The Grand Rapids Art Museum and WYCE will present three free summer shows in downtown Grand Rapids. Get details and view new concert series announced for Allendale, Big Rapids, Kalamazoo, more.
Headlining GRAM on the Green: JRob & Bedrock perform on Aug. 5. (Photo/Anna Sink)
SCROLL DOWN FOR LISTINGS OF FREE COMMUNITY CONCERTS IN JULY AND AUGUST
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Add the Grand Rapids Art Museum to venues bringing back live music to West Michigan’s great outdoors this summer.
With a limited three-concert run, the GRAM on the Green concert series will return to downtown Grand Rapids, starting July 29 with Ann Arbor gypsy jazz/manouche band Djangophonique and Via & The Playboys.
The Thursday evening series on the museum’s outdoor terrace adjacent to Rosa Parks Circle continue Aug. 5 with Grand Rapids hip hop favorites JRob & Bedrock, along with garage rock’s Hollywood Makeout, and Aug. 12 with Detroit’s soulful Laura Rain & The Caesars.
Co-hosted with community radio station WYCE (88.1 FM), the series has for years offered up free concerts starring regional acts, interrupted only by last year’s COVID pandemic.
Andrew Brown’s Djangophonique: Kicking off GRAM on the Green. (Courtesy Photo)
“The lineup this year reflects not only the diversity of the music scene here in Grand Rapids, but across Michigan,” said Jess Martin, WYCE station manager.
All of the Michigan artists have made a splash with recordings over the past couple of years, several of them appearing on the Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart.
Grand Rapids Art Museum Communications Manager Elizabeth Payne, meanwhile, called the series “part of the museum’s commitment to provide free and accessible experiences for our community year round.”
Food trucks, free museum admission, art-making activities and a cash bar also are available to visitors on Thursday nights during GRAM on the Green shows.
The series is just one of several free summer concert series announced this month by communities across West Michigan.
Allendale hosts “Concerts in the Park” on Tuesdays from July 20 through Aug. 17; Big Rapids is hosting Wednesday night shows in Hemlock Park through Aug. 18; Crystal Township in Montcalm Country features “Music in the Park” on Thursdays through Sept. 2; Grand Rapids Symphony is performing “Neighbor Concerts” in July; the lawn of the Old Art Building in Leland stages more than a half-dozen shows on various dates in July and August; Kalamazoo’s “State on the Street” boasts Friday concerts in July and August; and St. Joseph is staging Municipal and Jazz Band concerts on Sundays through Sept. 6.
Find listings for these below, with a full complement of more than 100 concert series schedules featured in Local Spins “Free Outdoor Community Concerts 2021” guide.
ALLENDALE: CONCERTS IN THE PARK
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays
Where: Allendale Community Park Bandshell, 11069 68th Ave., Allendale
LINEUP:
July 20 – The Others
July 27 – The Underground
Aug. 3 – The 6 Pak
Aug. 10 – Andrews String Band
Aug. 17 – Country Current
BIG RAPIDS: HEMLOCK PARK
When: 7 p.m. Wednesdays
Where: Hemlock Park, 398 Hemlock St., Big Rapids
LINEUP:
July 14 – Dave Yonker
July 21 – Free Flight
July 28 – Allie Garland
Aug. 4 – Monte Pride
Aug. 11- Crooked Roots Band
Aug. 18 – Project 90
CRYSTAL TOWNSHIP: MUSIC IN THE PARK
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursdays
Where: Crystal Township Park Pavilion, County Road 510
(East end of Crystal Lake, Montcalm County)
LINEUP:
July 15 – Tucker Aviation – Jeff Tucker (Middle of the Road)
July 22 – Down Trodden (Classic Rock)
July 29 – S’uthern Comfort – Pam Anderson (Country)
Aug. 5 – Donnie Melton (Rock)
Aug. 12 – Dawg & Butterfly (Variety)
Aug. 19 – Jimmy Champagne (Classic Country)
Aug. 26 – Marty Miller (Soft Rock)
Sept. 2 – Parents Playing Music – Jared & Joyce Feldpausch
GRAND RAPIDS: GRAM ON THE GREEN
When: 6 p.m. Thursdays
Where: Terrace of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center NW, Grand Rapids
LINEUP:
July 29 – Djangophonique, Via & The Playboys
Aug. 5 – JRob & Bedrock, Hollywood Makeout
Aug. 12 – Laura Rain & The Caesars
GRAND RAPIDS: GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY NEIGHBOR CONCERT SERIES
When: Selected Times and Days
Where: Varying Park locations in West Michigan
LINEUP:
July 15 – 6 p.m. – Wilcox Park (100 Youell Ave SE, Grand Rapids)
July 16 – 7:30 p.m. – Dogwood Center for Performing Arts (4734 S Campus Ct, Fremont)
July 20 – 6:30 p.m. – Wilcox Park (100 Youell Ave SE, Grand Rapids)
July 20 – 8 p.m. Midtown Green (747 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids)
St. Joe Jack (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
When: 5:30 p.m. Fridays
Where: Kalamazoo State Theatre 404 S Burdick St., Kalamazoo
Admission: Free
Website: https://www.kazoostate.com/shows-and-tickets/
LINEUP:
July 16 – Lisa Can’t Sing
July 23 – Hired Hands Band
July 30 – Crossroads Resurrection Reunion Band
Aug.6 – Kanola Band
Aug.13 – St. Joe Jack
Aug. 20 – DJ Mel V
LELAND: MUSIC IN THE AIR
When: Selected Dates and times
Where: Lawn of the Old Art Building, 111 South Main St. Leland
LINEUP:
July 21 – New Third Coast
July 29 – Evie
Aug. 4 – Spectrum Brass Quintet
Aug. 8 – Jeff Haas & Friends
Aug.19 – Glenn Wolff Trio on the River
Aug. 22 – Peter & the Wolf
ST. JOSEPH: ST. JOSEPH MUNICIPAL & JAZZ BAND CONCERTS
When: 7 p.m. Sundays
Where: John E. N. Howard Band Shell Lions Park Dr. St. Joseph MI
LINEUP:
July 18 – Jazz Band
July 25 – Municipal Band
Aug. 1 – Municipal Band
Aug. 8 – Municipal Band
Aug. 15 – Jazz Band
Aug. 22 – Municipal Band
Aug. 29 – Municipal Band
Sept. 5 – Municipal Band
Sept. 6 – Municipal Band (Monday)
Check out full listings of previously announced concert series here: FREE OUTDOOR COMMUNITY CONCERTS 2021
Copyright 2021, Spins on Music LLC
