‘Twas the week of Christmas and all through West Michigan’s house, live music is still playing, from Nate Holley to Delilah DeWylde and a film featuring some fab Grand Rapids-area bands.
Nate Holley brings his one-man show to Billy’s Lounge on Wednesday nights.
Nate Holley
8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Free
Billy’s Lounge, Grand Rapids
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It’s true that things get a bit quiet on the music scene on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but hold onto your sleighbells because things gear up quickly right after, making this week’s Big List a very attractive package with festive ribbons that you’ll want to tear open.
Electro-acoustic, alternative funk-pop artist Nate Holley is a native of Illinois who first made his musical splash in Florida but now lives in the Saugatuck area. Holley enhances his acoustic jams with looping prowess, aka a “one-man, one-guitar looping magician” show aimed at getting listeners to leave behind “the trouble and turmoil that everyday living can bring.” Sounds like a fab post-Christmas vibe. Better yet, you can catch him every Wednesday night at Billy’s in Eastown and admission is free.
Monica Da Silva
Monica Da Silva
8 p.m. Thursday (One Trick Pony, 136 E. Fulton St.)
7 p.m. Friday (Mangiamo, 1033 Lake Drive S)
7 p.m. Saturday (Ju Sushi & Lounge, 1140 E. Paris Ave. SE)
Free
Recently relocating to West Michigan from Miami, indie-pop artist Monica Da Silva infuses her music with Brazilian bossa nova, creating a Brazilian-American milieu that weaves its way throughout her latest album, “Brasilissima” on Socialite Fiasco Music.
She’s at work on a new album, which she plans to release early next year. But before that, you can see her perform her airy, magical musical strains with guitarist Chad Alger around Grand Rapids four times this week alone (including a New Year’s Eve show at downtown’s City Flats Hotel), with regular performances in the area the next couple of months. Get more information about Da Silva and listen to some of her music at her official website. And check out a video below.
The Twin Cats will be purring at The Pyramid Scheme this week.
The Twin Cats, Jahman Brahman, SoundIsRed
9 p.m. Friday
$6
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids
So here we go: “face-melting funk,” “shred ‘n’ flow rock ‘n’ roll” and music that sounds as “if Deadmou5, Daft Punk, Skrillex or Benny Benassi performed their set on drums.” Clearly, the dance floor at The Pyramid Scheme will be jammed on Friday night, what with Indianapolis quintet The Twin Cats, North Carolina’s Jahman Brahman and West Michigan’s own SoundIsRed powering up the house.
Get ticket information here.
(By the way, Flint post-hardcore rock band Kid Brother Collective, along with The Fencemen, Empty Orchestra and Shores move into The Pyramid Scheme at 7 p.m. Saturday.)
Beware: Wilson brings its party to The Stache on Friday.
Wilson, Stone the Manic, Of Virtue, The Love Hate
7 p.m. Friday
$5 advance, $7 day of show
The Stache inside The Intersection, Grand Rapids
This essentially serves as the grand opening bash for the recently refurbished front lounge of The Intersection, aka The Stache.
And with the Detroit area’s fast-rising, heavy prog-metal band Wilson headlining, that new coat of paint might melt right off the walls. You can get a gander at Wilson’s brand of guitar-shredding and hard partying at the band’s official website. Also on the bill: Grand Rapids’ own Stone the Manic, Of Virtue and The Love Hate. And more paint will peel.
The Northern Skies will brighten up Founders Brewing this weekend.
The Northern Skies, Karisa Wilson String Ensemble,
Nicholas James & The Bandwagon
9:30 p.m. Saturday
$5
Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
Rootsiness times three. The folk/country/pop flavorings running through this lineup at Founders makes this a special show in and of itself, but if you’ve never seen these acts live, you’ll be blown away by the combination of energy and talent that they exude. The Northern Skies, Karisa Wilson and Nicholas James Thomasma all have been featured on Local Spins Live in the past, and Wilson will make a special appearance at 10 a.m. Wednesday (on News Talk 1340 AM WJRW) to preview this show and her upcoming participation in the Local Spins Live contemporary folks series, which kicks off Jan. 10 at St. Cecilia Music Center with a round-robin featuring six Michigan singer-songwriters.
