Expanded Irish on Ionia boasts big lineup for St. Patrick’s street party; Blue Molly disbands

The Waxies, Tosspints and more to play an even bigger Irish on Ionia on Saturday, with 19,000 revelers expected. Award-winning Blue Molly calls it quits.

 

EXPANDED IRISH ON IONIA RETURNS SATURDAY WITH THE WAXIES, BILLIES, PEAT IN THE CREEL AND MORE

Irish on Ionia will tap raucous Celtic rock and green beer once again on Saturday for an early – and giant – St. Patrick’s Day street party in downtown Grand Rapids.

Temperatures will be a bit chilly, but are expected to top out above the freezing mark, making it at least a few degrees warmer than last year’s bash.

But no need to fret: Irish on Ionia has heated tents.

What’s billed as Michigan’s largest outdoor St. Patrick’s Day Party has gotten even bigger for 2014, taking up two full blocks on Ionia Avenue south of W. Fulton Street on Saturday, with a live music lineup headlined by Grand Rapids Irish rockers The Waxies, a regular performer at the annual event hosted by McFadden’s Irish Saloon.

Last year, Irish on Ionia served up 280 kegs of beer to about 14,000 people. For 2014, event organizers expect more than 19,000 folks to attend. Barfly Ventures this week stressed that despite the bigger festival footprint, patrons can still access Grand Rapids Brewing, HopCat and other Ionia Avenue bars without a ticket for Irish on Ionia. The only bar folks can’t access without Irish on Ionia tickets will be McFadden’s, which is located inside the festival gates.

Check out the new Irish on Ionia layout in the map here. (Fulton Street is at the left.)

Saginaw’s punk-fueled Celtic band The Tosspints, Grand Rapids Celtic bluegrass outfit The Billies, Grand Rapids Irish folk band Paddy’s Cure, traditional Celtic/world music band Peat in the Creel and Milwaukee’s Talleymoore also will perform, along with performers from Arden Academy of Irish Dance. The music, alternating between two stages, will begin at 10 a.m.

“Irish on Ionia is the focal point of our Paddy’s Day schedule, and it sounds like this year is going to be even bigger,” said Brendan Malloy, singer and mandolinist for The Waxies. “We are just lucky to be a part of it. Our music is all about commiserating with our audience about all the things that pull us down, while at the same time celebrating being together and having fun with your fellow human beings.”

Malloy conceded the band “wouldn’t mind if the weather was a bit warmer than last year,” but cautioned that The Waxies played during a heat wave in March 2012 and “some of us almost passed out from dehydration. Rain, hail, sleet or snow, The Waxies will be there having a good time.”

Boasting the theme, “Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” the 2014 edition of Irish on Ionia will feature a Michigan craft beer tent, DJs, an Irish-inspired food court and a “kegs and eggs” breakfast at McFadden’s Irish Saloon.

Here’s the full performance schedule:
• 10 a.m. – Tallymoore
• Noon – Peat in the Creel
• 2 p.m. – Paddy’s Cure
• 3:30 p.m. – Arden Academy of Irish Dance
• 4:45 p.m. – The Billies
• 6:45 p.m. – The Tosspints
• 8:45 p.m. – The Waxies

Early-bird tickets went on sale Feb. 15. Tickets are now $15. Special $25 “O’Malley” tickets include a Camp O’Malley T-shirt and a food voucher, with proceeds benefiting Camp O’Malley. (VIP, aka Very Irish Person, tickets also will be available for $55, which gives entrants fast-pass privileges, a beer mug and an Irish on Ionia T-shirt.)

More details online at irishonionia.com and Facebook.com/irishonionia.

BLUE MOLLY HAS PLAYED ITS FINAL SHOW AS A BAND

The award-winning Grand Rapids blues and soul group led by dynamic singer Molly Bouwsma Schultz has called it quits after a few years of entertaining enthused audiences on stages big and small, from the crowded confines of Billy’s Lounge to the sprawling outdoor stage in Ah-Nab-Awen Park for the city’s Fourth of July celebration.

The most recent version of the band, which underwent a lineup change over the past year, featured David Raffenaud on keyboards, Daryl Matthews on guitar, Early Tolliver on drums and Mark Hicks on bass. Blue Molly played its final show on Saturday (Jan. 18) as part of the Gopherwood Concerts series in Cadillac.

Bouwsma Schultz called it “the end of an era” but stressed that the “amazing musicians” in the band have new, separate projects in the offing.

UPDATE: Bouwsma Schultz’s new band, Vox Vidorra, debuts at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Mexicains Sans Frontieres, 120 S. Division Ave., No. 226, as part of the “New Blood: A Showcase of New Jazz” show that also featured Brad Fritcher + trois and Modern Mayors.

“I would like people to know that the members of Blue Molly have started their own separate projects and have closed the final chapter of Blue Molly over the weekend,” she told Local Spins. “Many exciting things are on the horizon for everyone musically.”

The singer, who’s married to multi-instrumentalist Scott Schultz, said she plans to “announce what new project I have when the time is right.” In addition to fronting Blue Molly, Bouwsma Schultz has performed in the past with a variety of other musicians, sometimes as Molly B. & Friends.

The band’s final Grand Rapids performance took place earlier this month in front of more than 600 people at the Wheatland Music Organization’s Winter Wheat celebration at The Intersection, earning a rousing ovation from fans for its lively mix of blues, R&B, gospel and funk. (See more photos and read more about Winter Wheat in this Local Spins story/photo gallery.)

Blue Molly earned Jammie Awards from WYCE-FM for its 2012 record release, winning best album by a new artist and best soul/blues album, along with taking home the “listeners’ choice” award for best new artist.

“We appreciate all the support for Blue Molly over the years and would not have been able to grow without all the love in West Michigan,” said Bouwsma Schultz, who reiterated that “the time was right for this to happen.”

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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