To help preview Grand Rapids’ Local Spins Fest 2024 on Saturday, Local Spins continues to examine the importance of mentoring young musicians. Today, we focus on Girls Rock! Grand Rapids.
Girls Rocking Grand Rapids: The local chapter last year celebrated its 10th anniversary. (Photo/Chantal Elise Photography)
When Local Spins Fest 2024 celebrates the Local Spins website’s 12th anniversary of covering Michigan’s music scene at Studio Park in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday, it will do so under the theme, “The Future of Michigan Music.”
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In addition to showcasing three uber-talented professional bands on their way up, the summer kickoff event will also feature two teen bands spawned by area youth academies or ‘schools of rock’ (Triumph Music Academy and Red Rose Music Lab) giving them a chance to showcase their talents on a high-profile stage.
Local Spins Fest also will feature videos of performances by youth groups from area music schools on the big screen at Studio Park, including Girl Rock! Grand Rapids (hosted by Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities), Kalamazoo Academy of Rock, Byron Center High School (Jazz Orchestra) and New City Kids Grand Rapids.
Jes Kramer (Photo/Chantal Elise Photography)
General admission tickets are just $10, with children 10 and younger admitted free. Get tickets — with a $25 VIP seating option also available — online at themidtowngr.com. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule.
For today’s installment of our series spotlighting music schools, we asked Jes Kramer, chief financial officer for Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities — the nonprofit that operates the Grand Rapids chapter of Girls Rock! — to answer several questions about inspiring young musicians, something Girls Rock! has been doing in Grand Rapids for more than 10 years.
Local Spins: What’s the single most satisfying thing about educating and tutoring the next generation of musicians?
Kramer: Knowing that I’m helping develop the tools for young people to get to know themselves, be creative and express themselves. Those skills were a life raft to me growing up and I want other people to be able to access that.
Local Spins: What’s the most important lesson that young musicians need to learn?
Kramer: Comparisons don’t serve you. Find your style and follow that. Some of the most groundbreaking musicians weren’t the most talented in the traditional sense, but they changed the game by doing something different.
Local Spins: How can parents — and the community at large — best support young and enthusiastic musicians?
Kramer: Let them explore!
Local Spins: What’s your impression of West Michigan’s talent pool when it comes to music?
Kramer: It’s interesting to try to figure that out when I feel like there are so many creative pockets I haven’t witnessed yet. I think that pandemic years really threw off the regular routes of accessing new music. But I’m sure there is so much being created that I’ll be excited about when I find it.
Local Spins: What’s the most popular instrument among young musicians and what not-so-popular instruments should young students consider?
Kramer: Our students love playing keyboards and drums. I think it’s super valuable to teach various electronic instruments, sampling/beat matching, and production to kids now because it gives them different tools to create that might be more in line with the music they’re listening to.
In the Musical Classroom: Girls Rock! Grand Rapids (Photo/Chantal Elise Photography)
VIDEO: Girls Rock! Grand Rapids
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