Get information about the Founders show at its website and more about the St. Cecilia series here. (Also, Founders’ Thursday show will be a raucously scintillating one to be sure: The Boss Mustangs, The Redettes, grrRoPoLis and Shane Tripp, all on the same bill, starting at 9:30 p.m. with no cover.)
Oh sure, they look harmless enough. But Mustard Plug returns with Plugstock on Sunday and things will get, well, lively.
Plugstock 2012 with Mustard Plug,
Koffin Kats, Cheap Girls, Continental, more
5:30 p.m. Sunday
$10 advance, $12 day of show
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
And a ska-Happy New Year to you, too.
Nationally beloved, West Michigan’s Mustard Plug continues a holiday tradition by unleashing its annual punk-and-ska-drenched festival at The Intersection, with nine bands playing two stages: Mustard Plug, Koffin Kats, Cheap Girls, Continental, Break Anchor, Green Room Rockers, Common Enemy, Three Cents Short and Statelines. It’s part of Mustard Plug’s holiday tour, which includes a Thursday show at Chicago’s Metro, Friday’s four-stage affair at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre and Saturday’s blitz in Grand Rapids.
As Mustard Plug’s David Kirchgessner points out, seven of the nine bands on the bill “are national headliners in their own right. Psychobilly, reggae, punk rock, thrash, rock ‘n’ roll, ska, soul, you name it, are all represented this year. It will be a buffet of sounds that will leave no one hungry.” He says he always asks a host of national bands to appear, “but this year, they all said yes,” including the Koffin Kats, with a strong following across the North America and Europe, indie-rock’s Cheap Girls, a Replacements-like outfit with new album being produced by Tom Gable of Against Me! and Continental, a new punk rock project starring the Dropkick Murphy’s original guitarist, Rick Barton. And plenty more. Get details at the Mustard Plug website and at the Intersection site.
UNDER-THE-RADAR PICKS
“No Horizon Anymore: A Year Long Journey at the South Pole” screening at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids (7 p.m. Friday, free) – Keith Reimink’s incredible documentary about spending a year at the South Pole, aka “the most isolated place on Earth,” isn’t music per se, but it has some terrific music as a soundtrack.
Delilah DeWylde
Several West Michigan bands and artists provided the haunting background strains: Paucity, Ghost Heart, Expunk, Shores, Lights at Sea, Charles the Osprey, The Glowfriends and Jon Van Oss. That alone makes this movie worth checking out. You can watch a trailer for the film below, featuring Light at Sea’s mesmerizing music. Read more about it in John Serba’s MLive story.
Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys and the JetBeats at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids (8 p.m. Friday, $5) — A sweet and twangy lineup to help you prepare for all that New Year’s Eve revelry that’s coming up on Monday. Get details at the Facebook event page.
Mary Rademacher Reed at 9 p.m. Saturday and Randissimo’s Sunday Night Jazz at 7 p.m. Sunday at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids – Consider this two nights of differing, eclectic jazz at this intimate venue. More details online at the SpeakEZ’s website. Sunday night’s jam will feature pianist Mark Kahny, guitarist Carlos Melendez and drummer Randy Marsh.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
JS, you always do a fantastic job at promoting great West Michigan music. Would love to see you spend sometime with some of the blues rock singers especially the females that get over looked in our area. I was at Nick finks a few weeks ago and heard a voice that was unbelievable! Rochelle from Rochelle and the Spoilers. She stopped folks in their tracks. Come to find out she was a Christian singer and songwriter turned Blues Singer. Might be an interesting story to cover and certainly an amazing voice to broadcast! TD