. 1, with Public Access, The Bootstrap Boys and Shane Tripp making their first entries on the WYCE chart. Listen to samples from all the releases.
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As singer and keyboard player Hannah Laine puts it, “There’s really no way to define” the music of Grand Rapids’ Earth Radio.
What absolutely can be defined is the enthusiastic response of fans to this unique collective of musicians from other bands that features Laine, bassist-singer Justin Avdek, keyboard player Dutcher Snedeker, drummer Mario Copeland and guitarist Travis Swanson. The band officially released its self-titled debut album on March 1 and by the end of the month it had racked up more radio airplay at WYCE-FM (88.1) than any other local or regional release.
With its savvy blend of neo-soul, jazz, rock, hip hop and experimental sounds, the album rocketed into orbit, so to speak, debuting at No. 1 on the Local Spins Hot Top 5 chart.
“It is always good news to know people are digging on the style,” said Avdek, who works at People’s Cider. “Have had multiple people come into People’s Cider telling me that the CD hasn’t left their player. Seems to be a new favorite for some folks, and that makes me smile.”
Earth Radio plays Rockford Brewing in Rockford on April 13, The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on May 24 and Unruly Brewing in Muskegon on May 25. Read more about the band and listen to a live in-studio performance in this Local Spins Artist Spotlight feature.
The March chart actually signaled a changing of the guard, with new names occupying four of the five slots. Only last month’s No. 1, Jackson-based LVRS’ “Now is Light,” stayed in the picture, coming in at No. 4.
The instrumental rock supergroup Public Access soared to No. 2 with its sophomore release, “Unlimited,” followed by vintage/outlaw country’s “The Bootstrap Boys Live,” LVRS and Shane Tripp’s “Brain Drip.”
NEW LOCAL MUSIC ADDITIONS TO WYCE: MARCH 2018
Travis Swanson, “When It’s Time to Say Goodbye”
Vox Vidorra, “Vox Vidorra”
Brian Koenigsknecht, “Roswell”
Lindsay Lou, “Southland”
Saxsquatch & Bridge Band, “Apogee”
Ozay Moore, “In the Wake of O”
Sareem Poems, “A Pond Apart”
Michigander, “Midland”
Musique Noire, “Reflections we Breathe”
The Bootstrap Boys, “Live”
Andrew Farmer, “Redacted Passages”
Lushh, “Insight Unsought”
Lushh, “Nebu”
Fresh Cakes, “Alright Tonight”
Public Access, “Unlimited”
The Aquaerials, “A Grand Failure”
Steve Hilger Jazz Quintet, “Perspective”
KJ & The Good Time Family Band, “Kinfolk Kousins”
THE HOT TOP 5 PLAYLIST
1. Earth Radio, “Frequent Seas”
2. Public Access, “Badlands”
3. The Bootstrap Boys, “Folsom Prison Blues”
4. LVRS, “Careless”
5. Shane Tripp, “Glass in My Bed”