The week got rolling with Blues Traveler in Kalamazoo and just kept rocking, from Shorts Brewing’s 13th anniversary party in Bellaire to The Pyramid Scheme’s two-day sixth birthday bash.
Sixth Anniversary Spectacle: Tunde Olaniran headlined the first of two anniversary celebrations this weekend at The Pyramid Scheme. (Photo/Katy Batdorff)
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Rain rolled in across Michigan over the weekend, but it couldn’t wash out some milestone celebrations — from The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids marking its sixth anniversary with rousing shows by Tunde Olaniran on Friday and Guided by Voices on Saturday to Short’s Brewing hosting its 13th anniversary street party on Saturday with Laith Al-Saadi, May Erelwine and Benjaman James in Bellaire.
The week also saw Blues Traveler make its first Kalamazoo State Theatre appearance in 25 years, Explosions in the Sky pumping up the Calvin College stage with help from the Grand Rapids band PARTS, The Go Rounds revving up Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo and Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids on back-to-back nights, and Real Friends bringing their pop-punk attack to Grand Rapids’ 20 Monroe Live for the first time.
Browse the images in the photo galleries below.
PHOTO GALLERY: Blues Traveler at Kalamazoo State Theatre (Tuesday)
Photos by Derek Ketchum
With Blues Traveler announcing a 30th Anniversary Tour for the fall, there was a lot of anticipation throughout the crowd at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre on Tuesday that fans might get a little bit of a preview of what might be coming around the corner.
The opening few songs really set the stage for the night, kicking off with 2012’s “Things are Looking Up” followed by 1993’s “Save his Soul.” Indeed, it was a career retrospective on Tuesday, with 20-plus songs spanning seven albums and three classic covers to boot.
With John Popper wailing on his signature harmonicas, the songs from the ’90s sounded fresh and blended well with more recent tunes. The crowd was as intense as the performance, with fans dancing and singing the entire show — a show filled with non-stop jamming. Many of the same fans are liable to catch the band in West Michigan again later this year when Blues Traveler joins Umphrey’s McGee at Founders Fest in Grand Rapids on June 17. – Derek Ketchum
PHOTO GALLERY: Explosions in the Sky, PARTS at Calvin College Covenant Fine Arts (Thursday)
Photos by Kendra Kamp
PHOTO GALLERY: Real Friends, Have Mercy, Broadside at 20 Monroe Live (Thursday)
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek
